Machiavelli's Three Levels And Analysis

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In 1532, Niccolò Machiavelli wrote, “It is better to be feared than loved, if not both” in his book, The Prince. Which acted essentially as a handbook on how to be an effective ruler by reiterating the basis of what it meant to be a realist leader; one who believed that strength and militaristic capabilities led ultimately to a powerful nation. This perspective on leadership can be associated with America’s government during the Iraq invasion in 2003 and the events leading up to it. In an attempt to maintain the upper hand from his foreign enemies, President George W. Bush used his authority as a leader to an act as a unipolar state to keep American civilians safe from another potential terrorist attack. Thus, realism is the most relevant theory …show more content…
This is because liberalists believe that replacing dictatorships with democracy would reduce wars and increase global peace (Danju, 2013). If one were to use the three levels on analysis, the liberalists would categorize Saddam Hussein under individualism as an evil leader, who led atrocities against his own people (Mingst, 2014). For example, his massacre against the Kurds in which he killed thousands in 1980 (ABC News, 2006). Liberals were concerned with the inhumane treatment of civilians in Iraq, and as a result, believed that the only solution to end the cruelty was to remove Saddam Hussein from his authoritative role and hold him accountable for his actions. However, this one aspect of liberalist perspective does not amount to that of the realist perspective. America went to war with Iraq for three concrete reasons, to assert themselves as a powerful country that condones terrorism, to find Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction,” and to ensure a stable oil supply for major American oil companies, thus prompting the invasion in