Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli
Center-right · Thinker or writer · From history

Niccolò Machiavelli

Florentine diplomat and political thinker, 1469 to 1527

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Wrote The Prince, a cold-eyed guide to winning and keeping power, and the Discourses, which praise republics. His name became shorthand for ruthless politics, though he also defended civic liberty.

Niccolò Machiavelli sits in the right-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: slightly free market and leaning authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly strength-first on war and peace, strongly interventionist on interventionism and strongly nationalist on nation. The profile is close to the middle on environment and institutions.

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Where Niccolò Machiavelli sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomySlightly free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityLeaning authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureSlightly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationStrongly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentCentered on environment
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologySlightly tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsCentered on institutions
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning secular
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismStrongly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Niccolò Machiavelli

Simón Bolívar Liberator of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia99%Nicolas Sarkozy President of France, 2007 to 201298%Richard Nixon US President, 1969 to 197498%Volodymyr Zelensky President of Ukraine, 2019 to present97%Ariel Sharon Prime Minister of Israel, 2001 to 200697%Andris Kulbergs Prime Minister of Latvia, 2026 to present97%Akbar Mughal Emperor, 1556 to 160596%Catherine the Great Empress of Russia, 1762 to 179696%

People furthest from Niccolò Machiavelli

Leo Tolstoy Russian novelist and moral thinker, 1828 to 19105%Emma Goldman Russian-born anarchist and writer, 1869 to 19407%John Lennon British musician and peace activist, 1940 to 19808%Dorothy Day American journalist and Catholic Worker founder, 1897 to 19809%

Political views closest to Niccolò Machiavelli

BonapartismAuthoritarian rule by a popular leader who claims to embody the nation, with plebiscites…97%Realism in foreign policySees international politics as a contest of power and interests in which states act to…96%Pan-ArabismSeeks the unity of Arab peoples across state borders and independence from foreign…95%Hawkish realismSees the world as a contest between states, where military strength and alliances secure…95%

Read more about Niccolò Machiavelli

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Biographies of Niccolò MachiavelliBooks on bonapartism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Santi di Tito, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.