What influence has The Prince had on past and present governments?

The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli has been used by leaders both past and present. Machiavelli used it as a critique of the government of Florence. Machiavelli's work was advice to a prince about how he should handle his affairs. Machiavelli stated that a leader should act according to his own best interests and that politics was an amoral business. Machiavelli stated that a leader should be respected rather than loved or feared. He also stated that the main goal of diplomacy was to ensure the survival of the state.

Machiavelli is known as one of the originators of realism theory in political science; this is the idea that a leader and/or nation should act in his/its best interests without regard to how it effects others. Some examples of some Machiavellian thought in American history are Lincoln's decision to put off freeing the slaves in order to hold the border states in the Union and Nixon's ability to collaborate with liberals with things like Earth Day in order to undercut their candidates.