Machiavelli and constituent power: The revolutionary foundation of modern political thought

Lucchese, Filippo Del

doi:10.1177/1474885114544911

Cited by 31 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…He extolled selfless duty to the state, loyalty and sacrifice, as well as abstinence and physical strength (Sabine and Thorson 1973). Skill in military affairs was vital, because in Machiavelli's world, states were surrounded by predators and potential invaders, usurpers, conspiracies, and threats of all sorts (Lucchese 2017).…”

Section: What It Means (Or Has Meant) To Be Machiavellianmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Measure of Machiavelli? Fear, Love, Hatred, and Trump

Brunello

2019

World Affairs

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The rise of populist leaders like Trump certainly raises issues of leadership and effectiveness. The current populist moment may be one of “Cultural Backlash,” but there is also merit in resurrecting and assessing the work of Niccolò Machiavelli in evaluating Trump’s leadership and success. Would Machiavelli, with his emphasis on a “success ethic” and a studied moral indifference, rate Trump to be a “great prince?” This article analyzes Machiavelli’s role and contemporary relevance as well as what he might say about a leader like Donald Trump. Machiavelli offers one insight into a style of leader that exposes the dangers of ignorance allied with self-interest in a nationalist pose. Also, we can visualize (with Machiavelli’s help) a modern reconsideration of the dimensions of love, hate, and fear in 21st century leadership—especially among national populist leaders. This matters politically to us all.

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Section: What It Means (Or Has Meant) To Be Machiavellianmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Machiavelli sensed a transition moving away from Church authority toward the power of citizens. Loyalty began to be pledged to the nation—a common notion today, but revolutionary in the 14th century (Lucchese 2017).…”

Section: Machiavelli and Practical Realism: The Mechanics Of Governingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Measure of Machiavelli? Fear, Love, Hatred, and Trump

Brunello

2019

World Affairs

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“…"ruler" or "prince". Thus, the new ruler is both a person of fortune and a person who has his freedom of will (Lucchese 2017).…”

Section: Leadership In Armenia: Selected Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creative leadership: presumptions and methods of realization

Avakyan¹

2018

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Social, Economic and Academic Leadership (ICSEAL 2018)

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The concept of "leadership" is thought to be a special, profitable situation inside a specific social group presupposing the influence on other individuals with the aim of subsequent attaining of goals, i.e. perfection, leadership, career advancement, etc. Leaders have always existed, both in the animal world and in different human formations. The questions of origin of the concept "leadership" interested Aristotle and Plato, and later other scientists devoted considerable attention to this issue. This contribution discusses presumptions and methods of realization of what we call the "creative leadership". It analyses the dilemma of creative leadership and discusses how this concept differs from the political leadership. Moreover, it uses several examples and case studies from Armenia to prove its point. All in all, the contribution offers an interesting methodological insight into the concept of leadership from the point of view of philosophy, linguistics, semantics, and history.

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“…Loughlin's claim is that constituent power can be revitalised as a political tool by framing it in a relationalist approach, as distinct from the two main juridical traditions that had previously appropriated the concept, namely legal normativism à la Kelsen and legal decisionism à la Schmitt. In the attempt to avoid an excessively radical conception of politics and following Hermann Heller's legal philosophy, however, Loughlin's relationalism grants space for conflict only as a common foundation for discussion among political contenders, based on fair play, thus overlooking the main problem that Machiavelli and Spinoza had already pointed out at the dawn of modernity, namely that of tolerating radical, substantial and ultimately intolerable conflicts (Del Lucchese, 2014a).…”

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Spinoza and constituent power

Lucchese

2015

Contemp Polit Theory

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This article considers Baruch Spinoza's contribution to a theory of constituent power. Modern theories of constituent power generally agree on its paradoxical essence: a power that comes before the law and founds the law is at the same time a power that, once the juridical sphere is established, has to be obliterated by the law. Spinoza's ontology has been recognised as one of the early modern sources of constituent power, yet he argues for a strict equivalence between law and power. This article argues that by reading Spinoza's political theory through the lens of a radical immanence between ontology and history, we can understand him as a source for a theory of constituent power. It also argues that, through this immanence, Spinoza's thought offers a solution to the paradox of constituent power and enriches contemporary discussions on the origin of juridical sphere and the relationship between politics and law. Since the foundation of early modern sovereignty, juridical science has tackled the problem of establishing a solid ground for authority. However, far from finding a stable solution, the problem has become more serious during the centuries of bourgeois revolutions, when new forms of power took the place of older ones and the search for a new foundation began in the nature and attributes of the new revolutionary subjects. This problem has gradually assumed a definite legal form and has taken the name of 'constituent power'. By constituent power, modern juridical science means the factual and political power that establishes a new legal order, assigning to it validity and efficacy. The constituent power is therefore pre-ordered and super-ordered vis-à-vis the constituted power: it founds and precedes the establishment of law.Modern scholars who, especially after World War II, have developed this concept, highlight the ambiguous (Böckenförde, 1991), extreme (Schmitt, 2008) and seemingly contradictory (Mortati, 1972) character of constituent power.

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Machiavelli and constituent power: The revolutionary foundation of modern political thought

Cited by 31 publications

References 5 publications

The Measure of Machiavelli? Fear, Love, Hatred, and Trump

The Measure of Machiavelli? Fear, Love, Hatred, and Trump

Creative leadership: presumptions and methods of realization

Spinoza and constituent power

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