Machiavelli’s Conception of Politics as a Basis for IR Realism

Machiavelli’s political thought continues to matter because it refuses to treat politics as a moral abstraction and instead examines the actual conditions under which power is gained, preserved, and lost. His concept of “effectual truth” is especially important because it requires political analysis to focus on what rulers do in practice rather than what they ought to do in theory (Machiavelli, 1532/1998; Mansfield, 2023). That approach makes Machiavelli a major precursor to International Relations (IR) realism, a tradition that also begins from the realities of conflict, insecurity, and state survival in an anarchic world (Donnelly, 2000; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2010). This article argues that Machiavelli’s conception of politics provides a conceptual basis for IR realism because both reject idealism and place power, necessity, and strategic judgment at the center of political life. At the same time, the paper shows that Machiavelli should not be reduced to a crude thinker of brutality; his realism is analytical, historically grounded, and deeply concerned with the preservation of political order (Leung, 2012; Mansfield, 2023).