Machiavelli is more concerned with instrumental dimension of the state, than with its origin, evolution or development.
His works, Prince and Discourse are essentially a work on the art of government, rather than a theory of the state. It was intended to help the prince in his day to day administrative work and to keep himself in power.
They are as follows:
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1. Most important advise to the prince is to ‘use the force ruthlessly’ to maintain and strengthen his authority.
2. Machiavelli advises the Prince to use the methods of propaganda and religion and act as both; fox and lion. For, force can not only bring the fruitful result.
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3. In his opinion, a prince should be competent enough to take firm decisions because loosing initiative and delay are more dangerous than doing wrong.
4. He wants the rulers to maintain a well trained, regular national army of his own soldiers to defend the state and make it powerful.
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5. For Machiavelli, a prince should be well versed in the art of war and maintain arms and ammunition of best quality.
6. Machiavelli exhorts that “a Prince should retain the affection of his people, otherwise in any crisis, he has no remedy.
7. According to Machiavelli, a prince should be better feared than loved, but should not be hated.
8. He warns the ruler not to intervene in the property and conjugal relations of its subjects, “A person will more readily forgive the murder of his father than the confiscation of his patrimony”.
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9. Machiavelli urges the rulers to create public spirit and virtue among the subjects by the means of education, religion and propaganda.
10. In dealing with administration, the ruler should try to maintain utmost secrecy. Otherwise, his orders will become ineffective and may endanger the security of state.
11. For Machiavelli ‘end justifies the means’. He advises the ruler to act as fox and lion to achieve the end.
12. A ruler in Machiavelli’s opinion should be an opportunist because there are no permanent friends or foes.
13. A ruler should show and present himself as kind hearted, generous, sincere, humane, brave etc.; even though he is not exactly so.
14. A ruler should possess virtue i.e. combination of will and intelligence that sees things as they are.
15. A ruler must embark on expansionist policy because failure to expand the state shall lead to stagnation and ultimate decline of the state.
16. A ruler should avoid flatters and form his opinion on his own.
17. In a newly conquered territory, a ruler should destroy liberty because people accustomed to freedom can never be reconciled the loss of it.
A brief list of Machiavellian guidelines to the Prince illustrates the tactical eyesight that he had. Many of his suggestions hold good even today.
It was his method that inevitably led to the unification of Italy by people like Cawour, Garibaldi and Victor Enmanuel. Irony of Machiavelli is that perhaps every administrator imbibes the spirit of ‘Prince’ without acknowledging.