Sosenkov F.S. On the political views of Niccolo Machiavelli upon ensuring the territorial integrity of a State

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the political views of Niccolo Machiavelli upon ensuring the territorial integrity of a nation and counteraction of regional separatism. It analyzes the treatises “The Prince” and “The Art of War”, and generalizes the experience of diplomatic work of the classic of political thought. The article demonstrates the dependency of the intensity of the centrifugal forces on the model of state governance: ruling a nation through nobility or governors. The issue of government unity is mostly prevalent in the nations that belong to the first type. Discussing the acceptable forms of ruling, the thinker comes to the conclusion that in order to unify a nation under the conditions of feudal fragmentation and clashing of the clans, the monarchy is more suitable than a republic. Taking into account the conquering nature of the politics of the medieval nations, an analysis is conducted on the legal and other means of maintaining the conquered countries within the borders: preservation of the legal and financial systems, and transfer of the capital into the newly conquered territory. Part of the methods is defined as forceful, and extralegal: destruction of the cities, and killing of the entire bloodline of the previous ruler. Certain recommendations are evaluated as rational for the modern countries that are fighting against separatism.

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