Machiavelli and the Problems of Military Force

Central to Niccolò Machiavelli''s writing is the argument that a successful state is one that prefers to lose with its own arms (arma propriis) than to win with the arms of others (arma alienis). This book sheds light on Machiavelli''s critiques of military force and provides an important reinterpretation of his military theory.

Sean Erwin argues that the distinction between arma propriis and arm...