Our Man Mac ~ 1/3/2008

Some (paraphrased) thoughts on Machiavelli's The Prince

Well, to start with, I don't quiet trust the text, because I don't see telling your enemy (Medici) how to take over the world. But, since the traditional reading does not take this into account, I shall take the text at face value.

I am of course less interested in the analogies he uses, focusing rather on his actual theory of how to consolidate power. Around the fifth chapter there is a particularly useful passage about the three options for consolidation: raze the place, move in, or turn the local elite into lap dogs. For Machiavelli, only the first one really seems to have much success. For my purposes, destroying the local community is more metaphorical than literal (though one never knows...). In order to turn "hearts and minds" it is necessary to completely dismantle the pre-existing infrastructure and social customs, replacing them with your own.

This can be done militarily (and most likely was in his day), or it can be done subtly through coercion, civil society, and (re)education. Iraq might be a good example of Machiavelli's first approach (first tear it down with force, then rebuild according to your own standards), and the "Cold War" may be a good example of the more subtle tactic (I am thinking of things like Radio Free Europe being broadcast across the Iron Curtain).

In either case, soccer can be part of the rebuilding process. It is a communal activity with disciplines students into certain (normative) behavioral patterns, and it is a good source of economic activity, thus it stimulates to aspects of growth. The amazing success of the Iraqi team at the 2007 Asia Cup was the cause of wide-spread national (surprising considering the fractured nature of the country at present) celebration in local cafes and restaurants. Young Iraqi's now have 11 heros to look up to, and if my experience as a kid is anything to go by, then they are going to want the national team kit, the posters, the replica boots and ball, etc. Suddenly there is a market for this stuff.

But however soccer comes into the mainstream, it serves to bring people together in a uniform, regulated way, which can/will be used by the political elite to entrench national ambitions. So, as Machiavelli would have said (pre Berlusconi) Forza Italia!