The Concept Of Government In Machiavelli's Prince

The concept of governmentality can be understood in the context of a modern European state. We learn about the relationship between the monarch and the people through Machiavelli’s classic text “Prince”, which tells the ruler about how to rule which can also be called as the art of governance. Machiavelli’s Prince creates a very artificial relationship between the state and the prince, where the prince is not a part of the community and only protects the territorial integrity of the state. As a counter ,there is a rise of anti- Machiavellian literature led by the writing of La Perriere which raise many other important questions about who is governed, how to govern etc. Thus it is derived that there can be many different types of governments
Property and territory only one variable of that relationship. There is a difference between government and sovereignty, the Government being concerned with status of things, things which are good for the economy, using multiple ways to ensure it. It has to be ensured in such a way that people are convinced to do want you want them to do, without coersion, as they understand that it is for the common good. The government arranges things in such a way that it feels like the appropriate thing to do. Sovereignty on the other hand means adherence to the law. This distinction was the turning point according to Foucault where law becomes less important and more importance is given to things which the government manages and the processes it directs and the instruments used by the government to perform these
The first major step in developing the art of government was mercantilism, where the aim of the government was economic expansion rather than territorial expansion. The second step is when the relation of the government with the population changes from a parent-child relationship to an instrument to receive its ends. And the third step is that with the formation of various institutions like factories, schools, armies’ economics becomes a separate discipline. This is the way governmentality has evolved. From the state of justice to the administrative state we have now reached a state which has governmentalized. It means that the modern state has survived till date due to governmentality where the people do not realize the source of the power exercised on them and continue to work towards the objectives of the state. The state gets to decide what comes within its sphere of influence and what doesn’t and it can use the instruments of government (rather than laws) to maintain its