Cicero and Machiavelli: a study on the political nexus between friendship and conflict

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the concept of friendship, as Cicero understands it, to link it with the concept of political conflict that Machiavelli raises. The methodology used for this consists of the documentary analysis of the primary sources. From this analysis it follows that, after addressing the concept of friendship and its counterpart enmity, a correlation is found between the concept of friendship with that of political conflict. Finally, the evidence of a clear influence of Cicero in Machiavelli's theorizing can also be affirmed.