Chanakya And Machiavelli Analysis

Kautilya argued that national sovereignty was essential to prosperity since a foreign ruler would be interested only in enriching himself. Then, he reasoned that prosperity was essential to guarding sovereignty since a poor nation would not have adequate resources to provide for strong national security. He understood that if a country focused either only on prosperity or only on national security, could lose both, that is, he understood the inter-dependence of prosperity and security. Also, according to Kautilya, in addition to providing resources, prosperity would win public support . Machiavelli did not understand such interdependence and therefore, paid no attention to bringing prosperity. Kautilya offered a very comprehensive approach to national security . He realized that national security was not an abstract concept. So the very first step was to set up an intelligence agency to identify friends, foes and neutral rulers, whether they were …show more content…
Machiavelli is clear even in his Discourses, where he seems more interested in the ideal form of government than the realpolitik of the Prince, that “it is impossible for a republic to remain long in the quiet enjoyment of her freedom within her limited confines; for even if she does not molest others, others will molest her, and from being thus molested will spring the desire and necessity of conquests.” Chanakya’s view of the world extends not only to the kingdom’s immediate neighbours but beyond that to encompass the whole world. Of course, Mauryan dynasty maps were not as sophisticated as to show the entire planet, but in his system of twelve concentric mandalas or circles, Chanakya divides the world into enemies, allies, allies of enemies, allies of allies, and so on. In its entirety, Chanakya’s matrix consists of seventy-two elements that could be reduced only upon