Imagine an Indian gentleman serving as an advisor on foreign affairs to the Norwegian embassy in Australia. Now have him quoting with favor renaissance-era Italian political philosopher Nicolo Machiavelli.
A novelist who wrote the above would find critics calling it shark-jumping whimsy. Nope, he’s the real deal, Sharmeek Godara writes for RealClearDefense:
Survival often requires acting against conventional morality while appearing virtuous. He (Machiavelli) warned that “it is much safer to be feared than loved” in a world where human beings are “ungrateful, fickle, liars and deceivers”. States today, like princes in Renaissance Italy, are operating under the same logic: secure survival first, manage appearances second.
Godara reflects on the ambivalent policies of middle-sized nations, a description that fits both Australia and Norway. Another way of describing their behavior would be “trying to have it both ways” or, in Trump’s terms, putting national interest first.
