The Idea of Politics in Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah and Machiavelli’s the Prince

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THE IDEA OF POLITICS IN ACHEBE’S ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH AND MACHIAVELLI’S THE PRINCE BY EMMANUEL IWUH (DI/440) Being a Term Paper Submitted to the Philosophy Department of Dominican institute of Philosophy and Theology, Samonda Ibadan. (In affiliation to the university of Ibadan) In partial Fulfilment for the Award of Bachelor degree in Philosophy. COURSE- PHI/308 PHILOSOPHY OF LITERATURE LECTURER- MR CHIKA MBA MAY, 2012 INRODUCTION For any state to be in harmony and at peace there must be a body that makes sure that such aim is achieved. And the stabilizing factor that accounts for the orderliness in a state is politics. Politics comes from the Greek word politika which refers to an act or science of running affairs, including behaviour within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the corporate, academic, and religious segments of society.[1] This politics also consist of social relations involving power and authority and to the method or tactics used to formulate and apply policy. This idea of politics and its application is what we would look at in this essay with focus on Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah and Machiavellian’s The Prince. While doing this, we would present the ideas and conception of political philosophers on what it takes to keep a long-lasting dynasty which would comprise of both a peaceful and harmonious state. The Prince purports to reflect the self-conscious political realism of an author who is fully aware—on the basis of direct experience with the Florentine government—that goodness and right are not sufficient to win and maintain political office. Machiavelli thus seeks to learn and teach the rules of political power. While Anthills of the Savannah presents to us a dictator who would

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