The article, “In Kazakhstan, Clinton Defends Openness, but Condemns Diplomatic Cable Leaks” can be very closely related to the concept of statesmanship in, The Prince by Machiavelli.
Machiavelli places a great deal of emphasis on military in The Prince, and how important it is to have a sound military in order to run a country. However he also discusses how to maintain relations with neighboring cities. Diplomacy and international relations are very important as a leader because it is what gives you power over another country. For example in the NY Times article, Hilary Clinton went to Kazakhstan to speak about openness and the spread of democracy. She also mentioned the wiki leaks that came out and addressed them with confidence. One of the parliament members stated, “It’s a confirmation of American leadership in global political issues.” It is one thing to be a ruler it is another thing to be a leader. Because of the U.S.’s ability to conduct diplomacy and maintain there relations with other countries, it makes them feared and makes it seem like they have leadership qualities they may not necessarily have. According to Machiavelli, having leadership qualities is not nearly as important as appearing to have leadership qualities. “it is not necessary, then for a prince to have of the qualities mentioned above, but it is certainly necessary that he appear to have them.” (C, 237) In the eyes of Machiavelli, maintaining a desirable public image is extremely important for leaders and this is exactly what Hilary Clinton does when she goes to Kazakhstan and speaks to the people there. Because the majority of the world recognizes political leaders through what the media tells them, maintaining a desirable public image is more important now than ever before.
