What does Machiavelli mean by “the fox” and “the lion”?

Why do political
leaders require a measure of both? Which political leader has both?

“A prince must know how to make use of the nature of the beast, he should choose from among the beasts
the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot defend itself from traps, while the fox cannot protect itself from the
wolves. It is therefore necessary to be a fox, in order to recognize the traps, and a lion, in order to frighten
the wolves.”1

The book ‘The Prince’ was written nearly five hundred years ago, but it relates strongly
to modern day politics and human nature. Take for example the above quote, which
depicts what Machiavelli thought would make a good, effective leader: someone who is
smart enough to foresee traps and react, but at the same time, who has force and is not
afraid to use it when the time calls for it. This essay will demonstrate why such qualities
continue to be essential to modern day leaders in international relations and describe
further the analogy of the fox and the lion in order to examine why political leaders
require both.

In the eyes of Machiavelli, a leader will have a different moral code to follow to that of
ordinary citizens.2 A leader has to be willing to not only win his state, but to maintain it
and protect it from foreign and internal threats. Therefore, a leader “should not depart
from the good if it is possible to do so, but... should know how to enter into evil when
forced by necessity.”3 To do this, a leader has to have the wit of the fox and the strength
of the lion. A fox is a cunning animal that avoids traps, but alone, it cannot fend off a
pack of wolves. A lion, on the other hand, is a brave, strong animal but without the wit of
the fox, it cannot outsmart its enemies. Needless to say, force alone does not guarantee
one’s claim of power. As Michel Foucault argued four hundred years later: individuals are
not simply recipients of power, but the 'place' where power is enacted and resisted.4 This
resistance is part of power and brings about its transformation, which is why it is crucial
to be a fox, because the qualities of a fox will allow one to avoid falling into the traps of
1
Niccolo Machiavelli, translated by Bondanella P., 'How a Prince Should Keep His Word', in The Prince, Oxford
University Press, United Kingdom, 2008, ch. XVIII, p. 60.
2
Ibid, pp. xxxiii-xxxv.
3
Ibid, p. 61.
4
Sara Mills, 'Power and Institutions', in Michel Foucault, Routledge, London, 2003, pp. 33- 42.

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resistance and losing power.

To this day, if a leader wants to maintain his position of power, he should not solely be a
lion. It is unwise to use force in every situation, for instance, a leader should avoid always
threatening another state with nuclear weapons in times of disagreement. North Korea is
notorious for employing this strategy, which is the reason it will never have a seat on the
United Nations Security Council. This is a state which lacks the wit of the fox. It is feared
by some and hated by many for its lack of kindness and diplomacy. In the short period
between being declared in possession of nuclear weapons in 2006 and now, Kim Jong-un
has already threatened to use them against the U.S.5 6 This is a country that has the
recklessness and the force of the lion, but lacks the qualities of the fox, namely:
diplomacy, negotiation and political planning. Reflecting back on Machiavelli’s work,
such attributes are essential in maintaining political power.

In contrast, simply relying on wit is not sufficient to keeping power. Reflecting on a

realist thought: without one world government, the world is in a state of anarchy, ergo- a
state is constantly faced by threats from other states and so must have a standing army
ready to defend itself against possible aggressors.7 Humans are self-interested, selfish
beings that lust for power, and so there will always be a threat of political overthrow. To
use as example Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941: had Stalin not
industrialized the nation at the speed that he had, the nation’s military would not have
been able to fight back the Nazi troops, who were better prepared mentally, physically
and militarily.8 Had the Soviets not undergone the rapid industrialization and
militarization of their time, the Soviet Union would have reached a devastating end.
Instead, Stalin initially played the fox, he entered into the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in
1939, knowing full well that Hitler intended to invade the Soviet Union at one point or
another.9 He did so to stall for time and prepare for the impeding invasion when he’d
5
Nuclear Threat Initiative, 'North Korea', Washington, 03/2016.
6
Huffington Post, 'North Korea Says ‘War May Break Out At Any Moment’ As It Cuts Dialogue Channel', 27/03/2013.
7
Jack Donnelly, 'The Realist Tradition' in Realism and International Relations, Cambridge University Press, United
Kingdom, 2000, pp. 9-10.
8
Omer Bartov, 'The Demodernization of the Front', in Hitler's Army, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1992, ch. 1, pp.
15-16.
9
Prit Buttar, 'Molotov, Ribbentrop and the First Soviet Occupation', in Between Giants: The battle for the Baltics in
World War II, Osprey Publishing, 2015, ch. 1, pp. 19-20.

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need to demonstrate his skills as a lion, which were absolutely crucial in order for Russia
to have won that war.10

Looking at the world today, Vladimir Putin stands out as a leader in possession of both
qualities. With the wit of the fox, he talks his way into being respected and adored by
countless across the world. With the prowess of the lion, he keeps away opposition and
invading forces. With the wit of the fox, he justified his invasion of Crimea in 2014,
claiming that the citizens of Crimea wanted to leave Ukraine and join Russia, that they
begged Putin for help in gaining independence and making their own democratic choice
to switch alliances. Even the execution of the coup d’etat itself was a smooth infiltration
mission, rather than a violent take-over, which in itself is an action of the fox.11 And
though many countries today disagree on the legality of Russia’s military presence in
Crimea, many individuals all over social media and nationalities support Putin, which
demonstrates how cunning and intelligent he is in his selection of words.12 On the other
hand, not a single country attacked Russia over Crimea or sent their own forces to the
region.13 That is because Putin has a powerful military and over 7,700 nuclear warheads
in his arsenal, a force too dangerous to reckon with.14 This demonstrates his power as a
lion: a leader that can fend off a pack of other alphas.

The Chechen war is another example. In the years 1994-1996, the previous president of
Russia, Yeltsin, tried to subdue the Chechens through the force of a lion15. When the
Chechens could not be subdued, Yeltsin resigned before the elections for second term and
gave his presidency to Putin.16 Confronted with the same problem, instead of relying
solely on the characteristics of the lion, Putin employed characteristics of the fox. Instead
of fighting a war and then leaving the country battered and beaten, only furthering the
hostility Chechnya already had towards Russia, he invested billions of dollars into the
10
Ibid.
11
John Simpson, 'Russia's Crimea plan detailed, secret and successful.', in BBC News, 19/03/2014.
12
Luke Harding, Shaun Walker, 'Crimea applies to be part of Russian Federation after vote to leave Ukraine', in the
Guardian, 17/03/14.
13
Ibid.
14
Daryl Kimball, 'Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance', in Arms Control Association, 23/05/2014, updated:
10/2015.
15
Matthew Evangelista, 'Introduction', in The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the Soviet Union?, The
Bookings Institution, Washington, 2002, p. 1.
16
Ibid, pp. 64-65.

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Chechen economy, transforming a war torn Grozny into a blossoming metropolis.17 In
doing so, Putin transformed an enemy into a powerful ally. Such an action demonstrates
his skills as a fox.

Machiavelli’s ‘Prince’ is a five hundred year old book, but it relates more than ever to
today’s international relations. His analogy of “the fox” and “the lion” and how both
attributes are an essential element of being a leader stand true to this day. As Machiavelli
said, one cannot be solely the fox, for a leader with no force cannot defend his nation;
while on the contrary, one cannot be solely a lion, for a leader with no wit cannot avoid
traps set by opposition or get ahead of the endless game for power.

References:

Bartov Omer, 'The Demodernization of the Front', in Hitler's Army, Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 1992, ch. 1, pp. 15-16.

Buttar Prit, 'Molotov, Ribbentrop and the Frst Soviet Occupation', in Between Giants:
The battle for the Baltics in World War II, Osprey Publishing, 2015, ch. 1, pp. 19-20.

Donnelly Jack, 'The Realist Tradition' in Realism and International Relations, Cambridge
University Press, United Kingdom, 2000, pp. 9-10.

Evangelista Matthew, 'Introduction', in The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the
Soviet Union?, The Bookings Institution, Washington, 2002, pp. 1, 64-65.

17
Jonathan Steele, 'Putin shows how it's done - Defeats terrorism by investing billions in Chechnya', in The Guardian,
30/09/2008.

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Harding Luke, Walker Shaun, 'Crimea applies to be part of Russian Federation after vote
to leave Ukraine', in the Guardian, 17/03/14, seen at:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/17/ukraine-crimea-russia-referendum-
complain-result [date of visit: 17/03/16]

Huffington Post, 'North Korea Says ‘War May Break Out At Any Moment’ As It Cuts
Dialogue Channel', 27/03/2013, seen at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/north-korea-war-may-break-out-at-any-time-
cuts-dialogue-channel_n_2961324.html [date of visit: 17/03/16]

Kimball Daryl, 'Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance', in Arms Control
Association, 23/05/2014, updated: 10/2015, seen at:
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat [date of visit:
20/03/16]

Machiavelli Niccolo, translated by Bondanella P., 'How a Prince Should Keep His Word',
in The Prince, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, 2008, ch. XVIII, pp. xxxiii-
xxxv, 60-62.

Mills Sara, 'Power and Institutions', in Michel Foucault, Routledge, London, 2003, pp.
33-42.

Nuclear Threat Initiative, 'North Korea', Washington, March 2016, can be seen at:
http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/north-korea/ [date of visit: 21/03/16]

Simpson John, 'Russia's Crimea plan detailed, secret and successful.', in BBC News,
19/03/2014, seen at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26644082 [date of visit:
20/03/16]

Steele Jonathan, 'Putin shows how it's done - Defeats terrorism by investing billions in
Chechnya', in The Guardian, 30/09/2008, seen at:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/sep/30/russia.chechnya [date of visit:
23/03/16]