Niccolo Machiavelli: realism and humanism in the political theory

The article has two purposes. The first one is to confront the political theory conceived by Niccolo Machiavelli with the European humanist tradition. The second one is to identify the originality and radicalism of his political thought. In this sense, it is clear that the political theory he built innovates to confront the possibilities and potentials of human action with real situations. Inserted in this context, the political actions acquires a new meaning: instead of being conceived based on abstract moral paradigms, they are identified in social responsible acts of a political human been, the Prince.