The Prince of Pine Avenue and the Père de la Patrie: A Machiavellian Analysis of Pierre Trudeau and Rene Lévesque

Ed King¹, Charles Sancy²

¹Political Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
²Political Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ojps.2015.54024                

Abstract

This study was inspired by the remarkable number of Machiavellian references we noted in journalistic and scholarly accounts of the 1970 War Measures Act and the Québec Referendum that followed a decade later. The notion that Machiavelli’s insights in the sixteenth century might have utility for a critique of 20th century Quebecois political life seemed outrageous and we wanted to explore the validity of such associations. There’s nothing wrong with this. We wanted to see if there was more to them than the shorthand of short-cycle journalism or if they actually possessed enough analytical force to usefully illustrate aspects of that period of Quebec’s history. We discovered that the Machiavellian lens was remarkably illuminating, especially with respect to the clash of two of Quebec’s most influential personalities, Pierre Trudeau and Rene Lévesque although, with the notable exception of Denis Arcand, the connections made at the time failed to extend much beyond attempts to make ad hominum slurs against the principle actors in the drama.

Keywords

Machiavelli, Trudeau, Lévesque, Quebec Politics

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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