Introduction Niccolò Bernardo di Machiavelli is one of the venerated political leaders cum philosophers of the Renaissance period. One of his renowned works is the Prince, which underscores the Machiavellian political philosophy. In this book, Machiavelli digresses from the conventional monarchical princes and explores the possibility of a new prince rising to the throne of rulership. The Machiavellian political philosophy adopts the consequentialist normative theory, where the end justifies the means. Therefore, according to Machiavelli, a leader has to do whatever is necessary to remain in power regardless of who it hurts. In other words, the Machiavellian political philosophy advocates authoritarianism, whereby the ruler has the final say. In this sense, politics is not for the weak-hearted, as the king has to be brutal in a bid to remain in power. In light of this argument, in Machiavelli’s thoughts, moral corruption forms the order for a king to stabilize his power. Unfortunately, the majority of leaders and especially in the developing world, view politics through the Machiavellian political philosophy, which explains the bloodshed being witnessed in most of these nations. In some parts of Africa, presidents rule for over three decades through manipulation and elimination of they that disagree with the government of the day. This paper explores the nature of politics in the political philosophy of Machiavelli by looking into the virtues of leadership, objectives of states, political ends, and the role of the state relative to its citizens. In conclusion, the paper compares Machiavelli to Aristotle. Virtues of leadership Machiavelli highlights some virtues of leadership, even though some are unconventional. Princes or leaders should not uphold the highest moral standards in the land. On the contrary, they must know what is right and wrong and use it for their own good. A moral weakness should not be upbraided if it assists a nation towards protecting the prince. On the other hand, any harmful virtue should be discarded for the sake of the king and the nation. In essence, virtues of leadership should be defined by their efficacy; that is, if they benefit the prince and the state, they should be embraced, but if they do not, they should be sacrificed. However, he warns leaders to be frugal as indulgence and wastefulness would affect one’s grip on power. According to Machiavelli, leaders should instill fear even if they attract hate for the same. He wonders whether one should be “loved than feared or feared than loved” (Machiavelli, 79). To this question, he notes that it is prudent for a leader to have both. In a recap, Machiavelli advocates virtues that will protect the prince, and thus, leaders should exercise virtues, as they deem necessary. He notes, “How praiseworthy it is for a prince to keep his word and live with integrity rather than by craftiness…yet we see from recent experience that those princes have accomplished most who paid little heed to keeping their promises, but who knew how to manipulate the minds of men craftily” (Machiavelli, 83). Therefore, from the Machiavellian perspective, virtues of leadership are conditional and they should be applied as the situation demands provided they protect the leader. Objectives of state According to Machiavelli, the key objective of the st