Reviews for
The Art of Power: Machiavelli, Nietzsche,
and the Making of Aesthetic Political Theory
"Diego A. von Vacano's book fills an important hole in political theory literature. If one can say that
Machiavelli inaugurates a certain modern conception of politics, one can also say that Nietzsche
announces and analyzes its limits and its end. Von Vacano shows that both thinkers share a similar
conception of the political and of human agency. The analyses are always sharp and the argument is clear
and convincing. If, as Burckhardt argued, the state can be thought of as a work of art, von Vacano shows
us what this actually entails. He also shows us why Nietzsche has to be understood as having a conception
of and concern for the political."—Tracy B. Strong, University of California, San Diego
". . . von Vacano has broken valuable ground, exhibits intimacy with a wide sweep of Western political
thought, and marries Nietzsche to his beloved Niccolò (at long last!) by way of the book's greatest
strength: close, novel interpretations of paired texts mined productively to illuminate one another."—
Political Theory Journal
"At last a book that focuses not on how politics ought to be but on how politics is through the guidance of
two excellent mentors: Machiavelli and Nietzsche."—Maurizio Viroli, Princeton University
"An interpretation of Machiavelli and Nietzsche that is crucial for understanding the post–9/11 universe.
The link between modern atheism, aesthetic political theory, and the sense of the tragic is drawn with force
and clarity. Diego von Vacano has made a major contribution to contemporary political thinking."—
Anthony Parel, University of Calgary
"The Art of Power is a provocative study that incites readers to consider the place of spectacle and
aesthetic experience in the political writings of Machiavelli—and therefore, modern politics, as well."—John
P. McCormick, University of Chicago
