Leading by fear and by love: Niccolò Machiavelli and the enlightened despotism of the Marquis of Pombal in the eighteenth century Portugal

This study adopts a historical perspective analysis to identify the thought on leadership in the eighteenth-century Portugal. The paper empirically analyses a letter sent from the Portuguese eighteenth-century Minister Marquis of Pombal to the Governor of Maranhão (currently Brazil), about 'the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Management & organizational history : M&OH Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 374 - 390
Main Author:	Lopes, Miguel Pereira
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Routledge 02-10-2017
Subjects:	Enlightened Despotism Jesuits Leadership Machiavelli Marquis of Pombal Portugal and Brazil
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	This study adopts a historical perspective analysis to identify the thought on leadership in the eighteenth-century Portugal. The paper empirically analyses a letter sent from the Portuguese eighteenth-century Minister Marquis of Pombal to the Governor of Maranhão (currently Brazil), about 'the art of good leadership'. A grounded theory analysis to the letter content found evidence that the enlightened despotism of the Marquis of Pombal can be interpreted as a later echo of the thought of Niccolò Machiavelli. The paper ends by presenting a typology of leadership for paradoxical times and discussing the influence of Machiavelli's thought in the eighteenth-century debate on religion and enlightenment, as well as the critical role his ideas might play in today's VUCA world.
ISSN:	1744-9359 1744-9367
DOI:	10.1080/17449359.2017.1397027