(Note:  At the instructor's request, the date of the class has been changed from July 7 to August 11.) From Great Britain to Germany and Japan to Vietnam, enemy nations that have fought wars with the United States have subsequently become close friends, allies or economic partners, as if past hostilities didn't matter as they embarked on a later courtship. Some countries are still estranged and continue to share deep hatred for one another long after a major conflict---think India and Paklistan. This lecture explains why the U.S. prefers a forgive-and-forget foreign policy.

The name Niccolò Machiavelli brings to mind a figure with a reputation for cunning and deceit. It is not surprising, therefore, that this shrewd commentator on the nature of political power should turn his analytical skills on the art of war as well. For he lived in tumultuous times, when his country was a battleground for aggressive foreign powers. At least in part, his writings reflected what he saw as the lamentable state of affairs in Italy; so, to broaden our understanding of this iconic writer and political thinker, we must look at the conditions in Italy at the end of the 15th Century, and the political and military circumstances that inspired Machiavelli’s thoughts and his writings.