Political opportunism Political opportunism Political opportunism refers to the attempt to maintain political support, or increase political influence, in a way which disregards relevant ethical or political principles. The political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli as described in "The Prince" is often regarded as a classic manual of opportunist scheming, and indeed a "Machiavellian" is nowadays defined as "a cunning, amoral, and opportunist person, especially a politician". Political opportunism is interpreted in different ways, but usually refers to one or more of the following: Typically, opportunist political behavior is criticized for being short-sighted or narrow-minded. That is, in the urge to make short-term
Robert Bates (political scientist) Robert Bates (political scientist) Robert Hinrichs Bates (born 1942) is an American political scientist. He is Eaton Professor of the Science of Government in the Departments of Government and African and African American Studies at Harvard University. From 2000-2012, he served as Professeur associe, School of Economics, University of Toulouse. After graduating from Haverford College in 1964, Bates took his Ph.D. in Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has also studied anthropology (at Manchester University and the School of Oriental and African Studies) and economics (at Stanford University) at the graduate level. He joined the faculty of