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
Machiavellianism they are distinct personality constructs. Psychopathy differs from Machiavellianism in impulsivity and a lack of self control.Machiavellianism has been found to be negatively correlated with Agreeableness ("r" = −0.47) and Conscientiousness ("r" = −0.34), two dimensions of the Big Five personality model (NEO-PI-R). However, Machiavellianism correlates more highly with the Honesty-humility dimension of the six-factor HEXACO model than with any of the Big Five dimensions. Machiavellianism has also been located within the interpersonal circumplex, which consists of the two independent dimensions of agency and communion. Agency refers to motivation to succeed and to individuate the self, whereas communion refers to