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
Stefan Fröhlich (political scientist) Stefan Fröhlich (political scientist) Stefan Fröhlich (born 1958 in Bonn, Germany) is a German political scientist and professor for International Relations at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Emphasis in his work is on German foreign policy, transatlantic relations and US foreign policy, European foreign and security policy, and International Political Economy. From 1979 till 1985 Fröhlich studied political science, English studies, Hispanism and economics in Bonn, Paris, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. Afterwards he worked as research associate for the German Bundestag till 1989 and as assistant lecturer in the Institute for Political Science at the University of Bonn (1989–1994). After he completed