Giovanni Botero is a significant but often overlooked figure in early modern political thought. This translation of his 1589 volume, Della ragion di Stato, which first popularised the term 'reason of state', introduces Botero to a wider Anglophone audience and demonstrates his opposition to Machiavelli's seminal work, The Prince.

This highly influential anti-Machiavellian text is an important primary source for the understanding of early modern political thought.