Ethan you know this one is real ! <| sep |> In response to the changing world , Niccolo Machiavelli , a Florentine political philosopher , published a series of books detailing the qualities and actions of effective rulers . In his works , The Prince , and The Art of War , Machiavelli advocated that rulers routinely employ espionage tradecraft , engaging in deception and spying to insure protection of their power and interests . Source a l m a n a c s t r a n s c r i p t s a n d m a p s e s p i o n a g e a n d i n t e l l i g e n ceearlyhistoricalAlthough I have studied The Prince and The Art of War by Machiavelli to some degree , I cannot remember specifics . Nevertheless , Machiavelli was an early and pragmatic political scientist , and also a diplomat , so I would recommend looking at the works mentioned above for some good insights of the application of espionage . Edit Formatting