For a Machiavellian ruler, is abdication an option?

Question

For a Machiavellian ruler, is abdication an option?

Answer 1

If abdication preserves your life, absolutely.  If the only options are death and an overthrow of your rule, or abdication and overthrow of your rule, then the most pragmatic decision is to preserve your life and then work to regain power.  Death is permanent, that is why it is such a useful tool.  Nothing else can be described as such.  It might take a lifetime, but you can regain your throne.  That cannot be accomplished if you are dead.

A truly Machiavellian ruler, however, is unlikely to be afforded such mercy by his overthrowers.  A prime example is Saddam Hussein, who fits the bill better than anyone we've seen in a long time.  For him, abdication was not an option, as he would have been put to death whether he gave up peacefully or had to be pulled out of a spider hole 6 months after the fall of his city.  Even if he had been allowed to live he would have been either imprisoned or exiled for life.  Machiavellian rule begets Machiavellian revolution.  But Mary, Queen of Scots, abdicated and was then imprisoned.  She was put to death because she was working to regain her power.  So if it's an option, it's the option to take.

Answer 2

NO.

TINYSKY_52 should wade into the philosophy section with a bit more trepidation.  Perspective is the anchor of all of mankind, save for the philosophical, for whom it is the whimsy.  All we have is our own perspective, even if we think we're taking an objective approach to the question.  I say this in that sympathy towards TINY's PERSPECTIVE is my inclination. Yet, try as the unphilosophical might, they can never wholly answer a question such as this.

The example of Saddam Hussein perfectly demonstrates this point.  Once his reign was forced to an end, he'd proven himself to be decidedly NOT Machiavellian.  A true Machiavellian ruler would never be forced to abdicate, for he would always be one step ahead of his detractors.

Abdication never needs to be considered, consequently, for the Machiavellian who is truly thus.