This article examines some fundamental topics addressed by Niccolò Mac-hiavelli in his works and, above all, in his fundamental work of political thought "Prince". Among the topics covered are listed the object of political theory, the relationship between politics and morality, forms of government, the idea of sta-te unity etc. But the research focus is placed on the relationship between gover-nors, leaders, on the one hand and the governed, the people on the other. In this respect, it interprets the "aim justifies the means" associated with the expressi-on of Machiavellianism. At the same time, the article returns to the subject of the dispute on who can be considered the father of political science (Plato, Aristotle or N.Machia-velli). In this regard, it is noted that there is a difference between the general principles of politics in antiquity and in the modern and postmodern world and there are differences between the paradigms of researching politics (the para-digm of ethical-political in antiquity, the paradigm of theological-political in medieval times, while for the modern age we find the rationalist-contractualist paradigm). This study tries, not without reason, to favor, in a way, a brief analysis of elitist and neo-elitist political theory, having as a starting point N.Machiavelli's idea about the relationship between government and the people (the principle of "lion" and that of the "fox") and about the typology of leaders. It concludes that although in his work, the boundary between political science, understood from the Renaissance perspective, and traditional political philosophy is often unsta-ble and insignificant, the Florentine thinker is considered the undisputed foun-der of modern political science. Therefore N.Machiavelli is the for political thi-nking an original and pragmatic spirit by asserting an innovative discourse and a "pioneer" mind in the field of political science.