A comparative analysis of plato's and kautilya's approach of the ideal state

The works put forward by thinkers, philosophers and statesmen about what qualities the ideal state should have and how it should be managed are among the most important sources of political science. It is possible to evaluate these works, which directly reflect the conditions of the period in which they were written, the experience and worldview of their authors, under two categories. In the works in the first category, a philosophical and sometimes utopian approach has been put forward regarding how the state should be, regardless of whether the ideal state design will be realized or not. In the works in the second category, the most ideal state design, which is likely to be realized, has been tried to be revealed based on the state experiences that have been or are being lived. In this study, the works named The Republic (Plato) and Arthashastra (Kautilya), which are the two closest examples of these two categories chronologically, are examined by subjecting them to a mutual analysis. The subject of the study is the comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between the ideas about the origin of the state, the ideal state, the ideal administrator and the ideal form of government in both works.