On States won by the new ruler’s own forces and abilities

…nothing is harder to organize, more likely to fail, or more dangerous to see through, than the introduction of a new system of government. The person bringing in the changes will make enemies of everyone who was doing well under the old system, while the people who stand to gain from the new arrangements will not offer whole-hearted support, partly because they are afraid of their opponents, who still have the laws on their side, and partly because people are naturally skeptical: no one really believes in change until they have solid experience of it. So as soon as the opponents of the new system see a chance, they’ll go on the offenseive with the determination of an embattled faction, while the supporters will offer only half-hearted resistance, something that will put the new rulers’s position at risk too.

…on top of everything else we must remember that it is easy to convince people of something, but hard to keep them convinced. So when they stop believing in you, you must be in a position to force them to believe.”

-Niccoló Machiavelli on States won by the new ruler’s own forces and abilities