Kauṭilya, answered from the texts and cited to the page.
The conqueror stands at the centre of a circle of kings, and the whole of foreign policy follows from where each king stands in relation to him. The king of good character, well furnished with the elements of sovereignty and the fountain of policy, is the conqueror. The king situated anywhere immediately on the circumference of his territory is the enemy.
The king close to the enemy but separated from the conqueror only by that enemy is the friend.1 The enmity is one of position, not of hatred: two kings who share a border want the same land. From these three the rest of the circle is laid out. In front of the conqueror come his friend, then the enemy's friend, then the friend's friend in turn.
Behind him stand the rearward enemy, the rearward friend, and the allies of each.2 Beyond them are two kings who hold the balance. The Madhyama king, who lies close to both the conqueror and his immediate enemy, can help either, united or disunited, or resist either alone. The neutral king, who lies beyond all of them and is very powerful, can help or resist any of them.
These are the twelve primary kings.3 I distinguish kinds of enmity and friendship so that the calculation is not crude. An enemy of equal birth on the border is a natural enemy; one who merely stands against the conqueror and breeds enemies for him is a factitious enemy. A friendship inherited from father and grandfather is natural; one courted for self-maintenance is acquired.4
A neighbouring foe of considerable power is simply an enemy. When he falls into calamity or evil ways he becomes assailable; with little or no help he becomes destructible; with some help he deserves only to be harassed or reduced.5 The count of the elements follows. The conqueror, his friend and his friend's friend are the three primary kings of one circle, and each holds five elements of sovereignty, the minister, the country, the fort, the treasury and the army, besides himself.
So a circle has eighteen elements. With the enemy, the Madhyama and the neutral king each at the centre of a circle of their own, there are four primary circles, twelve kings, sixty elements of sovereignty and seventy-two elements of states.6 The figure of the wheel is exact: the conqueror throws the circumference beyond his friends' territory, makes those kings the spokes, and makes himself the nave.7
The circle is the source of the six forms of policy, which I set out in the seventh book. Peace is agreement with pledges, war is offensive operation, neutrality is indifference, marching is preparation, alliance is seeking another's protection, and the double policy is peace with one and war with another. Which to use depends on strength: whoever is inferior makes peace, whoever is superior wages war, whoever can neither hurt nor be hurt stays quiet, whoever has the means marches, whoever cannot defend himself seeks protection, and whoever needs help to reach an end makes peace with one and war with another.8
The circle is also worked in practice. Against a Madhyama who has grown haughty, the conqueror tells the circle of states that he aims at their destruction and that they should combine and interrupt his march. If they favour him, he puts the Madhyama down. If not, he helps his own friend with men and money and wins over, by conciliation and gifts, a second king, which doubles his power, and a third, which trebles it.9
Even his friends are handled by the same measure: a friend must not be allowed to deteriorate, nor to grow so strong that he is no longer obedient. The one who knows how the six policies depend on one another plays at his pleasure with kings bound, as it were, in chains of his own devising.10
The king who is situated anywhere immediately on the circumference of the conqueror's territory is termed the enemy. The king who is likewise situated close to the enemy, but separated from the conqueror only by the enemy, is termed the friend (of the conqueror).Arthasastra
In the rear of the conqueror, there happen to be situated a rearward enemy (parshnigraha), a rearward friend (akranda), an ally of the rearward enemy (parshnigrahasara), and an ally of the rearward friend (akrandasara).Arthasastra
The king who occupies a territory close to both the conqueror and his immediate enemy in front and who is capable of helping both the kings, whether united or disunited, or of resisting either of them individually is termed a Madhyama (mediatory) king.Arthasastra
That foe who is equally of high birth and occupies a territory close to that of the conqueror is a natural enemy; while he who is merely antagonistic and creates enemies to the conqueror is a factitious enemy.Arthasastra
A neighbouring foe of considerable power is styled an enemy; and when he is involved in calamities or has taken himself to evil ways, he becomes assailable; and when he has little or no help, he becomes destructible.Arthasastra
Thus there are four primary Circles of States, twelve kings, sixty elements of sovereignty, and seventy-two elements of states.Arthasastra
Throwing the circumference of the Circle of States beyond his friends' territory, and making the kings of those states as the spokes of that circle, the conqueror shall make himself as the nave of that circle.Arthasastra
Whoever is inferior to another shall make peace with him; whoever is superior in power shall wage war; whoever thinks, 'No enemy can hurt me, nor am I strong enough to destroy my enemy,' shall observe neutrality.Arthasastra
Let us therefore combine and interrupt his march.... by winning over a second (king), he should double his own power; by securing a third, he should treble his own power.Arthasastra
Whoever thus knows the inter-dependence of the six kinds of policy plays at his pleasure with kings, bound round, as it were, in chains skilfully devised by himself.Arthasastra