Which statement best summarizes the authors claim?

A cruel prince may be better for his subjects in the long run

Explanation:

The idea is that a cruel prince will have a feared ruling, so crime will be lower. If the Prince is not like that, or if the Prince is too merciful, people will not fear the Prince, therefore they might act outside of the law more often. Also, a cruel prince will more likely be seen as merciful if mercy is given from time to time in a cruel setting than if the Prince is always merciful but crimes keep happening.

id say it means hes fearful and/or cautious

have a good day

answer: this is not a good thesis statement because a thesis statement is not supposed to have questions in it. a thesis states your position on your topic. a question cannot state anything because it is not a statement. a question is a great lead in to a thesis, but it can't be the thesis.