Frederick II failed politically because his imperial ambitions clashed with democratic forces

Evidence

Frederick, in spite of his abilities, could not have succeeded, because the antipapal forces that existed in his time were pious and democratic, whereas his aim was something like a restoration of the pagan Roman Empire. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1689

Categorization

• XREF: XREF Machiavelli and Renaissance politics
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1689