person1980s-present

Francis Fukuyama

Disciplines:

Summary

American political scientist who declared the end of history — the triumph of liberal democracy — in 1989, and has spent subsequent decades writing about political order and identity.

Core Contribution

The End of History and the Last Man: with the collapse of communism, liberal democracy is the final form of human government — no ideological alternative remains. Trust: social capital and economic performance. The Origins of Political Order (2 vols): a comparative history of political institutions. Identity: the politics of recognition and the crisis of liberalism.

Key Spikes & Highlights

The End of History thesis was published in 1989 and has been 'refuted' by events ever since — yet Fukuyama maintains that the absence of a credible ideological alternative to liberal democracy confirms rather than denies his thesis.
Was a signatory of the Project for the New American Century, supporting the Iraq War — and subsequently repudiated that position, publishing America at the Crossroads as a critique of neoconservatism.

Notable Works & Achievements

The End of History and the Last Man

Trust

The Origins of Political Order

Identity

Historical Influences

Alexandre Kojève Samuel Huntington

Intellectual Lineage

Straussian Political Philosophy Liberal Political Theory

Contemporaries & Peers

Samuel Huntington Robert Kagan

Minds Influenced

Liberal Internationalism Post-Cold War Political Thought

Intellectual Posterity

End of History Thesis

Discussing