francis fukuyama: the end of history revisited

Francis Fukuyama's seminal book The End of History and the Last Man became an icon of American and western intellectual self-confidence after the cold war. Since then, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the "war on terror" have happened. Fukuyama and his critics examine what remains of the argument.
Monday 15th November

Time for the human approach

Mary Kaldor and Javier Solana, 15 November 2010
Dmitry Medvedev’s proposal for a new post-cold war security order offers a significant opportunity for the world. But both the West and Russia need to move on from conventional security logic, and think in terms of the human, argue Mary Kaldor and Javier Solana.
Thursday 24th August

The 'end of history' symposium: a response

Francis Fukuyama, 24 August 2006
An openDemocracy symposium on Francis Fukuyama's work features leading critics who question the arguments of the renowned author's new afterword to "The End of History and the Last Man".
Wednesday 7th June

Which Fukuyama?

Shadia Drury, 7 June 2006
Francis Fukuyama is caught between the triumphalism of Kant, Hegel, and Marx, and the despair of Nietzsche, Heidegger and Kojève, says Shadia Drury.
Wednesday 31st May

The trouble with Islam, the European Union - and Francis Fukuyama

Roger Scruton, 31 May 2006
Francis Fukuyama's historicism fails to accommodate two contemporary political realities and in the process misunderstands history itself, says Roger Scruton.
Monday 29th May

The modernisation myth

Gavin Kitching, 29 May 2006
The determinism of Francis Fukuyama's reheated modernisation theory does not fit the historical experience of the contemporary middle east, says Gavin Kitching.
Wednesday 24th May

The beginning of a history

Vinay Lal, 24 May 2006
Francis Fukuyama's claims of universalism are belied by his unawareness of wider debates about modern knowledge systems, argues Vinay Lal.
Monday 22nd May

The logic of a blocked history

Stephen Holmes, 22 May 2006
Francis Fukuyama's ascription to history of a plot and climax is implausible, but the grain of his work is freshly relevant to the post-9/11 world, says Stephen Holmes.
Wednesday 17th May

The intoxications of history

Charles S Maier, 17 May 2006
Francis Fukuyama's welcome revision of his argument leaves its homogenising, simplifying impulses untouched. Charles S Maier is unpersuaded.
Monday 15th May

The end of history and the long march of secularisation

Olivier Roy, 15 May 2006
The Muslim world is witnessing a gradual recasting of Islam in the framework of democracy, says Olivier Roy.
Thursday 11th May

Fukuyama's crossroads: the poetics of location

David Scott, 11 May 2006
The American triumphalism of Francis Fukuyama's work is encoded in its key concepts, writes David Scott.
Tuesday 9th May

Politico-religious cults and the 'end of history'

Saad Eddin Ibrahim, 9 May 2006
The Muslim world's encounter with modernity is a dislocating process that may prove fatal to theocrats and autocrats alike, says Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
Sunday 7th May

The end of history, or history all over again?

Anthony Pagden, 7 May 2006
The institutions of liberal democracy may have to change for its values to be sustained, writes Anthony Pagden.
Thursday 4th May

A single history?

Talal Asad, 4 May 2006
Francis Fukuyama's defence of the universalism of western values and institutions is challenged by modern global political realities, says Talal Asad.
Tuesday 2nd May

A state of decay

Saskia Sassen, 2 May 2006
Francis Fukuyama's vision falls short of recognising how the deficits in liberal democracy are being generated from within, says Saskia Sassen.
Monday 1st May

The 'end of history' revisited: Francis Fukuyama and his critics

Danny Postel, 1 May 2006
Francis Fukuyama's renowned argument about universal history and liberal democracy remains a source of dispute. openDemocracy is publishing the author's new Afterword to "The End of History and the Last Man", followed by reflections from international thinkers on this seminal work. Here, Danny Postel introduces Fukuyama's essay and the symposium.

After the 'end of history'

Francis Fukuyama, 1 May 2006
Francis Fukuyama's "end of history" thesis – proposed in a 1989 essay, elaborated in a 1992 book – was the most influential attempt to make sense of the post-cold-war world. In a new afterword to "The End of History and the Last Man", Fukuyama reflects on how his ideas have survived the tides of criticism and political change.
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