Francis Fukuyama is one of the world’s most influential political thinkers and public intellectuals. His landmark 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man, published in more than 20 foreign editions, established him as a defining voice on democracy, political order and the evolution of modern societies. His subsequent books, including Trust, The Origins of Political Order, Political Order and Political Decay, Identity, and Liberalism and Its Discontents, have explored the institutions, ideas, and social forces that underpin prosperous, stable societies. His book In the Realm of the Last Man: A Memoir will be published in the fall of 2026.

Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Director of the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy, and a faculty member of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. His career has spanned academia, public policy and government, including positions at the RAND Corporation and the Policy Planning Staff of the US Department of State.

His work today encompasses democracy and governance, institutional development, political identity, technology’s impact on society, and the changing international order. He is editor-in-chief of American Purpose, received his B.A. from Cornell University in classics, and holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University.