Democracy Paradox

Author: Justin Kempf

Is it possible for a democracy to govern undemocratically? Can the people elect an undemocratic leader? Is it possible for democracy to bring about authoritarianism? And if so, what does this say about democracy? My name is Justin Kempf. Every week I talk to the brightest minds on subjects like international relations, political theory, and history to explore democracy from every conceivable angle. Topics like civil resistance, authoritarian successor parties, and the autocratic middle class challenge our ideas about democracy. Join me as we unravel new topics every week.
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Francis Fukuyama Reflects on the End of History and His Legacy
Episode 29
Tuesday, 27 October, 2026

I'm not sure that that understanding of American exceptionalism is that powerful and that the United States may be a much more ordinary kind of democracy than I used to think.Francis FukuyamaFrancis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), a faculty member of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), and Director of Stanford's Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy. He's the author of a dozen books including The End of History and the Last Man, The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution, and Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy. His most recent book is In the Realm of the Last Man.The Democracy Paradox is made in partnership with the Kellogg Institute of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. Read the full transcript here.Key HighlightsIntroduction - 0:20Realm of The Last Man - 4:20After the Neocons - 12:54Statebuilding - 19:23Political Decay - 36:14Links:Learn more about Francis Fukuyama.Learn more about his memoir In the Realm of the Last Man (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2026).Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.Apes of the State created all MusicEmail comments or questions to jkempf@democracyparadox.comSupport the show