Francis Fukuyama is one of the most influential political thinkers of our time. His famous 1989 essay, The End of History? – written as the Berlin Wall fell and communism collapsed – posed a provocative idea: that Western liberal democracy had triumphed over ideology, and that it might be the “final form of human government”.

Over three decades later in 2026, the world looks almost unrecognisable. Russia’s war in Ukraine accelerated a fracturing of the liberal rules-based order. The President of the United States has attacked Venezuela and Iran without seeking Congressional approval, UN Security Council backing or even building a coalition. And throughout the world polarisation, populism and authoritarianism have become potent threats to social order. 

On September 3, Fukuyama comes to Intelligence Squared to reflect on the seismic political events that are shaping our world. Join one of our most provocative thinkers live at Union Chapel, as he discusses the themes of his new political memoir, In The Realm of the Last Man, presents an urgent study of contemporary politics and explores how the West can revitalise its democracies.

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