Francis Fukuyama

Francis Fukuyama

Francis Fukuyama

  • Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
  • Director of the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy
  • Research Affiliate at The Europe Center
  • Professor by Courtesy, Department of Political Science

Encina Hall, C148
616 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305

Biography

Francis Fukuyama is Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and a faculty member of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). He is also Director of Stanford's Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy Program, and a professor (by courtesy) of Political Science.

Dr. Fukuyama has written widely on issues in development and international politics. His 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man, has appeared in over twenty foreign editions. His most recent book,  Liberalism and Its Discontents, was published in the spring of 2022.

Francis Fukuyama received his B.A. from Cornell University in classics, and his Ph.D. from Harvard in Political Science. He was a member of the Political Science Department of the RAND Corporation and of the Policy Planning Staff of the US Department of State. From 1996-2000 he was Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Professor of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, and from 2001-2010 he was Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. He served as a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics from 2001-2004.  

Dr. Fukuyama holds honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, Doane College, Doshisha University (Japan), Kansai University (Japan), Aarhus University (Denmark), and the Pardee Rand Graduate School. He is a non-resident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rand Corporation, the Board of Trustees of Freedom House, and the Board of the Volcker Alliance. He is a fellow of the National Academy for Public Administration, a member of the American Political Science Association, and of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is married to Laura Holmgren and has three children.

(October 2024)

publications

Case Studies
April 2015

Gifford Pinchot and Sustainable Forest Management

Author(s)
cover link Gifford Pinchot and Sustainable Forest Management

Current research

In The News

A red pedestrian traffic light in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
News

Stanford Scholar Issues Call to Action to Protect and Reform the U.S. Civil Service

A new working group led by Francis Fukuyama seeks to protect and reform the U.S. civil service by promoting nonpartisan, effective, and adaptable workforce practices while opposing politicization efforts like "Schedule F."
cover link Stanford Scholar Issues Call to Action to Protect and Reform the U.S. Civil Service
Medellin, Colombia
News

Module 4 of CDDRL’s “Solving Public Policy Problems” Online Course Out Now

This module examines the problem of informality within small businesses in Medellin, Colombia. Through this case study, students will learn why informality is a problem in developing countries and how they can employ a causal map to develop a set of theories of change for addressing policy problems.
cover link Module 4 of CDDRL’s “Solving Public Policy Problems” Online Course Out Now
Gifford Pinchot
News

Module 3 of CDDRL’s “Solving Public Policy Problems” Online Course Out Now

This single-video module examines the case of Gifford Pinchot and Sustainable Forest Management. Through this case study, students will gain a better understanding of how good communication is important for persuading stakeholders that a reform objective is both achievable and beneficial.
cover link Module 3 of CDDRL’s “Solving Public Policy Problems” Online Course Out Now