"In the Realm of the Last Man: A Memoir" — Book Launch & Discussion with Francis Fukuyama
The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) invites the Stanford community to a book talk with Francis Fukuyama in celebration of his new book, In the Realm of the Last Man: A Memoir, which traces his own intellectual and personal journey against the backdrop of the last fifty years of global political history.
Fukuyama's work has shaped how a generation of scholars, students, and policymakers think about the trajectory of democratic governance, from The End of History and the Last Man through The Origins of Political Order and Political Order and Political Decay. In this memoir, he turns that same analytical lens on himself, reflecting on how his thinking about liberalism, state-building, and democratic decay has evolved alongside the events he lived through and helped interpret. Fukuyama's book offers a rare firsthand account of his research, reflection and understanding of the crisis of liberal democracy in our current political climate.
Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and former Mosbacher Director of CDDRL, will be joined by Kathryn Stoner, current Mosbacher Director of CDDRL, for a wide-ranging conversation about the memoir, his career, and what the last half-century of political change means for the future of democracy. The conversation will be followed by a brief audience Q&A.
This event continues CDDRL's tradition of bringing leading voices in democracy and development scholarship into direct dialogue with the Stanford community, and is open to faculty, students, and members of the public with an interest in comparative politics, democratic governance, and global affairs. A book signing and reception will follow the talk, offering attendees the opportunity to purchase signed copies of the memoir.
Francis Fukuyama
Kathryn Stoner
This is a hybrid event, with limited in-person availability. Guests may also attend virtually via Zoom. Registration is required.
Francis Fukuyama
Encina Hall, C148
616 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305
Francis Fukuyama is the 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, 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 book In the Realm of the Last Man: A Memoir will be published in fall 2026.
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. He is editor-in-chief of American Purpose, an online journal.
Dr. Fukuyama holds honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, Doane College, Doshisha University (Japan), Kansai University (Japan), Aarhus University (Denmark), the Pardee Rand Graduate School, and Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland). 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 2025)
