Did History End? Assessing the Fukuyama Thesis.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read Online Read More Add to Saved list
  • Author(s): MUELLER, JOHN
  • Source:
    Political Science Quarterly (Oxford University Press / USA). Spring2014, Vol. 129 Issue 1, p35-54. 20p.
  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
      FUKUYAMA, Francis, 1952-; DEMOCRACY; POSTCOMMUNISM; PHILOSOPHY of history; QAIDA (Organization); TERRORISM; YUGOSLAV Wars, 1991-2001; CAPITALISM; CIVIL war; IDEOLOGY; TWENTY-first century; HISTORY
    • Subject Terms:
      EASTERN Europe; AFRICA
    • Abstract:
      The article discusses the essay "The End of History?" by political scientist Francis Fukuyama, published in the Summer 1989 issue of "National Interest," focusing on the assertion that the concept of history had ended with the fall of communism and world events following the publication of the essay. The author argues that Fukuyama's assertion was misinterpreted and that he was correct in positing that the fall of communism was a significant ideological development. The article examines the progress of democracy since 1989, particularly in Eastern Europe and Africa, capitalism, and challenges to nationalism as evidenced by civil conflict in Yugoslavia. The article also discusses to what the author calls extremist Islamic terrorism, particularly the rise of the Islamic terrorist group al Qaeda.