Odd Lots · Thursday, September 17, 2026
Francis Fukuyama believes the rise of illiberalism globally, exemplified by recent German local election results, suggests deeper social changes rather than temporary setbacks for liberal democracy. He notes that discontent with the liberal order appears more extreme than in previous challenging periods for democracy, citing a 20-year decline in global freedom and the rise of populism within leading liberal democracies like the U.S. as evidence.
“I think probably the discontent is a little bit more extreme this time. Freedom House says that the aggregate level of freedom in the world has declined now for the last 20 years, since about 2008 or so. And I think that one of the reasons for being more pessimistic is really what's happened in the United States, because for the entire post-World War II period, the United States was the model liberal democracy.”
“And I think that the rise of a populist movement within the leading liberal democracy in the world is a big signal that something deeper is afoot and that that discontent really reflects some underlying social changes.”