Democracy IRL
Fostering and maintaining democracy, development and the rule of law is the great challenge of our time. Join Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and our host, political scientist Francis Fukuyama, for a series of conversations with thought leaders and academics alike that touch on the ways in which democracy and development are being challenged today by authoritarian resurgence, misinformation, the perils of a changing climate, and more.
Episodes
27 episodes
How Mongolia Became a Democracy, with Elbegdorj Tsakhia
Elbegdorj Tsakhia was president of Mongolia from 2009-2017 and played a key role in the country's transition from Communism to democracy after 1989. In this episode, he talks to Francis Fukuyama about the current challenges to democratic instit...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 3
•
39:39
Year-End Review of Global Democracy with Larry Diamond
Larry Diamond once again joins Francis Fukuyama for a year-end review to discuss the state of global democracy as 2023 draws to a close. Diamond also recounts his Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture, the 20th iteration of the annual lecture series na...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 2
•
53:37
Homelands: A Conversation with Timothy Garton Ash
Historian and author Timothy Garton Ash joins Francis Fukuyama to talk about his new book, "Homelands: A Personal History of Europe," covering a period from 1945 to the present. Bookended by World War II and the Russian invasion of Ukrain...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 1
•
44:51
China's Road to Ruin, with Michael Bennon
This episode of Democracy IRL is a companion piece to Michael Bennon and Francis Fukuyama's essay, "China's Road to Ruin," published in the September/October 20...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 10
•
45:35
How Generative AI Will Revolutionize Everything
Jerry Kaplan is a renowned Silicon Valley veteran, computer scientist, and serial entrepreneur who has previously authored two books on AI, with a new one on generative AI forthcoming from Oxford University Press. In this episode, he joins Fran...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 9
•
47:43
Israeli Democracy at 75
On its 75th anniversary since independence, Israel's democracy has been both resilient and troubled over issues of national identity. Joining Francis Fukuyama in this episode to discuss is Professor Amichai Magen, a professor at the Lauder Scho...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 8
•
43:54
The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State, with Anna Grzymala-Busse
Political scientist Anna Gryzmala-Busse's new book disputes the scholarly consensus that war drove European state formation. She located the beginning of the state much earlier in Medieval history, with respect to institutions like law, parliam...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 7
•
24:47
Will China Attack Taiwan? Interview with Oriana Skylar Mastro
China has promised to reincorporate Taiwan, and the Chinese military, which has been growing very rapidly, is preparing for such a military contingency. Dr. Oriana Skylar Mastro, a Center Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 6
•
28:16
Francis Fukuyama on Valuing the Deep State (2023 ASPA Donald C. Stone Lecture)
On March 21, 2023, Francis Fukuyama delivered the prestigious Donald C. Stone Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), the leading academic association focusing on the study of the public sector. T...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 5
•
36:32
How US and European Populisms Differ: A Conversation with Sheri Berman
Sheri Berman, author of Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Ancien Régime to the Present Day, is a professor of political science at Barnard College and a Visiting Scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 4
•
36:38
Bruce Cain on the Politics of Climate Adaptation
Bruce Cain, professor of Political Science at Stanford and Director of the University's Bill Lane Center for the American West, joins Francis Fukuyama to talk about the new book he is writing on the political challenges of adapting to a changin...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 3
•
33:22
Have We Reached Peak China? Interview with Andrew G. Walder
Political sociologist Andrew G. Walder, the Denise O'Leary and Kent Thiry Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and Senior Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, is a specialist on the sources of conflict...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 2
•
43:41
Ukraine's Winter War, with Steven Pifer
To kick off our second season, Francis Fukuyama is once again joined by former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer. The two discuss the prospects for negotiation in Ukraine, the origins of the Russian invasion, and how the war may evolve this...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 1
•
40:30
Year-End Wrap-Up: The State of Global Democracy, with Larry Diamond
As 2022 comes to a close, Francis Fukuyama sits down with his CDDRL colleague and democracy expert Larry Diamond for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of global democracy and the year's dramatic political developments in China, Iran, ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 14
•
1:02:45
Exploring China's Lockdowns, Protests, and the Communist Party, with Peidong Sun
Peidong Sun is a Distinguished Associate Professor of Arts and Science in China and Asia-Pacific Studies in the History Department at Cornell University. Previously, she was a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai and has written extensivel...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 13
•
44:34
The Islamic Republic and Protests in Iran, with Political Scientist Saeid Golkar
Saeid Golkar has been writing and teaching about Iranian politics for the last decade since he was forced to leave the country. A 2009 alumnus of CDDRL's Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program, Saeid is an expert on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 12
•
42:43
The Inheritors: A Conversation with Eve Fairbanks
Eve Fairbanks is a brilliant journalist who has lived in South Africa for the past decade. Francis Fukuyama speaks to her about her new book, The Inheritors, in which she provides a fascinati...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 11
•
45:19
Diversity and Democracy, with Yascha Mounk
Yascha Mounk, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University and founder of Persuasion joins Francis Fukuyama to talk about his new book, The Great Expe...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
57:48
The Crisis of Democracy in West Africa, with Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi
Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, co-founder and board chair of Afrobarometer — the pan-African survey research network and global reference point for high-quality data on African democracy, governance, and quality of life — joins us to discuss ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
30:46
Examining China's Belt and Road Initiative, with Michael Bennon
In the second installment of our series on policy and infrastructure, Michael Bennon returns to chat with Francis Fukuyama about China's Belt and Road Initiative and projects that have gone south.Michael Bennon is a Research Scho...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
39:01
The Difficulty of Reforming CEQA, with Michael Bennon
In the first of a two-part series on policy and infrastructure, Michael Bennon joins Francis Fukuyama to discuss the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), its impacts, and how to overcome some of the challenges it creates. In a forthcomi...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 7
•
33:24
Liberalism and Its Discontents, with Francis Fukuyama
Liberalism is neither the progressive politics of the American left, nor the center-right orientation of European parties like the German Free Democrats, nor libertarianism built around hostility to the state. In this special episode, Francis F...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
8:15
.jpg)
Autocracy vs Democracy — From Venezuela to Ukraine and Beyond, with Leopoldo López
How does the Venezuelan crisis of democracy relate to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other international trends? Venezuelan political leader and pro-democracy activist Leopoldo López joins the podcast to discuss with Francis Fukuyama and M...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 5
•
42:21
German Foreign Policy and European Reactions to Ukraine with Johannes Ludewig
Johannes Ludewig, a current visiting scholar at CDDRL, is a senior German government official who played a major role in German unification. In this episode, he joins Francis Fukuyama to reflect on the European reaction to the current crisis in...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 4
•
21:13
Larry Diamond on Election Reform: An Existential Issue for American Democracy
"The future health, if not survival, of American democracy is in danger in a way that it hasn't been in our lifetime," warns Larry Diamond, who sat down with Francis Fukuyama to discuss voting rights, the Electoral Count Act, and what reforms a...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 3
•
24:38