Prominent American political scientist Francis Fukuyama has stated that the most serious threat to liberal democracy today comes not from external actors but from internal dynamics within the United States itself.
Speaking at a policy forum this week, Fukuyama emphasized that rising political polarization, declining trust in democratic institutions, and the spread of misinformation present deeper risks than foreign interference or authoritarian rivals abroad.
“The biggest danger to liberal democracy today lies within our own society,” Fukuyama noted. “It is the erosion of democratic norms and the growing inability to resolve differences through peaceful and institutional means.”
Fukuyama, known globally for his influential 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man, has in recent years increasingly highlighted internal challenges as the core vulnerability of democratic systems.
