Triumph of Liberal Democracy in Unipolar World: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Fukuyama’s ‘The End of History and the Last Man’

Abstract

Ideology and discourse are closely associated with each other as no discourse whether spoken or written is free of certain ideologies. Sometimes, these ideologies are manifest in discourse while on other occasions, these ideologies are latent. The current study is about exploring ideologies existent in Fukuyama’s The End of History and the Last Man (1992) and expounds several novel concepts. Keeping in mind the specific nature, this study falls in the paradigm of qualitative research. As far as analysis is concerned, Fairclough’s Three Dimensional Model (1989, 1992 and 2003) is used as theoretical framework while its second and third approach suggesting ‘discursive features’ and ‘language as social practice’ are given prime significance. These two approaches work at broader level highlighting social factors behind the composition of text and power relations existent within it. Findings of the study bring several ideologies to the surface. For instance, legitimacy issues and totalitarian crisis in post-Cold War era, evolution of industry and rise of private sector in capitalist states along with triumph of liberal democracy are some predominant ideologies present in the work of Fukuyama. The results of this study can be helpful for researchers to analyze surface and hidden ideologies present in the relevant work and the way ideologies are presented, received and interpreted by authors or speakers during the composition of texts and speeches.