A set of rules that are binding even on the most powerful political actors, preventing "rule by law" (where the law is just a tool for the elite).
Ensuring the government remains responsive to the interests of the whole community, typically through elections. Key Themes and Insights
A strong state that lacks the rule of law and democratic accountability. Political Order and Political Decay: From the I...
Fukuyama posits that the order in which these institutions develop matters immensely. For instance, countries that developed a strong, professional bureaucracy before democratization (like Prussia/Germany) often have more effective governance than those where democracy arrived before a competent state was built.
A rising global middle class is seen as a primary driver of democracy, as they tend to demand more institutional accountability and merit-based governance. A set of rules that are binding even
Fukuyama uses this term to describe a system with so many checks and balances that small interest groups can effectively block—or "veto"—any action that benefits the public good.
is the 2014 sequel to Francis Fukuyama's The Origins of Political Order . While the first volume traces political development from prehistory to the French Revolution, this second installment examines how modern institutions evolved from the Industrial Revolution to the present—and how they can eventually rot from within. The Three Pillars of Political Order Fukuyama posits that the order in which these
A once-strong state now suffering from "decay" through legal gridlock and interest group capture.