One world, millions of places: the end of history and the ascendancy of geography

Abstract

Francis Fukuyama has argued that the triumphs of liberal democracy and the hegemony of capitalist markets in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe since 1989 herald the end of History. In reviewing his case, this essay suggests that Fukuyama's concept of a relatively homogeneous world does not mean a parallel end of Geography. On the contrary, it suggests that the importance of space and place is increasing in the structuring of the contemporary world, thereby providing a challenge for political geographers.