Persuasion | Yascha Mounk | Substack

Why, Exactly, Orbán Lost

Hungary offers big lessons for those hoping to defeat populism—including the Democrats.

1 hr ago • Charles Lane

The Post-Populist Dilemma

Orbán is out. Now comes the hard part.

7 hrs ago • Yascha Mounk

Ban Politicians From Swearing

It’s really fucking grinding my gears.

Apr 10 • Shalom Auslander

Orbán’s On the Ropes. But Don’t Pray for a Miracle Just Yet

Hungary’s strongman has drastically reshaped his country, and the election on Sunday may not change that.

Apr 9 • Dalibor Rohac

Ceasefire Is a Big Word for Backing Down

The pause in hostilities is a relief, but please do read the fine print.

Apr 8 • Sam Kahn

Most Popular

It’s the Internet, Stupid

Oct 2, 2025 • Francis Fukuyama

What “Western Civilization” Really Means

Mar 3 • Francis Fukuyama

A Letter From An Iranian

Jun 21, 2025 • Mitra Vand

How Art Lost Its Way

Jan 6, 2025 • William Deresiewicz

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Francis Fukuyama

The World Simply Does Not Trust America

In much the same way that Americans no longer trust themselves.

Apr 7 • Francis Fukuyama

Trump Betrayed His Own National Security Strategy

There is no doctrine, just whim.

Apr 2 • Francis Fukuyama

What AI Hypists Miss

These systems still struggle with implementing real world solutions.

Mar 18 • Francis Fukuyama

Newsletters

Essays and conversations about big ideas from our editor-in-chief.

Francis Fukuyama

Francis Fukuyama shares some of the many things on his mind.

American Purpose

American Purpose at Persuasion is a continuation of the magazine, media project, and intellectual community chaired by Francis Fukuyama. Includes Larry Diamond's "Diamond on Democracy" column and the "Bookstack" podcast with Richard Aldous.

Yascha Mounk

The Post-Populist Dilemma

Orbán is out. Now comes the hard part.

7 hrs ago • Yascha Mounk

A Response to "The Bourgeoisie Has Switched Sides"

Michael Lind on the two types of bourgeoisie.

Mar 19 • Michael Lind and Yascha Mounk

The Bourgeoisie Has Switched Sides

What happens when elites all believe the same thing.

Mar 11 • Yascha Mounk

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Podcast: The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk

1:03:26

Andrés Velasco on Oil Shocks and Financial Crises

Yascha Mounk and Andrés Velasco discuss why the current energy crisis won’t repeat the 1970s—and what dangers lurk in today’s financial markets.

Apr 11 • Yascha Mounk

1:06:39

Kathleen Stock on the Case Against Assisted Death

Yascha Mounk and Kathleen Stock discuss whether liberal arguments for medically assisted suicide fail to hold up under scrutiny.

Apr 7 • Yascha Mounk

1:12:12

Sebastian Mallaby on AI Safety and the Race for Superintelligence

Yascha Mounk and Sebastian Mallaby discuss why tech leaders both fear and accelerate dangerous AI development, and whether open-source models pose…

Apr 4 • Yascha Mounk

Podcasts

The Good Fight

Andrés Velasco on Oil Shocks and Financial Crises

Bookstack

Episode 184: Frank Dikötter on How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity

Frankly Fukuyama Podcast

Francis Fukuyama on Trump’s War With Iran

American Purpose

Lionel Jospin: French Prime Minister, Secret Trotskyist

What his complicated legacy tells us about France.

Apr 9 • Henri Astier

Beijing Is Winning the Energy Race

And with it, the race to power the future.

Apr 7 • Shahn Louis

Resisting the Third Wave of Democratic Backsliding

How democracy defenders can press their advantage. (Part 2 of 2.)

Apr 2 • Carl Gershman

Green Shoots Amid the Third Wave of Democratic Backsliding

What we can learn from the countries where autocracies are on the back foot. (Part 1 of 2.)

Mar 31 • Carl Gershman

If Mojtaba Khamenei Isn’t Leading Iran, Who Is?

Why the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are likely making the decisions.

Mar 28 • Saeid Golkar

Bookstack

30:32

Episode 184: Frank Dikötter on How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity

Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST.

Apr 5 • Richard Aldous

29:45

Episode 183: Steve Israel on the Einstein Conspiracy

Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST.

Mar 22 • Richard Aldous

26:42

Episode 182: Christopher Clark on A Scandal in Königsberg

Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST.

Mar 8 • Richard Aldous

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Recent posts

Andrés Velasco on Oil Shocks and Financial Crises

Yascha Mounk and Andrés Velasco discuss why the current energy crisis won’t repeat the 1970s—and what dangers lurk in today’s financial markets.

Apr 11 • Yascha Mounk

1:03:26

This Week At Persuasion

Kathleen Stock on The Good Fight! Plus, an Ask the Author event with John B. Judis.

Apr 10 • Leonora Barclay

Lionel Jospin: French Prime Minister, Secret Trotskyist

What his complicated legacy tells us about France.

Apr 9 • Henri Astier

Beijing Is Winning the Energy Race

And with it, the race to power the future.

Apr 7 • Shahn Louis

The latest from

Yascha Mounk

The Post-Populist Dilemma

Leonora Barclay

This Week At Persuasion

Sam Kahn

Ceasefire Is a Big Word for Backing Down

Francis Fukuyama

The World Simply Does Not Trust America

Richard Aldous

Episode 184: Frank Dikötter on How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity

Quico Toro

Chile’s Hard Right Isn’t as Trumpy as It Wants to Seem

Luke Hallam

The Case for Going to the Moon

Laura Berlind

Our Events

Liberal Virtues and Values: A Series By Persuasion

The Unexpected Persistence of John Rawls

We walk in the garden of his ideas.

Feb 10 • Joseph Heath

Rebecca Goldstein on Why Humans Need to Matter

Yascha Mounk and Rebecca Goldstein debate whether our desperate need for significance is a flaw we should overcome—or an essential part of human…

Jan 13 • Yascha Mounk

1:17:12

Against Strong Gods

Historical goldfishishness is letting us drift to the false security of a closed society.

Sep 22, 2025 • Sam Kahn

Cass Sunstein on Defending Liberalism

Yascha Mounk and Cass Sunstein discuss liberalism's critics on the right and left.

Sep 2, 2025 • Yascha Mounk

1:08:21

David Enoch on Certainty and Compromise

Yascha Mounk and David Enoch discuss how to defend liberalism.

Aug 13, 2025 • Yascha Mounk

1:43:45

The "Deep State" and Its Discontents: A Series By American Purpose

Unbalanced Powers

The saga of the Government Accountability Office tells the story of the Trump administration’s campaign for a unitary executive.

Mar 24 • Don Kettl

An Efficient Government Is A Limited Government

If we want an institution to be good at what it does, we must first define its role.

Feb 23 • Emily Chamlee-Wright

Why American Governments Can’t Get Things Done

We used to build things. Today, the state is hampered by red tape and veto points.

Feb 18 • Francis Fukuyama

Houston, We Have a Problem

It's not rocket science that kept America from returning to the moon. It's state capacity.

Feb 8 • Francis Fukuyama

Practical Pluralism: A Series By Persuasion

50:46

Danielle Allen on Why Technocratic Liberalism Failed

Yascha Mounk and Danielle Allen discuss democratic backsliding.

Feb 28 • Yascha Mounk

1:09:10

Daniel Diermeier on Why Universities Are Their Own Worst Enemies

Yascha Mounk and Daniel Diermeier examine how elite institutions created the backlash that now threatens their future.

Feb 14 • Yascha Mounk

Teach Students Conservative Thought

The great thinkers on the right must be part of any syllabus that truly serves the next generation.

Dec 1, 2025 • Benjamin Storey and Jon A. Shields

In Defence of Striving

What we can all learn from Texas high school mariachis.

Nov 7, 2025 • Quico Toro

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