INTRODUCTION The third wave of democratization, which led Francis Fukuyama to advance the bold prediction of the “end of history”, after the fall of communism in USSR, in 1989; seems to have come to a stop. In many parts of the world, democracies are in crisis and a return of populism

1. Introductory Remarks: the vicious circle of the EU democratic gap There is now a broad consensus among economists, political scientists and journalists about the nature of the EU crisis: it is not only an economic crisis, but a governance crisis coupled to a democracy crisis, and this is not only

There are differing definitions of equality today. In some circles it is equality of opportunity, which can mean affirmative action quotas; to others, quotas may mean inequality, as it might be felt that it discriminates against others. The Hebrew Bible is not egalitarian in any 21st century meaning of the word. 

I believe that there is much to discuss and much to discover about the identity of the Occidental civilization. Occidental is not just a geographical or cartographical description, but an identification with a heritage, a history, and a cultural and religious unity. This means that the concept includes Europe and