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David Engels, a historian at the Free University of Brussels, drew parallels between Europe and the fall of the Roman Republic to make the alarming prediction.



He said: “In 20 to 30 years Europe will have become an authoritarian or imperial state, after a phase resembling civil war and decay.

“I expect a civil war, which will force a fundamental social and political reformation in Europe, whether we like it or not, following the example of the decaying Roman Republic in the first century BC.”



Mr Engels has claimed Europe would teeter towards authoritarianism since 2011 – and the ongoing migrant crisis has now added weight to his warnings.



The 37-year-old added that the parallels between the European Union and Julius Caesar’s equivalent are “so massive, so obvious and that has been the case for decades”.

GETTY•FREE UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS David Engels drew parallels with the Roman Republic when making the claim.

Mr Engels argued the many factors that led to the destruction of Caesar’s empire are afflicting Europe today, including individualism, the decline of traditional culture, fundamentalism and rampant crime.



He also pointed out the splits between the elite – the modern-day Roman Senators – and populist movements that demanded the people be given a voice.



Politicians such as French presidential frontrunner Marine LePen and Dutch right-winger Geert Wilders rise to prominence as a result of such populism, Mr Engels added.

GETTY Mr Engels said politicians like Marine Le Pen rise to prominence as a result of populist movements.

On the migrant crisis, Mr Engels said while important, it isn’t the only issue.



He added: “The present population movements are only one of the many symptoms of our present spirit, characterised by a strange mixture of cosmopolitanism, self-doubt, calculus, materialism and bad conscience.



“I’m afraid of that but it would be cowardly to close my eyes just because you do not want to see reality.”

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