If President George W Bush has his way, then the spread of the American system of democracy will continue to proliferate around the world. There are those, however, who argue that the American form of “democracy” has little to do with genuine democratic representation but rather more closely resembles a revolving fascist dictatorship beholden to the interests of a wealthy elite and big business. [1]

This form of government, it is argued, has as its underlying model the European Synarchist movement that was founded in the 1870’s, by Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre. St Yves considered the medieval Knights Templars to be ultimate Synarchists of their time and consequently drew on Templar ideals when formulating his ideas.

St Yves movement came to the fore in the early 1920’s, following the end of WWI and the signing of the Versailles Treaty [2] . In its essence, Synarchy advocates that government be run by a secret society or cabal – “an elite of enlightened initiates who rule from behind the scenes.” [3] As authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince describe it: “…it therefore doesn't matter which political party holds power in a state - or even what political system that state has. Synarchists would step in and take control of the key state institutions.” [4]

In the United States, one such secret society worthy of note is Yale University’s Order of the Skull and Bones. Entry into the Order involves elaborate ritual and is accompanied by a change of name. No longer is the neophyte known by his family name, but assumes the identity of a Knight.

Bonesmen include George W. Bush, his father George Bush senior and Senator John Kerry. George Bush’s great grandfather, Prescott Bush, was also a Bonesman, as was George Bush’s favourite uncle, Herbert Walker. In point of fact, almost all of the so-called “Eastern Establishment” families have been enrolled in the Skull and Bones. Author Antony Sutton, in his groundbreaking four-part series “The Order,” states that the US Order links to Britain through the Rhodes-Milner Oxford Group but has German origins. The US Order also links to the Guggenheim, Schiff and Warburg families, despite having definite anti-semitic tendencies until more recent times. Sutton’s own research linked the Order to “the founding and growth of Nazism”