Heba G. Disintegration processes in the EU: political and security dimensions.

The dissertation is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of disintegration processes in the European Union, which can hypothetically slow down the integration, lead to the termination of the EU membership by individual states and potentially end in the collapse of the union. The dissertation for the first time conducts a comprehensive scientific analysis of the causes, consequences and probable future prospects of the European disintegration as a process that is the opposite of the European integration, which is traditionally studied in academic literature. Also, for the first time at the academic level, the process of “European integration of the euroskepticism”. The study clarifies the impact of disintegration processes in the European Union on the foreign policy and security of its member states. The dissertation considers the Brexit case as a causal element of disintegration. The socio-economic, political and bureaucratic problems of the EU and the Brexit are analyzed as a internal disintegration factors, the migration problem and Russia’s actions are analyzed as a external disintegration factors, and considered the dual role of the United States, which are an external factor and plays an important role in the processes of European integration and disintegration. The general conclusion is that the EU is not currently on the verge of formal disintegration, despite some weakening of the European solidarity. It has been suggested that some certain informal signs of disintegration processes, in particular, the contradictions between the EU countries and Brexit outcomes, are an exception rather than an indicator of the general trend, because these disintegration processes do not develop further. The European Union has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to survive and adapt to crises. Thus, there is an indicator of a sufficient capacity and a fairly high degree of the EU’s resistance ability to preserve its integration properties despite external and internal challenges.