The dissertation is devoted to the analysis of socio-political events taking place on the European continent, particularly the study of the processes of European integration and the evolution of the European Union's policy towards the Eastern Partnership countries. The fact that the EU has tried several times almost in vain to update its policy towards its eastern neighbors has identified a vital task of the dissertation, which is a generalized theoretical understanding of European integration processes; evaluation of the performance of EU instruments concerning the Eastern Partnership countries; and empirically examining of factors that have helped or prevented the EU from creating a zone of stability, peace, prosperity and security on its eastern borders.
For the first time in Ukrainian political science, the dissertation has been carried out as a comprehensive analysis of EU policy towards the Eastern Partnership countries to achieve stability in the region. This study identified the role and revealed the importance of state stability in the context of the EU's relations with its neighbors on its borders. It has been proved that the security interest has always accompanied European integration processes on the continent to one degree or another. The systematization of scientific approaches to European integration and European integration policies has revealed that European integration processes are related to the desire of countries to unite instead of fight. The reasons and motives underlying this desire vary, from realizing one's national interests and economic benefits to establishing a balance of power and general stability. In addition, this dissertation reveals the concept of state stability, defines the typology of unstable states on which this study is based, and formulates the main functions that states must perform to be stable. These are the representative function, the welfare function, and, most importantly, the security function.
It is proved that security issues are no longer national or transnational in the EU dimension; therefore, internal security cannot be separated from external security. Ignoring local problems at their borders or even thousands of miles away could pose global risks in the future that will affect both international and national security. That is why one of the main goals of the European Neighborhood Policy has been to strengthen stability and security in neighboring countries because the level of stability at the Union's borders directly affects the level of stability within it. It also explains why the EU ultimately chooses its interests and stability in the dilemmas of “interests vs. values” and “stability vs. democracy”.
It was measured the level of threat to peace, security, and democracy around Eastern Partnership countries and the dynamics of the level of stability of the participating countries throughout the initiative. It was also found that despite the general dynamics of stabilization in the region, none of the countries during the existence of the Eastern Partnership has not moved from the group of "warning" to the group of "stable" countries according to the Fragile State Index. Therefore, the goals of the Eastern partnerships have not been reached.
The main theoretical approaches that try to explain the causes of instability of a state have been studied. Three main theories were identified, which were built three hypotheses for the empirical research. According to the first theoretical approach, the reason for the country's instability may be a high level of corruption. The second theory calls the unfavorable business climate one of the critical factors that lead to the country's instability. And the third theoretical approach explains the instability of a country by the low level of democracy. Based on this, an empirical study identified the impact of corruption, democracy, and the business environment on the stability of the Eastern Partnership countries.
