Disintegration of the European Union as the Consequence of EU’s Multiple Crises – A Question and Contribution to the Theory

From the very beginning of the social-economic crisis in Europe there are questions about the durability and future of the European integration project and – through this – European liberal order, both domestic and international. It is often said that multiple crises of the EU caused systemic chaos and because of that future of the EU is insecure. Despite these conditions, present problems of the EU are being explored and explained by theories of integration, not disintegration; in the field of European integration we do not have full, recognized and systematized theory of European disintegration (or disintegration at all, not only for European case). The paper puts out the thesis that in order to explore the political crises and breakdowns of European unity, we need the theories of disintegration which will explain the processes of disintegration, its sources and the circumstances in which the collapse of the EU is possible (or the deadlock in any policy). The foresight of the consequences of disintegration would be necessary, too. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to outline the assumptions which would be the foundation of such a disintegration theory, taking into account the way how integration and disintegration is defined, the structure of the EU (is it a form of a state, political system, international organization or a network?), the actors of integration and its real roles (member states, institutions, non-governmental and private sector organizations), the distribution of power in the EU political system, the possible scenarios of disintegration (the return of the system of the nation-states – is it really possible?), the complex nature of processes, inside and outside the EU, their social perception, etc. The paper argues that there is also a necessity of setting the paradigm for such a theory and the methods that can be used to explore the processes of disintegration and to forsee the political situation in Europe. The approach to disintegration, outlined in the paper, is the outcome of research, conducted by its author in the field of European integration.