The Ukraine war and European integration

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• Department of Political and Social Sciences
• Ukraine

How does the Russian attack on the Ukraine affect European integration? Bellicist theories predict a centralization of fiscal, coercive and administrative resources that historically and conceptually made the state. But is it happening? In this seminar, Philipp Genschel, Lauren Leek and Jordy Weynes will examine two main conditions of bellicist integration. A functional condition known from neo-functional and liberal intergovernmental theories pertains to the comparative advantage of central governance. A political condition reminiscent of liberal theories and post-functionalism holds that external threats align interests and fuel feelings of community, making centralisation politically viable. They will analyse the political condition using novel survey data, investigate the functional condition, and provide an overview of national and European measures in energy, defense and fiscal policy throughout the six months after the invasion. With strong variation in both the political and functional conditions across policy fields, speakers find that the Russian attack fueled national rather than EU capacity-building. In this seminar, they will explain why and explore theoretical implications.