THE WAR IN UKRAINE AS A STATEBUILDING FACTOR OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

The aim of this article is to analyze the impact of the war in Ukraine on European integration. In particular, bellicist theories will be analyzed. The following research questions are examined below: (1) Has the security threat from Russian imperialism prompted the European Union (EU) to develop its own defense capabilities? and (2) Did it stimulate the development of state functions of this organization such as centralization or federalization to guarantee security to member states, especially those along the bloc's eastern wing? The paper also examines the reasons why the state-building of the EU has encountered difficulties during the war in Ukraine. The main focus is put on distinct perceptions of the security situation within NATO's eastern flank, including those of Poland, and Western European countries amid the war in Ukraine, as well as their possible impact on the development of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in the EU. Keywords: war in Ukraine, state-building, bellicist theories, CSDP, EU

INTRODUCTION Jean Monnet's famous prediction assumed that Europe would be 'forged in crises' as the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises. (1) According to this opinion, the development [...]