Doctoral Defense: Vittorio Orlando

This dissertation investigates Brexit as both a unique political event and a paradigmatic case of European disintegration, situating it within the broader context of post-truth politics. The overarching aim is to understand how ideological, structural, and communicative dynamics interact to challenge the cohesion of the European Union (EU). By combining five interlinked studies, the research develops a theory of European disintegration grounded in the role of crises, political actors, and post-truth narratives.

Methodologically, the thesis employs qualitative case study designs, process tracing, qualitative content analysis, and frame analysis. Empirical materials include political speeches, campaign documents, party manifestos, media content, and EU institutional texts.

The thesis is based on five publications, across which several consistent results emerged. First, political parties and institutions shape disintegration by constructing narratives that reframe EU membership as a matter of identity, security, and sovereignty. Second, ideological forces such as nationalism and economic anxiety interact with crises to provide fertile ground for disintegrative narratives. Third, post-truth politics intensifies these dynamics by privileging emotion and representation over factual accuracy. Finally, Brexit is shown to be both a cause and a symptom of European disintegration: while it has not produced immediate systemic collapse, it has reframed EU membership as reversible and provided a blueprint for future contestation.

The dissertation concludes that European disintegration is a multidimensional process driven by the interaction of crises, actors, and ideational forces. Post-truth politics plays a pivotal role in this process, enabling political actors to transform crises into disintegrative opportunities. By integrating insights from Brexit and subsequent Eurosceptic developments, the thesis proposes a constructivist theory of disintegration that advances scholarly understanding of the EU’s vulnerabilities and future trajectories.