Abstract:
This dissertation project looks to examine the philosophical and social arguments made by
individuals like Pascal Bruckner about a guilt culture pervading across Europe and a possible
connection to support for European Union integration. It draws upon the content of his book
The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay in Western Masochism, previously established essays and
research on guilt, support for European Union integration, referendum results from various EU
treaties, interviews with Members of the European Parliament, and their rhetoric alongside
other EU officials. Given the very utilitarian cost/benefit dimension of integration, especially
amongst most of the interviewed MEPs and general public, guilt may not be applicable in
describing support for EU integration except in certain Member States, and amongst the
political, intellectual, and academic elite who are not only more inclined to believe such through
their rhetoric and policy recommendations. In an age of economic downturn, people seem
more interested in finding a way to live than feeling guilty about their country’s own identity,
and if they are, it may be a matter isolated from their view of EU integration.
