State Personhood in Ontological Security Theories of International Relations and Chinese Nationalism: A Sceptical View

Evaluating the effects of living with contamination from the lens of trauma: a case study of fracking development in Alberta, Canada

“…Herman notes how our sense of safety and trust is acquired early in life and forms the basis of our systems of relationship and belief, but trauma can undermine these core belief systems and 'cast the victim into a state of existential crisis' (Herman 1992, 51). The state itself, and our ascription of legitimacy in it, is especially important to the maintenance of ontological security (Krolikowski 2008). Zhukova (2016, 335) describes the loss of ontological security among victims of the Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion, who had previously ascribed such faith in state authorities to ensure safety that an explosion was considered 'incomprehensible'.…”

Introduction to 2018 special issue of European Security: “ontological (in)security in the European Union”

“…In this regard, ontological security has either been conceptualised in line with Giddens' intersubjective notion of self where states, like individuals, are concerned with maintaining a consistent notion of self to enhance their ontological security in relations with other states -the exogenous approach (Mitzen 2006a, 2006b, Zarakol 2010, or the emphasis has been on the state as a provider of ontological security for its citizens -the intra-subjective or endogenous approach (Steele 2005, Krolikowski 2008, in which state representatives are able to tell convincing stories about the self through autobiographical narratives (see also Subotic 2016). Here, the main inclination has been to problematise realist and liberal notions of security concerned with security dilemmas and physical security by focusing on "security-of-being" rather than "security-as-survival".…”

‘Not a heap of stones’: material environments and ontological security in international relations

“…Ever since Alexander Wendt made a distinction between physical security, or 'differentiation from other actors', and ontological security, which has to do with the freedom from anxiety resulting from a predictable relationship with the world (Wendt 1994, 385), the literature on ontological security in world politics has grown exponentially (Huysmans 1998;McSweeney 1999;Mitzen 2006;Steele 2007;Kinnvall 2004Kinnvall , 2006Krolikowski 2008;Delehanty and Steele 2009;Zarakol 2010;Lupovici 2012;Youde 2014;Subotić 2016;Rumelili 2014Rumelili , 2015.…”