When the Hegemon Seeks Ontological Security: US Narratives on Rising Threats and the Future of the International Order

Abstract

This article examines strategic narratives in the United States’ 2022 National Security Strategy (NSS) through the lens of ontological security theory. The analysis suggests that the US is challenged in its ontological security by the current state of the international order and the rapid evolution of the global economy into an unfamiliar entity, largely as a result of the destabilising actions of geopolitical rivals. The NSS proposes substantial changes to routinised relationships and economic restructuring to alleviate ontological insecurity and maintain a sense of stability. This includes the global relocation of production activities, new mechanisms for regulating technological progress, investment, and trade, and increased state activism and interventionism. Strategic narratives legitimise change by emphasising the US’ role as a system builder dedicated to preserving and enhancing the resilience of the international order and ensuring that proposed transformations align with neoliberal economic governance and operate through indirect interventions. The NSS is engaged in reshuffling and shifting the focus of some of the biographical narratives that define the US’ self-identity, emphasising different aspects of its nature and history. Strategic narratives play upon emotions such as feelings of grandeur, entitlement, responsibility, and nostalgia to facilitate change and address ontological insecurity.