Ontological (in)security and peace anxieties: a framework for conflict resolution

Abstract

As noted in the introduction, theoretically the book primarily builds on the notion of ontological security, pioneered in the psycho-analytical literature by R.D. Laing (1990, originally published in 1960) and later adopted and developed in social theory by Anthony Giddens (1991). At the cost of bypassing certain critical nuances in the development of the concept (zarakol 2010, pp.6-7), I will mainly rely on Giddens’ formulation and develop a conceptual/analytical framework to employ it in the study of conflict resolution. Critical to this endeavour will be the refinement of the theoretical link between ontological (in)security and anxiety, which I will attempt to do by drawing mainly on Soren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich. To mark the multi-layered nature of the concept, in the first three sections of the chapter, I will lay out the dynamics and manifestations of ontological (in) security at the individual, societal/state, and ultimately the state/inter-state levels. In the fourth section, I will discuss the contribution of ontological security to the extant literature on conflict resolution and present a framework to analyse the impact of ontological security in conflict resolution processes. The purpose of this chapter is not to lay out a definitive framework for the subsequent chapters, but advance a number of insights for the contributors to adopt, refine, and challenge as they see fit.