Ontological Security - the ‘ on-off ’ button of spill-over?

1. Ontological Security - the ‘on-off’ button of spill-over? Trine Flockhart Singapore, 4 October 2011 DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

2. What is the paper about? • A sympathetic revision of Ernst Haas’s neo-functionalism • Elevating spill-over from a first order theorizing concept to second order theorizing • Introduces ontological security as a precondition for agent action • Sees spill-over as a result of enthusiasm and a ‘can do’ attitude rather than a result of disappointment and frustration DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

3. Outline of paper • Neo-functionalism – the basics • Haas’s ‘theory of international politics’ and change at the macro level • Ontological security • Identity and the importance of self-esteem • Narrative and the importance of biographical continuity • Practice and Action • Action outcomes and conditions for spill-over DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

4. Neo-functionalism – the basics • Neo-functionalism – the first integration theory based on the empirical situation unfolding in (Western) Europe during the 1950s • Central concept spill-over, which holds that a dynamic and expansive logic of integration into different policy-areas and at higher levels of authority. • Seemed able to explain European regional integration in the 1950s and early 60s but fell into disrepute after De Gaulle’s veto DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

5. Haas’s ‘theory of international politics’ • Ernst Haas was a prolific writer on nationalism, epistemic communities and social constructivism • The ‘other guy down the corridor’ • Haas was always really concerned with ‘change at the macro level’ and how to affect change • Change following crisis or disruptive events and change in the absence of crisis DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

6. Problems with Neo-functionalism • Euro-specific both in its empirical focus and in its theoretical assumptions and conditions • Extremely specific as it was conceptualized as a first order theory • Central concepts and processes were under specified • Formulated within the wrong ‘zeitgeist’ • Unable to incorporate external events and structural change DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

7. An eclectic model DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

8. Ontological security1 • The security of the self • Anthony Giddens, Jenifer Mitzen • ‘When an agent has a stable and as possitive as possible view of self and where order and stability in regard to the future, relationships and experiences is maintained’ • Individuals need to feel secure in who they are (self-esteem), experience themselves as a whole and continuous person and maintain uncertainty within tolerable limits DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

9. Ontological Security 2 • Ontological security is what allows agents to get on with daily life • It requires that agents have ‘basic trust’ and manageable levels of anxiety • It assumes a stable cognitive environment through routinization of daily practices • It requires reinforcement through successful action leading to pride rather than unsuccessful/failed action leading to shame/disappointment DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

10. Identity and the importance of self-esteem • SIT assumes that agents strive to maximize their self-esteem and that a high level of self-esteem will prevent anxiety. • High self-esteem will ensure a positive narrative, which will produce integrity of the self. • SIT also assumes that agents need cognitive consistency, which is achieved through stable social relations through belonging to a social group with a given norm set DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

11. Narrative and the importance of biographical continuity • Narrative theory assumes that the aim of the narrative construction process is positive emplotment and sense making of the past • Narratives continuously incorporate occurring events and new episodes into a positive story about ‘who we are’ • It is assumed that agents will always try to establish a ‘strong narrative’ that ensure biographical continuity and self-esteem. DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

12. The narrative-identity shuttle • There is a constant process of ‘shuttling’ to and fro between narrative construction processes and identity construction processes. • Time and energy consuming process • Always in constitution and influenced from both the structural/external level and from the agent level • Equilibrium between narrative and identity = ontological security DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

13. Practice and Action • Practice is seen as unconscious or automatic activities embedded in taken for granted routines contributing to stability • Action is reflexive intentional goal oriented behavior designed to affect change • Rhetorical action is located at the language level consisting mainly of statements that do not require any further action • Functional action requires actual action • All action and practice can be reinforcing or undermining DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

14. Possible action outcomes DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

15. The whole model DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

16. Towards a modernized version of spill-over • Applies to all intentional action processes designed to affect change • The overall process may be ‘kick-started’ by crisis, but is more likely to take place in the absence of crisis. • ‘agent-led action related to a specific goal leading to further action in a dynamic, and possibly expansive, process where the initial agent-led action leads to more action, and all major actors remain committed to the project’ • Results from positive emotions DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

17. Conditions for spill-over • Action (either rhetorical but preferably functional) must be reinforcing • Events must be able to be incorporated into the narrative and identity construction processes without detrimental effects on bio-graphical continuity or self-esteem • Practice must be continuously reinforcing • Disruptive structural change is absent • Ontological security has to be established at all times DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

18. NATO and EU (CSDP) • Two organizations within the same structural environment and similar roles • Yet since the end of CW dramatically different action patterns and different ontological security patterns • Both have displayed clear processes of spill-over • Both suggest that spill-over is fragile and difficult to establish and sustain DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

19. Conclusion • Incorporate the structural/external level and agent level – both of which feed into a process level • If all five conditions are present, spill-over may be ‘switched on’. • Elevating spill-over to a general issue of change • Allows for comparison between different processes of change • Change is always possible, but difficult to achieve and to sustain DIIS ∙ DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES