Abstract This article employs the ontological security framework to analyse China’s identity-related concerns in two structurally different contexts—Tibet as an internal region and Taiwan as an external entity. The central puzzle is why China experiences similar ontological insecurities (OISs) in both cases yet relies on divergent identity-restorative behaviours, thereby testing the adaptability of Essen and Danielson’s typology. Using their mechanisms of inadequacy and distrust of self and others, the study shows that China’s OIS is triggered by competing identity narratives—ethno-nationalism in Tibet and civic-democratic nationalism in Taiwan, each reinforced by historical trauma and case-specific events. China counters these challenges through differentiated security-seeking behaviours—assimilationist and ideological strategies in Tibet, and cultural and diplomatic engagement in Taiwan. External actors further activate OIS—India in the Tibet case and USA in Taiwan—thereby producing normalization routines in Tibet and competitive routines in Taiwan.
Sagar et al. (Wed,) studied this question.