Securing the Self, Embracing Anxiety, or Nurturing Growth? How the Pragmatism of Dewey, James, and Mead Speaks to Ontological Security Studies

Abstract A Pragmatist form of Constructivism speaks to, and encourages, an ethical/normative turn in Ontological Security Studies (OSS). Recognition that Self-securing routines are sometimes “unhealthy” implies that the subject of security is human experience and that social identities or social roles are means to that end. This resonates with John Dewey's Pragmatist focus on the practical task of ameliorating experience in environments constantly in the process of becoming. Normative value is not ontological, i.e., found in a fixed identity; it is processural, i.e., found in the practice of “learning” and the process of “growth.” A Pragmatist narrative of learning and growth offers OSS a normative focus that is more compelling than the recent calls to “embrace anxiety,” although it is important to acknowledge that even these narratives can induce anxiety. OSS can, in this instance, turn to the Pragmatist William James and his focus on the role that “faith” plays in encouraging the Self to adopt new identities. Building on this, Dewey formulated a “civic faith” to defend democratic routines (and the democratic identity) as a useful method of (social) learning. Finally, the Pragmatism of George Herbert Mead demonstrates how this democratic commitment to include “the Other” in the processes that secure the Self helps restructure an environment that otherwise demands dangerous routines. The article draws on Cold War history to demonstrate how such practices can and should be part of the “cultural repertoire” informing ontological security-seeking practices in contemporary Europe.