Description
The Russian invasion in Ukraine presented a fundamental crisis for European energy, borders, cohesion, but also for its ontological security. Since February, EU leaders have grappled with existential questions which are rarely raised into the active discursive consciousness. In short, the invasion was a shock to the European sense of Self. For member states, this ontologically critical situation manifested in member states reversing long-standing policies or leaning on routinized relations. However, this shock was also felt in Brussels, and led to many high-level discussions about European identity, common history, and myths. This paper interrogates both how and where these discussions originated and what techniques EU leaders used to manage ontological stress during the first six months of the crisis. The analysis focuses primarily on statements made by EU Commission, Council, and Parliament officials and their narration of the crisis in Ukraine. In crafting a common narrative arc, the EU provided its member states with a source of ontological security. By using narrative analysis, this paper will also strengthen the link between language, ontological security, and performance thereby establishing a common analytical framework for identifying instances of ontological stress.
