Description
The concept of the Self is crucial for ontological security but has only begun to receive focused scholarly attention. Although some have worked to differentiate the Self from identity and have explored the debate about the state Self, it remains unclear whether and how researchers can access the Self. This paper proposes a new analytical framework for understanding how the Self can be visible within narrative analysis. This framework consists of four narrative pillars: autobiography, home, significant others, and identifications. These pillars interact and bear different weights depending on the context, but they make up the narrative fabric of the Self which is visible in both the everyday and during times of crisis. This system connects narrative analysis more closely to ontological security theory and offers an epistemological window into the Self. The performances of these narratives are visible in everyday foreign policy and in this paper are evidenced in analysis of speeches in the UN Security Council by the Indian, Kenyan, Irish, and Albanian Ambassadors immediately following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
