Description
As outlined by Browning, Joenniemi, and Steele (2021), since failure in the Vietnam War, the US self-narrative has been based around the principles of commitment to preemptive action over appeasement, the importance of winning and competence, and the association of overwhelming force with victory. Following Israel’s stunning victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, the US self-narrative prompted vicarious identification with Israel to uphold ontological security. Yet today, in the wake of Israel’s rightward political shift—exposed to greater public scrutiny by its 2023 invasion of Gaza—vicarious identification with Israel is waning and vicarious identification with Palestine growing among sections of the US public who adhere to a more critical self-narrative for the US. This paper argues that this split in self-narratives and vicarious identification can help explain Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 presidential election and subsequent disarray in the Democratic Party. In addition, challenges to the established US self-narrative have led the US political elite to double down on vicarious identification with Israel, furthering division.
