Paper short abstract:

The aim of the paper is to propose a theoretical explanation for the oscillation and mediation between narratives of weakness and greatness of states - seen in Japan and in other states. The explanation draws on ontological security theory and the study of narcissism.

Paper long abstract:

Narratives about Japan vacillate between emphasizing the country's weakness and greatness. This is not a uniquely Japanese phenomenon, but autobiographical narratives of other states are characterized by similar tension. What explains the parallel nature of conflicting narratives of weakness and greatness, and hence seeming narrative instability, despite the assumption in Ontological Security Theory (OST) that state identities emerge through stable narratives? Is the answer simply that these state actors are ontologically insecure? The aim of the paper is to propose a theoretical explanation for the oscillation and mediation between narratives of weakness and greatness of states. It argues that such oscillation is not indicative of an ontological insecurity separate from ontological security. Instead, it contends that the securitization of the self as "weak" in these narratives is the prerequisite for concurrent narratives that seek to secure the ontology of the state as "great." The implication is that OST overstates the possibility that narratives can ever be homogeneous and stable, overlooking the continuous fluctuation that necessarily resides at the heart of attempts to construct identity and secure ontology. The concrete mediation between weakness and greatness does not develop along just one pathway, however. This article argues that there are at least four different and competing narrative pathways for negotiating the relationship between weakness and greatness, and hence for trying to secure a frail identity time and again: shame: pride, denial, and insult. These pathways are conceptualized based on a rediscovery of the largely overlooked discussion on narcissism in Giddens (1991), as well as on psychological research on the personality disorder in question. The paper illustrates these pathways by using the examples of Japan and the US.