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Hero / Victim
“The State” / “Innocent Civilians”
Villain
“Dangerous Enemies”
Stakes
Security
The Securitarian worldview “builds on the simple story that the community is threatened by violence and physical harm” (Simmons, 2020, p. 76). Someone who is narrating from the securitarin worldview will value security and seek to protect themselves from abuses of power that threaten their security.
The structure at the core of the Securitarian worldview is “the State”—that is, an overarching entity that is seen as being in charge of preserving the security of its constituents. Sometimes, this may be a literal nation-state, often represented by its government or its head of state/government. But this might not always be the case.
For example, sometimes the figure of “the State” can be an institution to whom its constituents are expected to be loyal. Think of a corporation, a university, or even an international organization (like the United Nations).
These are often institutions with a hierarchy that their constituent members are expected to respect. The flavor of the hierarchy can very. Some hierarchies are more rigid than others, and the ramifications of transgression might be heavier as a result. However, regardless of degree, there is likely some loyalty and rule-following that constituents are expected to show if they want to reap the benefits provided by “the State,” first and foremost of which is the benefit of security.
The Securitarian Sub-Narratives
The securitarian worldview is made up of three sub-narratives, each of which presents a different permutation of the sentence “The Victim is abused by the Villain.”
- Defense – “Innocent Civilians are threatened by Dangerous Enemies.” (Securitarian vs. Dignitarian)
- Unity – “Innocent Civilians are threatened by the Selfish Elites.” (Securitarian vs. Libertarian)
- Stability – “Innocent Civilians are threatened by the Ignorant Masses.” (Securitarian vs. Egalitarian)
Defense
In the Defense narrative, the threat comes from “Dangerous Enemies.” These are people or groups who are construed to be some nefarious Other that doesn’t, and shouldn’t, belong to “the State’s” loyal constituency. Efforts to remedy the injustice focus on protecting against this outsider threat.
Some examples of this narrative include:
- calls to protect borders;
- invectives against foreigners;
- celebration of military victories, etc.**
The defense narrative is the sub-narrative that most typifies the securitarian worldview. That is why “Dangerous Enemies” represent the villain not just of the defense narrative but also of the securitarian worldview as a whole.
** The examples presented here, and in the following sections, are intentionally brief, straightforward, and unnuanced. They are meant to provide an introduction to the basic flavor of each sub-narrative. However, any subject could be narrated using any root narrative. It’s a matter of how the abuse of power is spun. Law and order discourses might be most likely to show up as defense narratives, but a creative narrator might find ways to pull in other root narratives as well.
Unity
In the Unity narrative, the threat comes from anyone among “the State’s” constituency who is construed as sowing division. Here, the enemy isn’t outsiders, but rather people who can’t get on board with a specific agenda. Thus, efforts to address this threat should involve restoring the unity of the community.
Some examples of this narrative include:
- calls to come together to resolve an issue (i.e., a classic peacemaking narrative);
- detraction of “traitors”;
- welcoming of people into a community without regard for difference, etc.
Stability
In the Stability narrative, the threat comes from those among “the State’s” constituency who are causing harm to their fellow community members. Again, the enemy is not an outsider; rather, the harm that is being caused is less about dividing the community and more about causing physical harm to the community from the inside. Some examples of this narrative include:
- calls for law and order;
- demonization of people as criminals;
- reprimanding of people for not taking actions to protect each other (e.g., not getting vaccinated or wearing masks during a pandemic), etc.
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