Mission saves us all: Great Russia and Global Britain dealing with ontological insecurity
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00471178221140093 |
| Author | Alicja Curanović,Piotr Szymański |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
https://doi.org/10.1177/00471178221140093
International Relations
2024, Vol. 38(4) 467 –491
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/00471178221140093
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Mission saves us all: Great
Russia and Global Britain
dealing with ontological
insecurity
Alicja Curanović
University of Warsaw
Piotr Szymański
University of Warsaw
Abstract
In this paper we analyse a situation wherein the political establishments of Russia and the United
Kingdom, in the face of ontological insecurity, use narratives with messianic overtones in their
foreign policies. Although these narratives do not feature prominently in the official discourse,
they are nevertheless noticeable and provide a valuable insight into dynamics of national identity.
We call them ‘mission narratives’ and interpret their (re)appearance in foreign policy as a reaction
to a ‘critical situation’ which undermines the stability of the autobiographical narrative of both
countries. Although different in scope and nature, the fall of the USSR and the Brexit referendum
both resulted in the status and identity of the two states being questioned. Both countries
reacted by emphasising their special role in the world. Referring to mission in foreign policy
strengthens a coherent autobiographic narrative which soothes ontological uncertainties.
Keywords
Brexit, Global Britain, messianism, ontological security, Russia
In this paper we analyse a situation wherein the political establishments of Russia
and the United Kingdom, in the face of ontological insecurity, have come up with nar-
ratives in their foreign policies which have messianic overtones and which we call
Corresponding author:
Alicja Curanović, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, Warszawa 00-927, Poland.
Email: a.curanovic@uw.edu.pl
1140093IRE0010.1177/00471178221140093International RelationsCuranović and Szymański
research-article2022
Article
468 International Relations 38(4)
‘mission narratives’. We demonstrate that mission narrative is one of possible reac-
tions a state might have to a ‘critical situation’ in which the core concepts of national
identity are questioned.
For both Russia and the UK one central motif of their respective autobiographical
narratives is that they became world powers in the past, that they maintain this status
today and wish to preserve it in the future. This self-image is rooted in the imperial
past of both countries. This imperial legacy has also nourished (in European/Western
cultural sphere) the understanding of a major power as a country which pursues a mis-
sion in the world.1 This persists today as an underlying feature of both countries’
contemporary elites.
This observation has two further consequences. Firstly, talking about mission is part
of status seeking behaviour. Mission narrative is thus relevant for status games. The posi-
tion of a country in the international hierarchy influences the content of this narrative.
Secondly, for countries where major power status is part of their identity, mission narra-
tive plays a role in sustaining or restoring ontological security (OS).
The contribution of this paper is in three areas. Firstly, it offers an original under-
standing of political messianism, of which mission narrative is a component. This phe-
nomenon is the starting point for our analysis. We demonstrate that referring to mission
in foreign policy, is not merely part of expansionist rhetoric or a rallying cry – it is a
mechanism of status seeking behaviour and ontological self-help. Secondly, our analy-
sis provides arguments on some divisive points of OS theory and strengths the integra-
tive path laid out by Filip Ejdus and Tanya Narozhna. In this paper we discuss a case
where OS concerns a particular aspect of identity, that is, status. Focusing on this issue
shows synergy between society (particularly the elite) and the state as a social actor. It
also sheds light on the dynamics of shame and anxiety avoidance behind OS seeking
behaviour. The third contribution is empirical. The paper provides readers with a com-
parative analysis of two messianic traditions, which are still relevant for the self-image
of Russia and the UK.
Academic literature about messianism in contemporary politics is not extensive and
mostly concerns Russia.2 The topic received more attention after the annexation of
Crimea in 2014.3 In most cases it is interpreted as an imperial practice rooted in the
Russian tradition and a propaganda tool for mobilising society in a non-democratic state.
We think that this view is reductive and inaccurate. To show that the mission narrative as
an ontological self-help mechanism and a component of status seeking behaviour is not
specific to Russia we used a comparative perspective. To investigate the link between
mission narrative and status we chose another former European empire which treasures
major power status as a central component of its autobiographical narrative. We looked
among this particular group of countries because these two factors, that is, (1) the impe-
rial past and (2) Judeo-Christian tradition entangled in the legacy of the Roman Empire
provide fertile ground for a mission to appear in contemporary foreign policy. Historically
speaking, mission narrative was characteristic chiefly for European empires, today’s
Western major powers.4
The choice of the UK is perhaps unintuitive, but logically coherent.5 Both Russia and
the UK are geographically on the edges of continental Europe, which historically played
the role of the Significant Other in the self-identification process of the two countries.
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