OpinionOpinion byNicholas Ross Smith - The ConversationOther·7 Jun, 2026 06:00 PM5 mins to readNicholas Ross Smith is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Waikato.Borrowed from psychiatry, the term “ontological security” describes how nations understand themselves and their place in the world – and how it can break down. Photo / Getty ImagesYou need only glance at the headlines these days to know the state of international relations is dangerous.From Washington’s retreat from multilateral commitments to Moscow’s aggressive ethno-nationalism, the defining feature of world affairs is not simply cold strategic calculation but something closer to anxiety.
To explain this search for
