Cultural sanctions and ontological (in)security: operationalisation in the context of mega-events

Abstract

Cultural boycotts of mega-events often receive high media profile, but their effectiveness remains questioned. This effectiveness is influenced by their ability to generate ontological insecurity within the target state. However, measuring the impact of such threats is challenging in light of the evasive nature of the concept of ontological insecurity. Hence, we advance a new way to operationalise the impact of both hosting and boycotting mega-events on ontological security (OS), using quantitative indicators on the societal level, thus allowing for a more systematic cross-national exploration of the dynamics of OS. We also contribute to the research on cultural sanctions and the politics of mega-events, by offering an empirical assessment of their actual impact on society’s sense of OS. Finally, the paper points to the importance of de-constructing the concept of ‘national’ ontological (in)security and to the possibility that different segments in society may be more or less vulnerable to such threats. Using data from a national-wide survey among Jewish-Israelis in the context of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Israel, we found a positive association between its hosting and OS, a perception of threat to OS to some extent following calls to boycott the event, and differences in these perceptions among various social groups.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Societal beliefs are defined as ‘shared cognitions by society members that address themes and issues with which society members are particularly occupied, and which contribute to their sense of uniqueness’ (Bar-Tal et al. 2012, 41).

2 The valence of emotions in psychology relate to its level of goal congruence (Lazarus 1991) and is hence experienced as a subjective level of pleasantness (Barrett 1998). Experiences that thwart personal goals therefore create negative emotions, subjectively felt as unpleasant.

3 The Peace Index is an ongoing project of monthly surveys launched in June 1994, currently conducted by the International Program in Conflict Resolution at Tel Aviv University. Each survey includes about 600 respondents, who constitute a representative national sample of the adult population of Israel aged 18 and over. The survey is carried out in Hebrew and Arabic. The maximum measurement error for the entire sample is ±4.1% at a confidence level of 95%. https://social-sciences.tau.ac.il/peace-index-general

4 Israeli society is highly polarised between the Jewish majority and the Palestinian-Arab minority. Since the Israeli NBN is highly dominated by the Jewish majority (Bar-Tal 2013), we focused on this group.

5 Political left or right in the Israeli context mostly refers to the continuum between hawkish and dovish views regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This ideological orientation is associated with differential support for various political and social policies (see elaboration in Sharvit et al. 2010)

6 Following a recent study that utilised the Peace Index (Yuchtman-Yaar, Alkalay, and Aival 2018), the socio-demographic variables of education level and age were dichotomised as follows: high education—academic; young age—less than 45.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nimrod Rosler

Nimrod Rosler is a Lecturer at the Program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, and head of the international program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Tel Aviv University. His studies deal with psychological and social aspects of political conflicts and their resolution, while focusing on gender, emotions, leadership, peace processes and their integration in the studies of conflicts. He published his work in books and journals, such as Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research and Political Psychology. Email: [email protected]

Galia Press-Barnathan

Galia Press-Barnathan is a senior lecturer at the Department of International Relations in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her work explores various dimensions of popular culture in world politics, and issues related to regional cooperation and the links between economics,security and peace. She is the author of two books and her work has been published in journals such as Security Studies, International Studies Review, International Political Sociology and International Affairs. Email: [email protected]