The Nexus of Ontological and Physical Security : A Case Study of the responses of Australia and France to the trilateral security pact of AUKUS

AUKUS is a security pact between Australia, the U.K and the U.S that will help Australia build and acquire nuclear-powered submarines and facilitate Australia in becoming a more capable player in the region. The aim of AUKUS is to protect the three members from the complex security challenges in the Indo-Pacific. On the day of the announcement of AUKUS the Australian Government abandoned a previously brokered contract of acquiring diesel-powered submarines with France. France did not learn of this cancellation until AUKUS was publicly announced. France responded to the AUKUS agreement in a particularly emotive way. Australia counter-responded in a similar manner. These emotions indicated that AUKUS challenged their identities. This thesis shifts the focus away from “physical security” implications of attaining a security agreement. This thesis proposes that in addition to physical security, states also seek ontological security or “stability in the identity”. The dialectical relationship of ontological and physical security will be applied to analyse the reactions of France and Australia in response to AUKUS. This paper applies a qualitative method of critical content analysis to analyse the empirical material of publications, speeches and statements from key political actors representing France and Australia. This thesis argues that France had the goal to reassert its power in the Indo-Pacific and that AUKUS created an instability in France’s identity. Australia on the other hand became more ontologically secure in response to AUKUS. The pact not only increased their physical security but also cemented their collective identity within the Anglosphere. This thesis aims to offer a critical and more nuanced reading of how ontological security and perceptions of physical security can be applied to develop more understanding of a state’s behaviour.