Socio-political reflections of ontological insufficiency: Effects of the February 6 earthquake on state-society relations in Turkey

The earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023 affected 11 provinces, especially Kahramanmaraş and Hatay, and were recorded as the most devastating natural disaster in the country's history. This earthquake, publicly known as the "disaster of the century," left deep scars across the country. The traumas caused by the devastating effects of the earthquake have been decisive on individuals' and society's perceptions of security, political preferences, and perspectives on the state. This study analyzes the effects of the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes on state-society relations in Türkiye within the scope of ontological security theory. The main purpose of the research is to test the theoretical framework of ontological security, which is still new in the discipline of International Relations, in the field through a survey to be applied to the victims of the earthquake. In this context, the social, political and psychological dimensions of the concept of security are discussed and the theoretical foundations of the ontological security theory are explained. The research was conducted using a mixed method using both qualitative and quantitative data, and the universe of the research covers the provinces directly affected by the February 6, 2023 earthquakes. SPSS-26 package program was used to analyze the data obtained from a total of 1,517 participants who participated in the survey. A five-point Likert scale was used in the survey questions created for five main variables determined as "Anxiety", "Fear", "Identity and alienation", "Routine" and "State as a provider of social institutions for ontological security". The findings were evaluated using factor analysis, correlation analysis, t-test and ANOVA analysis using frequency tables. According to the research findings, after the social trauma caused by the earthquake, individuals' security needs were not limited to physical security only; they also encompassed the ontological security dimension, which includes existential elements such as a sense of belonging, a search for routine and order, and a sense of identity and continuity. The protective role of the state emerged as a decisive factor in re-establishing security needs after the earthquake. It has been concluded that ontological insecurity leads to a status quo tendency in political behavior and that after periods of crisis and trauma, individuals favor the maintenance of the existing order rather than change. As a result, this research contributes to security studies by testing the ontological security approach with field data from the February 6, 2023 earthquake.