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Abstract

This research is grounded in security studies and seeks to address the issue of vulnerability, expressed as ontological and cognitive insecurity, at the level of the individual. Utilising an original theoretical framework integrating elements from ontological security theory and prospect theory, the work aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of the ways individuals navigate vulnerability and uncertainty in a shifting global order. Using the 2024 US Presidential Election as an empirical anchor and employing critical discourse analysis and a repeated cross-sectional design to targeted social media posts and focus group discussions, the work explores the possible reasons that Generation Z voters in western democracies are gravitating towards antidemocratic candidates or parties. Through the theoretical frame, the findings suggest that Gen Z voters are experiencing high levels of vulnerability and operating from a prospect theoretical frame of loss in which high-risk decision-making is pursued as a means of exiting undesirable conditions. This offers an alternative, but inclusive, understanding to dominant narratives surrounding the 2024 US Presidential Election that suggest the rightward shift of Gen Z is the result of physical security concerns, an upsetting of traditional social hierarchies, and an evolving cultural moment and presents a fruitful avenue for future research of potential interest to critical security scholars, strategic communications studies, and practitioners pursuing research within the broader field of democratic resilience.