A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book

Imaginaries of Ontological (In)Security in Disco Elysium




AuthorsVuori, Juha A.

EditorsCastro, Vic & Kiersey, Nicholas

Publication year2025

Book title The World Politics of Disco Elysium

Series titlePopular Culture and World Politics

ISBN978-1-03-258363-1

eISBN978-1-03-262034-3

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4324/9781032620343-12

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingNo Open Access

Publication channel's open availability No Open Access publication channel


Abstract

The chapter analyses the videogame Disco Elysium from the viewpoint of ontological security and insecurity by discussing their imaginaries within the game and its world. Ontological (in)security concerns the security of the ‘self’, of the subjective sense of who one is. As such, the structure of Disco Elysium concurs with the logic of ontological (in)security. The study of political imaginaries is one of the main avenues for studying popular culture and world politics. Social imaginaries concern ways in which people ‘imagine’ social existence, how they fit together with others, and what are normal societal expectations and their underlying normative notions, they are about the repertory of collective actions at people’s disposal. The chapter explores what kinds of visions of the political the imaginaries of ontological (in)security Disco Elysium contains.



Last updated on 03/02/2026 10:10:09 AM