The UK’s latest defence and security reviews set out a simple but effective narrative of an embattled UK in need of urgent military and societal mobilisation amid “radical uncertainty” and a “dangerous world”. But what are the deeper assumptions that this dangerous narrative feeds off? And how can a counter-narrative harness other national values and stories to plot a course towards a more stable and peaceful world? Joanna Frew reports on Rethinking Security’s latest open discussion webinar.
In early October, Rethinking Security held an open discussion for members, supporters and friends to think about the narratives that shaped the latest UK National Security Strategy (NSS) and how our own narratives could take shape in response to these. After hearing Larry Attree’s critique of the NSS and Strategic Defence Review (SDR), both released in June 2025, we used the Butterfly Lab’s Narrative Pyramid Worksheet to discuss responses.
An hour was never going to be long enough to give this work the attention it deserves but since then I have had the privilege of sitting with the ideas that were shared, writing them up and sharing them with those who attended. In the process, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the ideas and what threads there are that might help us shape a coherent narrative.
The Narrative Pyramid and mainstream security
The Narrative Pyramid is a helpful tool to think about the coherency of our communication. It begins by asking what the deep narrative is. What are the assumptions that we carry, without question, that trigger emotional responses? The UK NSS relies on assumptions like ’might is right‘ and the unquestioned virtue of the UK and more generally Western world. The UK and its allies are ‘good actors’ in the world. Others are not.
Next is the current narrative. In the case of the NSS, it is that we live in a dangerous world, “radically uncertain” and the NSS/ SDR will address this for “the British people”. There is coherency here with the deep narrative: it relies on the assumption that the British people are the good group and that some others are inherently dangerous, creating insecurity for ’us’. It pulls on some basic emotions like fear, highlighting the danger and chaos out there.
The story (the next part of the pyramid) backs this up. The NSS and SDR tell the story that Russia is the major threat, with China a close second (despite the recent controversy over the way China is described). It is clear that there are threats from Russia and China but the solutions in the SDR/NSS do not really address these, only appeal for greater militarism. Other stories include the danger to our economy from migrants, a signal that the government is elevating the concerns of right-wing parties over immigration.
The final part of the pyramid – the messages – of the SDR/NSS collectively ask us to accept the narrative and stories and tell us what will solve these dangers. The message is that the government is being realistic, despite difficult trade-offs that have to be made on things like development assistance and humanitarian aid. Further, that society should mobilise in support of increased militarisation since we will enjoy a “defence dividend” in the form of a booming arms industry that promotes economic growth, exports and employment.
Our Narrative
With this simplistic yet broadly coherent picture of so-called security and defence quite firmly entrenched in British discourse, it is challenging to work out how we can also create an acceptable narrative that essentially taps in to equally underlying feelings. But we are not the first to think about this and there is research and tried and tested methods to build on.
For example, research carried out by the FrameWorks Institute and others in 2022 showed that the public had only a vague understanding of what peacebuilders do and saw peace as passive. The research indicated that explaining peace-making or -building as something active, pointing to where it is already happening, and using metaphors such as “bridge-building” made for much more effective communication.
Pairing these successful strategies with the ideas shared in our discussions, is there an aligned narrative pyramid that might help us counter the National Security Strategy? Below is a summary of some of the contributions that seem to fit well with each other.
At its core, our deep narrative could tap into the underlying frames expressed in mainstream narrative about security, but turn these around. In other words, that the UK has had and does have an important role in the world, emphasising that UK has been a champion of human rights and international law and in which the UK has (at times) been on the right side of history. Affirming the positive role the UK has played should not mean shying away from addressing problematic legacies of empire, military interventions and many other issues that must be reckoned with. Yet, to reach out beyond those already convinced of a need to change approaches to security, we should start with elements that, as the Narraitve Pyramid suggests, “connect to underlying frameworks and values.”
On to this we can build a narrative of what a positive role in the world looks like today. For example, using diplomatic connections to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on a range of issues. Working with other states and as part of multilateral institutions, rather than attempting to set the agenda with a small circle of powerful allies.
There are many stories we can tell about the value of cooperation, including the way Europe came together after the Second World War to transform relations. Or how international arms control mechanisms regulated the proliferation, storage and use of many type of weapons of mass destruction from the 1970s. There are many more stories from the UN and other multilateral forums that highlight the success of cooperation. Rethinking Security have complied some here.
The possible messages that were shared in the session that back up these stories and narratives are that peace is a process, not a righteous ideology, and that as a country we always have a choice about how to respond to uncertainties. These messages of a different type of action help to show that there are things we can do rather than accept the cycle of insecurity and conflict.
Despite the many insecurities we do indeed face on a global scale, positive action is most likely to proceed from positive thinking about what we can have agency over. Highlighting the active role we can all play and the momentum this builds for a new approach to security is essential.
The views and opinions expressed in posts on the Rethinking Security blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the network and its broader membership.
Image Credit: HM Government, June 2025. Cover of the National Security Strategy 2025.
I’m definitely going to apply what I’ve learned here.