Everyday Nationalism and the Politics of Public Space—How National Security Policies Create Zones of In(Security) in Vienna

While cities have always embodied difference, with their diverse inhabitants contributing to urban culture and economy, the underlying legitimation of belonging in the democratic nation-state continues to be based on an essentialized national identity. This study sheds light on the ways in which diverse cities, and specifically public spaces as spaces of encounter, are produced discursively on the level of the nation-state. The study employs Critical Frame Analysis (CFA) to examine the Austrian Security Police Act amendments between 2005 and 2018. This analysis focuses on how policy-making processes on the level of national legislation have discursively shaped public spaces in Vienna as zones of (in)security. The analysis reveals that national governments in Austria have increasingly framed urban public spaces as areas of insecurity. This framing aligns with broader nationalist agendas that seek to delineate who belongs within the nation, thereby exacerbating tensions between local multicultural practices and national discourses. The study highlights a significant gap between everyday multicultural encounters in urban spaces and national policies that reinforce exclusionary, homogeneous identities. These findings underscore the role of public space as a battleground for broader ideological conflicts over national identity and belonging.