The Trajectory of Agency Talk Across The Netherlands, Sweden and Australia

Abstract

This chapter presents initial findings about the nature of agency talk in The Netherlands, Sweden and Australia. It applies the concepts of the New Rhetoric and Grid Group Cultural Theory to government documents that initiated and described agency reforms across the countries. For now the focus is upon identifying the distinctive trajectories of agency talk that were adopted across the countries, the specific issues they dealt with, and any durable features of this talk. This includes identifying the themes and rhetorical strategies exhibited in national agency accounts over time, as well as the cultural flavour of the arguments.