Carl Bildt's Assertive Sweden: Rhetorical Exigence, New Identity, and Prominence
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Abstract
This study examined the text of a speech by Carl Bildt, Foreign Minister, Kingdom
of Sweden, in Stockholm on December 19, 2006. Analyzed through the prism of
Lloyd Bitzer's (1968) "rhetorical situation" theory, a discourse of re-identification
appears as a means to re-establish Swedish relevance and influence in the
continent. The elements of exigence, audience, and constraints were analyzed in
relation to the text, and emergent discursive themes discussed. A discussion of
the inherent limitations and implications was also offered.