Carl Bildt's Assertive Sweden: Rhetorical Exigence, New Identity, and Prominence

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.