THE INTERFACE OF LANGUAGE AND STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRACY IN CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF ADMINISTRATIVE COMMUNICATION IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS

Abstract

This study examines the interface between language and street-level bureaucracy in contemporary public administration through a critical discourse analysis of administrative communication in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Macbeth and Henry V. It responds to the limited attention given in public administration scholarship to the linguistic mechanisms through which frontline bureaucrats interpret policies, exercise discretion, frame public problems and engage citizens during policy implementation. The study adopts qualitative document analysis, combining content analysis and critical discourse analysis to interpret Shakespearean dramatic texts as illustrative cases of administrative communication, power, persuasion and crisis framing. The analysis is supported by selected public administration literature on street-level bureaucracy, policy implementation, citizen engagement, motivational language and collaborative governance. Findings reveal four main language mechanisms relevant to street-level bureaucracy: language as a mechanism of power, language as a tool of bureaucratic discretion, language as a driver of policy framing and language as a means of citizen engagement. Hamlet demonstrates how language can expose, conceal and contest authority; Macbeth illustrates the manipulative and agenda-setting capacity of rhetoric; and Henry V shows how directive and motivational language can mobilize actors during crisis. The study contributes to street-level bureaucracy theory by showing that implementation is not only technical or procedural but also discursive. It also contributes to practice by emphasizing the need for frontline public officials to use clear, inclusive, accountable and context-sensitive language when interacting with citizens.