AMANDA SMULLEN is Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Management, Department of Politics, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She is co-author of Agencies: How Governments Do Things Through Semi-Autonomous Organizations and has published in various journals including Public Administration, Comparative Policy Analysis and Critical Policy Analysis.

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• PART I: SETTING THE SCENE Translating Agency Reform Agency reform: Tracing a public management fashion PART II: THEORY AND TALK Theoretical Conceptual Tools: rhetoric and culture The Trajectory of Agency Talk Across The Netherlands, Sweden and Australia PART III: COMPARING AND EXPLAINING AGENCY TALK Comparing Official Agency Talk: National styles of speaking and the role of cultural context? The Role of Culturally Flavoured Stories and Their National Translations Conclusion