Accounting for the banking crisis: repertoires of agency and structure

Whittle, A.; Mueller, F.

Abstract

In this article, we conduct a discourse analysis of the testimony of the leaders of British banks during a UK public inquiry into the financial crisis. We examine the discursive devices that were used to handle the accountability of banking leaders, particularly their role in the events leading up to the collapse and subsequent state bail-out of the banks. Our analysis identifies two competing interpretative repertoires: an agentic repertoire and a structural repertoire. These repertoires are significant, we suggest, because they inform understanding of what went wrong with the banking system and what should be done to reform and regulate the sector. We conclude by calling for the notions of agency and structure to be treated as an object of study within discourse analysis rather than a form of social scientific explanation.

Citation

Whittle, A., & Mueller, F. (2016). Accounting for the banking crisis: repertoires of agency and structure. Critical Discourse Studies, 13(1), 20-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2015.1074598

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 25, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Oct 12, 2015
• Publication Date: 2016
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 23, 2020
• Journal: Critical Discourse Studies
• Print ISSN: 1740-5904
• Electronic ISSN: 1740-5912
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 20-40
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2015.1074598
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1267880