Political leaders around the world rely on their own resources – their political abilities, their networks and their creativity – to meet the challenges of democracy, governance and inclusion.
External advice is an option that most leaders want in their toolbox: they appreciate information on best practices, examples of success and failures from other countries in similar situations, and strategic advice from trusted and experienced ‘peers’ who can assess the situation from a distance. Too often, however, external advice comes with strings attached. Institutions or corporate leaders in their networks have political agendas and are often regarded with suspicion by national actors. Impartial, external counsel is not readily found.
While in office, Club de Madrid Members established policies that strengthened democracy, governance, and inclusion. Now their advice can help current leaders meet daunting challenges. Members can engage in peer-to-peer leadership support individually or in a task force and the support takes on relevance in the context of democratic transitions, pre and post conflict situations, and constitutional reform or socio-economic policy reform.
Members possess convening power to facilitate and build consensus among a divided group of stakeholders, including the government, political parties, factions, or civil society organisations. Oftentimes, members lead policy dialogues at the national level involving regional partners who have identified critical needs that need to be addressed.