All executives need advice. Equally providing advice is a dangerous game. Speaking truth to power demands diplomatic skills. This book looks at the way in which advice is provided to the summit of government in twelve advanced industrialised countries. It looks at the organisation and staffing of advice for the heads of executives in eight European countries (Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden) as well as Australia, China, Japan and the USA. The book examines the increasing pressures for centralisation as core executives confront the differentiation and pluralisation of government and the interplay of constitutional, political and institutional factors, and above all the governmental tradition in each system.