Political initiative (8)
I believe the answer is:
demarche
'political initiative' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for demarche that I've seen before include "A diplomatic initiative" , "A move or countermove in diplomatic relations" , "A political initiative" , "Mad cheer for diplomatic manoeuvre" , "Diplomatic protest or manoeuvre" .)