?Research on how politicians’ career incentives shapes how representative democracy works is a fast growing field in political science. Öhberg’s book is a major contribution to this exciting new field, as it is the first study to combine an in-depth analysis of one country, Sweden, with data from several other comparable democracies. The observed inverse relationship between the proportion of ‘ambitious’ politicians and political consensus is particularly interesting for future research.?— Simon Hix, Harold Laski Professor of Political Science, London School of Economics and Political Science

?The desire to hold public office is one thing. The ambition to possess public power is quite another. Drawing on a unique data set, Öhberg brings to light marks that distinguish those who aim for power from those who are satisfied with place.?— Paul M. Sniderman, Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Jr. Professor in Public Policy, Stanford University

?In Ambitious Politicians: The Implications of Career Ambition in Representative Democracy, Patrick Öhberg knits together theories of political ambition as conceived in studies of American politics with data on political careers and personal behaviors in European parliamentary systems. Drawing on extensive and insightful surveys on the attitudes and behavior of Swedish politicians, Öhberg convincingly demonstrates that personal ambition animates behavior in party-centric systems to a greater degree than currently appreciated. His Swedish findings are supported by an analysis of behavioral data on parliamentarians in eleven European countries, although intriguingly the impact of personal ambition varies based on the level of egalitarianism found in a particular country. Örhberg’s work is an important step in the effort to devise more general theories about legislative behavior, ones less bound to country specific systems. It is important reading for scholars of comparative legislative studies.?— Peverill Squire, professor of political science, University of Missouri