Why do some individuals aim to run for political office, while others are not interested in politics at all? Which impact do parties have on the political careers of individuals? And, once elected, how do politicans behave in parliament? These questions, among others, are in the focus of this course. The aim of this course is threefold. First, we aim to shed light on the factors that affect political ambition to run for office of individual citizens. Second, we take a look on the party level and examine candidate selection and the individual's way to parliament. Third, we aim to analyze the behavior of parties as well as politicians once they are elected to parliament. In this course the particpants become familiar with essential theoretical and empirical concepts of party organisations, political socialization and parliamentary behavior.