A New Macro-Micro Approach to the Study of Political Careers: Theoretical, Methodological and Empirical Challenges and Solutions

The study of political careers is often criticised for remaining overly focused on macro-level observations. In this book I present a new approach that focuses on individual micro-level political careers. The following questions are central: • What should a new micro-level approach to the study of political careers look like? • What knowledge can the fields of sociology and political science gain from the application of a new micro-level approach to the study of political careers? • What methodological and theoretical innovations are needed to make this new approach successful? This book has three parts. First, I investigate the main roadblocks currently hampering the study of political careers and sketch the contours of an alternative approach. In the second part, I develop the methodological toolbox needed to follow this new approach. In the third part, I present three empirical studies that aim to investigate the value of the suggested approach. Here, I focus on the careers of Dutch members of parliament (1947-2012) and highlight how career transitions occur only when political candidates are able to acquire gatekeepers' approval by accumulating sufficient political human capital’