Toward a Comprehensive Understanding of Political Ambition: A Systematic Review

Political ambition, namely the desire to run for office or elected position, is a critical concept for understanding candidate emergence and its implications for political representation. Despite its central role in shaping who enters the political arena, existing research remains fragmented across disciplines, regions, and methodologies. This paper proposes a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on political ambition, offering a comparative perspective grounded in Pitkin’s (1967) conceptual framework of political representation to explore its links to descriptive and substantive representation. The study is articulated around two key objectives. First, it seeks to synthesize findings from the last decades of research to identify recurring patterns and theoretical inconsistencies, focusing on the intersection of political ambition and gender. Second, the examination of scholarship on how institutional and individual factors shape political ambition and candidate emergence, aims to address the gaps in the literature, thus providing insights for further research. This paper positions itself as a necessary contribution to the study of political ambition by proposing a standardized framework for comparison, paving the way for more cohesive cross-national research. Based on an initial review, preliminary results indicate significant methodological disparities and highlight the importance of institutional mechanisms in shaping political ambition. By anchoring the discussion in Pitkin’s theories, this study aims to connect micro-level analyses of political ambition with macro-level inquiries on representation and inclusivity, contributing to further academic research by providing a solid comprehensive analysis of existing scholarly productions.