A multi wavelength study of the evolution and pc scale jet kinematics of active galaxies Active galaxies have been in the forefront of astronomic research since their first discovery at least 50 years ago . The putative supermassive black hole (SMBH) at their center characterizes their properties and regulates the evolution of these objects. I investigate the evolution of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the context of a merger driven evolution scheme. Under this assumption galaxy mergers trigger activity in galaxies both in the form of intense star formation as well as nuclear activity. This investigation uses the Caltech Jodrell Bank flat spectrum (CJF) sample a statistically complete sample of compact radio loud AGN. I find evidence supporting the merger driven evolution scheme of AGN exhibiting the relevance of merger events in active galaxies. In particular almost 30% of the CJF sources in the local Universe (z<0.4) show evidence of recent past present or possible future mergers. This is important in light of the unbiased selection effects of the CJF sample. In addition I find a broken correlation between the near infrared luminosity of the CJF sources and their total radio luminosity at 5 GHz. Low luminosity sources show an excess of near infrared emission compared to their high luminosity counterparts. A correlation between near infrared colors and multiwavelength variability is also found. Finally I trace the different stages of AGN evolution by selecting individual sources that fit the respective selection criteria finding 14 promising candidates for binary black hole (BBH) systems in the CJF ...