Beyond Numbers: Comparing Mechanisms for Substantive Representation of Ethnic Minorities and Indigenous Peoples Conference, 5-8 December 2018

Co-organized by

Netina Tan and Karen Bird

This three-day workshop, held at McMaster University from December 5-8, 2018, brought together Canadian and international political scientists to examine how ethnic quotas, reserved seats, and alternative approaches vary globally, with particular interest on their substantive impact.

Conference Highlights:

Distinguished scholars with knowledge of the issues in countries such as Lebanon, India, South Africa, Croatia, Serbia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Singapore, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, the US, and Canada
Training opportunities for interested scholars and graduate students in this area of research
Collaborative output from the workshop will be organized into a
special issue or book publication

Key Themes:

Global variations in formal and informal mechanisms of ethnic inclusion, outcomes for targeted groups, and implications on democracy
Comparison of recent (e.g. Singapore, Bolivia, Croatia, Burundi, Iraq) and longstanding (e.g. New Zealand, India) institutional mechanisms for ethnic representation

Program Highlights:

Wednesday, Dec 5th, 2018: Keynote and Welcome Dinner

6:30pm: Welcome Reception & Registration
7:00pm: Dinner
8:00pm: Keynote Speech, “Representation by Design” – David Lublin (American University)

Thursday, Dec 6th, 2018:

8-8:45 am: Breakfast
8:45-10:15am: Panel 1 – Improving Representation: Theoretical and Empirical Challenge (Chair: Matthijs Bogaards; Paper Presenters: Jelena Loncar, Jelena Loncar, Jackie F. Steele; Discussant: Catherine Frost)
10:30-12:00pm: Panel 2 – Institutional Reforms and Representative Outcomes (Chair: Rachel Barnett; Paper Presenters: Lisa R. Handley, John C. Courtney, Michael Pal; Discussants: Karen Bird, Bill Cross)
1:00-2:30pm: Panel 3 – Global Perspectives on Indigenous Representation (Chair: Allison McCulloch; Paper Presenters: Kharis Templeman, Christina Ewig, David B. MacDonald, Roberta Rice; Discussants: Meaghan Williams, Oscar Mejía Mesa)
2:45-4:15pm: Panel 4 – Consociational and Centripetal Settings for Ethnic Inclusion (Chair: Lisa R. Handley; Paper Presenters: Matthijs Bogaards, Allison McCulloch, Benjamin Reilly; Discussants: Robert Schertzer, Jelena Loncar)
4:30-5:45pm: Panel 5 – Federalism, Self-Governance and Representation in the Canadian Context (Chair: Roberta Rice; Paper Presenters: Oscar Mejía Mesa, Meaghan Williams, Robert Schertzer; Discussant: Peter Graefe)
6:15-7:30pm: Roundtable Discussion – Toward More Effective Indigenous and Minority Representation in Canada: Electoral Boundary Developments in Nova Scotia and Ontario’s Far North (Dave Levac, Dr. Michael Pal, Dr. Kenneth Deveau, Guy Bourgouin, Dr. John Courtney)
7:30pm: Dinner

Friday, Dec 7th, 2018:

8-8:45am: Breakfast
8:45-10:15am: Panel 6 – The Role of Political Parties in Ethnic Representation: Comparing Canada (Chair: Jackie F. Steele; Paper Presenters: Bill Cross, Quinn M. Albaugh, Benjamin Forest; Discussant: Jo Saglie)
10:30-12pm: Panel 7 – Deep Cleavages, Democracy and Minority Inclusion: Comparing Globally (Chair: Christina Ewig; Paper Presenters: Siniša Tatalović, Jo Saglie, Bassel Salloukh, Netina Tan and Cassandra Preece; Discussants: Benjamin Reilly, Allison McCulloch)
12-1:00 pm: Lunch with Roundtable Discussion of Research Contributions and Publication Plans (Karen Bird, Netina Tan)

L.R. Willson Hall

Methods Training Modules:

1:00-2:15 pm: Module 1 – Automated textual analysis of parliamentary debates
2:30-3:45 pm: Module 2 – GIS and geo-political mapping of ethnic diversity
4:00-5:15 pm: Module 3 – Using the Vote Compass datasets to study minority populations

Saturday, Dec 8th, 2018: Research Planning Meeting