This is an unusual course; it is neither a seminar nor a lecture but rather a Q-Team. It is based on the principles of inquiry-based learning. It is highly collaborative; we will work in groups and we will do a lot of practical, working sessions. Collectively, we want to answer the following question: What is known from the existing literature published between 1969 and 2018 about how power sharing contributes to democratic stability across the globe? 1969 is chosen because the power sharing theory was first conceptualized and heavily influenced by Arend Lijphart, whose 1969 article Consociational Democracy is considered the classic expression of the theory (Lijphart 2008, 3). Power sharing was first applied to four European consociational democracies namely Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland but has since been studied in several countries across the globe.
Students will be divided into groups based on regional interest: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, etc. Together we will carry out a pioneering scoping review of the vast power sharing literature. A scoping review is a more advanced and structured form of a literature review. It maps the concepts in addition to evidence sources and types in a particular field (Mays, Roberts, and Popay 2001, 194). Contrary to systemic reviews or meta-analysis that synthesize and evaluate evidence supporting or contradicting a specific research question, a scoping review maps the field and points out to research gaps (Arksey and O'Malley 2005, 20). The Q-Team will use Arksey and O'Malley’s (2005) widely-cited methodological framework on how to carry a scoping review. The framework consists of five stages: 1) identifying the research question, 2) identifying the relevant studies, 3) study selection, 4) charting the data and 5) collating, summarizing and reporting the results. The outline of the Q-Team is organized around these five stages.