Perils and Possibilities

Byron Sheldrick is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph. He has a BA from Carleton University, a LLB from Univeristy of Toronto), and a MA and PhD from York University. Byron's research and teaching interests straddle the intersection of law and political science. He considers himself a political economist - seeking to understand political phenomena in terms of their relationship to economic factors. More particularly, how the structures of capitalism influence the organization of the state and politics around state policy. This focus has led to an interest in social movements, particularly anti-poverty groups and their mobilization around the welfare state and community economic development initiatives. It has also led to an interest in the strategies of social democratic movements, particularly in Canada and the United Kingdom. With respect to law, his research interests are in issues of human rights and social justice, and he has focused on social movement activism around legal issues and how law has become incorporated into the organization of states.


His publications include: Perils and Possibilities: Social Activism and the Law (Fernwood Publishing); "Welfare in Winnipeg's Inner City: Exploring the Myths" Canadian Journal of Urban Research; "Community Economic Development: Governance and State-Civil Society Relations" in John Loxley (ed) Transforming or Reforming Capitalism: Towards a Theory of Community Economic Development (Fernwood Publishing); and, "The Left in Canada" in Joan Grace and B. Sheldrick (eds), Canadian Politics: Democracy and Dissent (Pearson Education)