Welcome Dr. Peter Nyers, Associate Director of the MA in Globalization

As of 1^st July 2025, Peter Nyers is the new Associate Director of the MA in Globalization. He has been a member of the Department of Political Science, as well as Globalization Studies, at McMaster since 2004.

As a researcher, Peter explores the contentious politics of border regimes, deportation, detention, and regularization. His 2006 monograph, Rethinking Refugees: Beyond States of Emergency, remains a foundational text in critical refugee studies, advancing a theoretical framework that foregrounds refugee agency and performativity. He explored these themes in relation to deportation politics in his 2019 book, Irregular Citizenship, Immigration, and Deportation. Nyers has also edited four books on the politics of citizenship, including The Routledge Handbook of Global Citizenship Studies (2014), a comprehensive reference that maps contemporary debates around transnational citizenship, rights, and political membership. An engaged scholar, Nyers bridges academic research with activist practices, often drawing on ethnographic engagements with social movements and migrant justice networks. Nyers is also a Chief Editor of the journal Citizenship Studies.

We caught up with Peter to talk about what led him to this role, what he’s excited about the most, and what he does outside of work.

Tell us about your academic and professional background.

I earned my BA and MA degrees at the University of Victoria where I studied political theory. After deciding that the world didn’t need another book on Thomas Hobbes (at least not one written by me!), I switched to the field of International Relations for my doctoral studies. I completed my PhD at York University where I wrote a dissertation on the politics of refugee subjectivity and voice. I joined McMaster in 2004 and have been active as an instructor in both the Department of Political Science and in the MA program in Globalization Studies. I teach courses in the fields of globalization, critical security studies, global citizenship, critical methodologies, and the politics of borders. While at McMaster, I have been particularly active in graduate supervision, having supervised over 40 Major Research Paper projects for the MA in Globalization Studies alone.

What excites you most about this position?

Teaching and mentoring graduate students is the favourite part of my job. I am fortunate to be able to teach the mandatory core course (Globalization: An Introduction) for the Globalization MA every year. It’s exciting to get to know all the new MA students. The position of Associate Director will allow me to stay connected with these students throughout the academic year.

What research projects are you currently working on?

In addition to my ongoing research on the emergence of new political subjectivities and solidarities in the context of global displacement and border securitization, I am presently involved in two major research projects. The first, Blockade the Planet, assesses the resurgence of blockades as a political tactic by activists. I am interested in investigating blockades as kinopolitical sites where encounters occur, connections take place, and claims are made precisely because things are in motion. Some of the preliminary findings of this project have been published in an article called Decolonizing blockades: settler-citizen solidarities with Indigenous blockades. The second project, called Refugee States, seeks to challenge meta-narratives about forced migration. I work with researchers from the group Critical Refugee and Migration Studies in Canada and, together, we partner with migrant and refugee community organizations to engage individuals in digital storytelling. Through workshops that empower participants to develop skills in oral history, digital storytelling, and digital preservation, this project shines new light on the experiences of migrants and refugees.

Outside of academia, what do you like to do?

I enjoy travelling, fishing, running, and basketball.

Interested in our courses or program?

Connect with Peter, our Director Rachel Zhou, or our administrator for more information!