Like many Ruskin students Peter left school at 16 with few qualifications and worked in shops, factories and offices before entering post-compulsory education and graduating with a BA (Hons) in Development Studies from the University of East Anglia. His Ph.D was on the role of trade union activists in the South African liberation movement and in the first democratic government from 1994-1999. His Postdoctoral research was on social movements in post-apartheid South Africa which he undertook at the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He then worked in popular education and campaigns for a non-governmental organisation in Cape Town. A lifelong trade union member, he has been involved as a researcher and campaigner in a variety of social movement campaigns in both the UK and South Africa. He has worked with the Congress of South African Trade Unions together with other labour, social movement and non-governmental organisations in Southern Africa. He has also presented at World Social Forums in Brazil, Mali and Kenya.

His research interests include: the political economy of development, the political and social implications of macro policy, South African civil society and collective responses to neo-liberalism in Africa. These interests directly inform the content of the modules Economy and Society, Work, Employment and Economic Change, Radical Political Economy and Development Studies and several modules on the BA and MA ILTUS courses which he teaches on.

Peter is a Research Associate at the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU) part of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

Recent publications include:

Dwyer, P. and Seddon, D. (2010) The Role of Popular Movements in Africa Today’, paper to the 15th International Conference on Alternative Futures and Popular Protest, Manchester Metropolitan University, 29-31 March.

Dwyer, P. and Zeilig, L (2009) 'Township Protests, Militant Strikes: Rethinking the Left's Approach', in The South African Labour Bulletin, volume 33 Number 4, October/November.

Dwyer, Peter (2009) South Africa's climate of rebellion, Pambazuka News issue 450, 1 October.
Read here

Larmer, M. Dwyer, P. and Zeilig, L (2009) 'Southern African social movements at the 2007 Nairobi World Social Forum, Global Networks, A Journal of Transnational Affairs, Volume Number 9.

Desai, A. and Dwyer, P. (2008) 'Civil society, the United Nations and WCAR', in Bond, P. and Desai, in Foreign Policy Bottom Up: South African Civil Society and the globalisation of popular solidarity, A report of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Centre for Civil Society. 
Read here 

Desai, A. and Dwyer, P. (2008) 'The World $ummit on $ustainable Development', in Bond, P. and Desai, in Foreign Policy Bottom Up: South African Civil Society and the globalisation of popular solidarity, A report of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Centre for Civil Society.
Read here

Dwyer, P. Seddon, D and Zeilig, L, (2008) 'An epoch of uprisings: Social movements in post-colonial Africa', paper to 13th International Conference on Alternative Futures and Popular Protest, Manchester Metropolitan University, 17-19 March.

Dwyer, P. (2006), ‘The Right to Work: a light in the tunnel’, South African Labour Bulletin, volume 30, issue 4, Oct/Nov.

Dwyer, P. (2006) ‘The Concerned Citizens Forum: A Fight within a fight’, in Ballard et al (eds), Voices of protest: social movements in post-apartheid South Africa, University of KwaZulu Press, Pietermaritzburg.

Dwyer P, (2004) The contentious politics of the Concerned Citizens Forum (CCF), Centre for Civil Society research report 27, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Read here

Dwyer, P, (2003), ‘South Africa: Dying to Fight’, Review of African Political Economy, No 98, Dec 2003.

Dwyer, P. (2002) ‘South Africa under the ANC: Still bound to the chains of exploitation’ in Class Struggle and Resistance in Africa Leo Zeilig (ed) New Clarion Press Cheltenham.