Manfred Elfstrom

Manfred Elfstrom is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, Philosophy, and Political Science at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. He studies China, social movements, labor, and authoritarianism. He is the author of "Workers and Change in China: Resistance, Repression, Responsiveness" (Cambridge University Press, 2021), which examines how rising industrial conflict is transforming the Chinese state from below, with complex results for activists and authorities alike. Dr. Elfstrom's research has appeared in China Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, British Journal of Industrial Relations, and China Information, and he has written for The Daily Beast and South China Morning Post. He has a PhD from Cornell University’s Department of Government. Before entering academia, he worked in the non-profit world, supporting workers’ rights and improved grassroots governance in China.