Heather Exner-Pirot

My name is Heather Exner-Pirot. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with my husband and two kids. I am the Managing Editor of the Arctic Yearbook.

My first job was with the University of the Arctic. I had just returned from an internship in Geneva and wasn’t sure if I would be able to find a job that reflected my interests in Saskatoon. UArctic was just opening up their Undergraduate Office at the University of Saskatchewan and starting up the Circumpolar Studies program. I had to google ‘circumpolar’ before the job interview. I had actually done my Master’s research in Southern Chile working with an Indigenous (Huilliche) women’s co-operative on the island of Chiloé – so I had some experience with the Circumpolar South!

I eventually did my PhD at the University of Calgary, focusing on Arctic human security and regionalisation, and then moved back to the University of Saskatchewan for various positions involving distributed education in northern areas.

Soon after I completed my PhD, I founded the Arctic Yearbook with Lassi Heininen and Joel Plouffe in 2012 and started writing a blog for Eye on the Arctic. Although my work and research interests have expanded to include rural, Indigenous and northern development, including innovation, education, health and economic policy, I am still passionate about Arctic governance. I think the Arctic is the best kept secret in International Relations – Indigenous inclusion, peace and stability, East–West cooperation, evidence-based decision-making – it’s a miracle when you think about it, a bastion of hope in a turbulent world.  I used to say that the Arctic Council was a model for regional governance, but the fact is it’s totally unique – no one else is even trying to replicate it.

If you would like to learn more about me and how to contact me visit:

Twitter: @exnerpirot

Email: exnerpirot@gmail.com

And learn more about the Arctic Yearbook: https://arcticyearbook.com/

Selected peer-reviewed publications:

Exner-Pirot, Heather, Maria Ackrén, Natalia Loukacheva, Heather Nicol, Annika E. Nilsson and Jennifer Spence. 2019. “Form and Function: The Future of the Arctic Council.” The Arctic Institute, 5 February. https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/form-function-future-arctic-council/

Exner-Pirot, Heather. 2018. “The Arctic as a Region of Innovation.” Arctic Summer College Yearbook, 21-31. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-66459-0_3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320333935_The_Arctic_as_a_Region_of_Innovation.

Exner-Pirot, Heather. 2016. “Canada’s Arctic Council Chairmanship: A Post-Mortem.” Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 22(1): 84-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/11926422.2015.1115772.

Exner-Pirot, Heather. 2012. “What is the Arctic a Case Of? The Arctic as a Regional Environmental Security Complex and the Implications for Policy.” The Polar Journal 3(1): 120-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2013.766006.

Selected non-academic articles:

Exner-Pirot, Heather. 2018. “How to Write an Arctic Story in 5 Easy Steps.” Arctic Today, 4 December. https://www.arctictoday.com/write-arctic-story-5-easy-steps/.

Exner-Pirot, Heather. 2018. “Economic Development in the North: The Taboo No One Wants to Talk About.” Eye on the Arctic, 30 January. http://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2018/01/30/economic-development-in-the-north-the-taboo-no-one-wants-to-talk-about/.

Exner-Pirot, Heather. 2015. Put Up or Shut Up with Your Arctic Conflict Theory. http://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2015/10/20/northern-expert-proposes-new-rule-put-up-or-shut-up-with-your-arctic-conflict-theory/