Wilson, Dr. Gary

Dr. Gary Wilson
PhD - Political Science, MA - Russian and East European Studies (University of Toronto), BA Hons - Political Science (Carleton) Professor Chair, Political Science
Email: Phone:
250-960-5514
Campus:
  • Prince George

Biography

Gary N. Wilson is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Political Science. His research focuses on governance and politics in the Canadian and Circumpolar North, and on the impacts of globalization and political change on communities in northern Canada and the Celtic periphery in Europe. He has published articles in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, American Journal of Canadian Studies, Canadian Foreign Policy, Europe-Asia Studies, Post-Soviet Affairs, Polar Geography and the Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism. Dr. Wilson is currently serving as the Academic Co-Director of the University of the Arctic's Læra Institute for Circumpolar Education.

Research and Expertise

My research and teaching examines the remarkable resiliency and adaptability of regions and communities in the face of the powerful forces of global change. My work on Arctic politics and governance explores the multidimensional relationships that exist between Inuit regional governments and organizations, and non-Aboriginal governments at the provincial, national and international levels. I am also interested in the ways that small island regions, such as the Isle of Man in the British Isles, are protecting and revitalizing their indigenous languages and cultures in a world that is becoming increasingly homogenized. Closer to home, I study the impacts that global processes and changes are having on communities across northern British Columbia and other parts of the Canadian provincial norths.

Research Fields:
  • Northern Issues
  • Political Science
Areas of Expertise:

Politics and government (Canadian and international); local government; northern and Arctic politics; Indigenous governance in northern and Arctic regions; European and British politics; Russian politics; Northern and Arctic Studies

Currently accepting graduate students
Supervises in:
  • MA Political Science
  • MA International Studies
  • MA NRES
  • PhD NRES
  • MA Interdisciplinary Studies
Available to be contacted by the media as a subject matter expert

Selected Publications

Gary N. Wilson, Christopher Alcantara and Thierry Rodon (2020). Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic. Vancouver: UBC Press: pp. 207.

Gary N. Wilson and Per Selle (2019). Indigenous Self-Determination in Northern Canada and Norway. IRPP Study: Canada’s Changing Federal Community. #69. Montréal: Institute for Research on Public Policy: 1-38.

Gail Fondahl and Gary N. Wilson (eds) (2017). Northern Sustainabilities: Understanding and Addressing Change in the Circumpolar World. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Press: 342.

Christopher Alcantara, Dianne Lalonde and Gary N. Wilson (2017). “Indigenous Research and Academic Freedom: A View from Political Scientists.” The International Indigenous Policy Journal. 8/2: 1-19.

Paul Bowles and Gary N. Wilson (eds) (2016). Resource Communities in a Globalizing Region: Development, Agency and Contestation in Northern British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press: pp. 318.

Gary N. Wilson (2015). “Branding Small Islands: A Case Study of the Isle of Man.” In Kelly Vodden, Godfrey Baldacchino and Ryan Gibson (eds). Place Peripheral: The Promise and Challenge of Place-Based Development in Rural and Remote Regions (St. John’s: Institute of Social and Economic Research Press): 230-253.

Greg Poelzer and Gary N. Wilson (2014). “Governance in the Arctic: Political Systems and Geopolitics.” In Joan Nymand Larsen and Gail Fondahl (eds). Arctic Human Development Report: Regional Processes and Global Linkages (Copenhagen: Norden – Nordic Council of Ministers): 183-220.

Gary N. Wilson, Henry Johnson and Julia Sallabank (2014). “I’m Not Dead Yet: A Comparative Study of Indigenous Language Revitalization in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.” Current Issues in Language Planning. November: 1-22.

Christopher Alcantara and Gary N. Wilson (2013). “The Dynamics of Intra-Jurisdictional Relations in the Inuit Regions of the Canadian Arctic: An Institutionalist Perspective.” Regional and Federal Studies. 23:4: 1-19.

Gary N. Wilson and Christopher Alcantara (2012). “Mixing Politics and Business in the Canadian Arctic: Inuit Corporate Governance in Nunavik and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.” Canadian Journal of Political Science. 45/4 (December): 781-804. Article short-listed for the John McMenemy Prize for best paper published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science in 2012