Western Interest

East of the Canadian Arctic, Greenland is the largest island in the world, with a population of only fifty-seven thousand. Indigenous people have lived on the island for millennia, with the Inuit arriving around a thousand years ago and remaining there ever since. Denmark began colonizing the island in 1728, justifying its conquest citing Norse settlement from the tenth century. This narrative conveniently ignored the fact that the Norse, who came from Iceland, abandoned the island over two hundred years before the Danish arrived.

In 1867, the US tried to purchase all of Denmark’s North American territories, including Greenland, Iceland, and the Danish West Indies. However, Congress rejected the price tag of $5.5 million for Greenland and Iceland and $7.5 million for the West Indies. The West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands) were later purchased in 1916 to protect the Panama Canal Zone, but the sparsely populated Greenland and Iceland were deemed less strategically important and were left unpurchased.

That changed during World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded Denmark. To prevent Germany from entering the North American theater, the United States occupied both Greenland and Iceland. After the war, the United States refused to leave Greenland, despite Danish protest. Worried about the rising Soviet Union, the United States offered to purchase the island for $100 million in 1946. The offer was refused, but Denmark agreed to let America defend the island.

In 1951, Thule Air Base (now Pituffik Space Base) was built to accommodate nuclear bombers that would be used against the Soviet Union in the event of war. The base’s construction displaced Greenlandic residents and, in 1968, a nuclear bomber crash contaminated the area with radiation. Greenland also hosted Camp Century, a storage site for nuclear missiles, that became a source of nuclear waste.

After the Cold War, the United States scaled back its presence in Greenland, leaving most radar stations abandoned while maintaining Thule Air Base. Interest reignited in 2007 with the discovery of rare earth metals in Greenland, which threatened China’s near monopoly over these critical resources. Greenland’s deposits could potentially meet one-quarter of the world’s demand, prompting China to deepen its economic ties with the island.

To maintain Western influence over the island, Denmark has blocked Chinese investment several times, despite the fact that the 2008 Greenland Self-Government Act grants Greenland the authority to negotiate international agreements. A recent report revealed US and Danish lobbying to prevent a mining company selling to China. While Denmark has used security concerns to justify interference in Greenlandic affairs, a recent poll shows that most Greenlanders do not see China as a threat.

Trumpian Imperialism

Trump’s recent proposal to buy Greenland is not his first. Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump made multiple offers to Denmark, all of which were refused. While Trump has given vague reasons for wanting Greenland, including its size and importance to defend “the free world,” his focus repeatedly returns to China. “We need Greenland for national security purposes. . . . You don’t even need binoculars, you look outside you have China ships all over the place,” Trump said when announcing his plan to buy the island. He also said that, if Denmark did not sell the island, economic sanctions or military force could be used to annex it.

This is part of Trump’s wider plan to steer foreign policy toward countering China, a shift that began with Barack Obama’s East Asia strategy to pivot the United States away from the Middle East and Europe and toward the Pacific. The plan failed to dislodge the United States from entanglements in Europe and the Middle East, but it made China America’s biggest rival, as seen in the ongoing trade war and paranoia over TikTok and Chinese spies. For Trump, angering Europe may be a small price to pay if it means thwarting China.

Denmark and other European leaders have condemned Trump’s statements. “We take this situation very, very seriously,” said Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Greenland is “European territory . . . [there is] no question of the EU letting other nations in the world, whoever they may be . . . attack its sovereign borders,” said French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot. Yet in private, Denmark has tried to appease the United States, offering increased American military presence in exchange for dropping annexation demands.

Greenland for Greenlanders

Left out of this conversation are Greenlanders, almost 90 percent of whom are Inuit. Denouncing Trump, Germany’s chancellor said that “borders must not be moved by force,” ignoring that Denmark moved its borders to Greenland through force.

During Greenland’s colonization, Denmark coerced the population to converted to Christianity. Efforts to “modernize” the country involved forcibly relocating Greenlandic Inuit from towns to cities. In the 1950s, Inuit children were snatched from their families and brought to Denmark to turn them into “little Danes.” Inuit women in the 1960s and ’70s were fitted with involuntary contraceptives. Even today, structural inequities persists: Inuit children are five times more likely to be placed into foster care than Danish children. These policies have had devastating effects — Greenlanders live on average eight years less than the Danish and have the highest suicide rate in the world.

In the face of these hardships, Greenlanders have fought for greater autonomy. In 1979, Greenland gained home rule, and in 2008 three-quarters of Greenlanders voted in a referendum approving the Greenland Self-Government Act. Under the bill, Greenland assumes most of the functions of government, with the exception of defense and security, which remain Denmark’s responsibilities. It also gives Greenland the right to declare independence.

Two-thirds of Greenlanders support independence, but 78 percent oppose it if it means a decline in living standards. Thus, the biggest barrier to independence is not legal but economic. Danish subsidies make up 40 percent of the island’s economy and 60 percent of Greenland’s government budget. Were Greenland to become independent, these subsidies would likely disappear.

These subsidies may seem generous, but they serve to maintain Danish control. Denmark prevents other countries from giving aid to Greenland, even though one in six Greenlanders lives in poverty. This poverty in part stems from Danish colonialism, which historically favored Danish labor while exploiting Inuit workers, paying them lower wages. Greenland was a site of mining until 1987, with little revenue benefiting Greenlanders. When the last mines shut down, they left behind hazardous waste and poisoned fish — the island’s main export and a vital food source.

Securing Greenland’s Future

Denmark’s blocking of Chinese investment on the island has been due to security concerns. However, the greatest threat against Greenland is not China but the United States. Denmark, for its part, has historically been no great friend to Greenlanders. US interest in Greenland predates Trump and spans over 150 years. While Trump’s threat to use military force is extreme, his concern about China aligns with the foreign policy establishment. Even some Democrats, such as Senator John Fetterman, have expressed openness to the idea of the United States purchasing Greenland. Regardless of Trump’s actions, America’s military presence at Thule Air Base gives it significant influence over the island. As Marc Jacobsen, associate professor at the Royal Danish Defense College notes, “The US has de facto control already.”

Denmark, like any colonial metropole, has framed its actions as defending Greenland — first from China and now from America. But as long as Denmark controls Greenland, the island will become militarized while remaining in poverty. While Denmark has granted legal autonomy to the island, it has intruded on its economic autonomy, preventing the island from getting assistance from other countries.

For independence to become a reality, Greenland must first achieve greater economic self-sufficiency. Without such support, Greenland risks remaining a colony in all but name, even if it gains formal independence. If Greenland uses this moment to stake out a path to independence, it will likely seek partnerships with countries and organizations that respect its economic aspirations — not sell its autonomy to the highest bidder.

Being the object of Danish-American rivalry has its risks, but it also presents an opportunity for Greenland. Its place in the spotlight gives the country a platform to voice its demands. Greenlandic prime minister Múte Egede has made these aspirations clear, telling reporters that “we have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house.”