Huw Paige is a freelance journalist and writer, specializing in the polar regions. He is based in South Devon, UK.
Donald Trump’s efforts to claim Greenland for the US is part of a wider push toward militarization of the Arctic. Conflicts thousands of miles away, like the Russian war in Ukraine, are already having an impact on the peoples of the region.
Donald Trump’s desire to take over Greenland brought unprecedented global attention to this week’s election. But calls for independence weren’t the only issue at stake in the election debate, and there’s little support for integration with the US.
The Arctic region is becoming a theater for competition between states over its resources and geopolitical advantages. This is having a deeply harmful impact on the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, whose way of life doesn’t fit in with state borders.
Even without owning it as a territory, the US already has massive influence over Greenland’s future, from blocking Chinese investment to controlling military installations. As climate change transforms the Arctic, this American influence will only grow stronger.