Donald Trump says again and again that the US needs Greenland for reasons of national security.
However, many find it difficult to find meaning in those statements, as the USA already has major powers for military activity in Greenland to protect the USA.
Donald Trump says again and again that the US needs Greenland for reasons of national security.
However, many find it difficult to find meaning in those statements, as the USA already has major powers for military activity in Greenland to protect the USA.
Ole Wæver, professor of international politics at the University of Copenhagen, tells Sermitsiaq that the reason for Trump’s focus on Greenland is probably because he dreams of becoming the president who expands the territory of the United States for the first time in many years:
– In both Greenland and Denmark, we wishful thinking that the real explanation is security or resources, because then we can find solutions. But when you look closer, it just doesn’t make sense. So the arrow points to the more crazy explanation, that expansion of the USA is the goal itself, says Ole Wæver to Sermitsiaq.
– Going nowhere with Canada
And this unfortunately puts Greenland in a very serious situation:
– Greenland is unfortunately in the difficult situation that there is of course a part of Donald Trump who has a dream of becoming the one who expands the territory.
– And there, Greenland is the only option, says Ole Wæver.
He explains that although the US has just intervened militarily and removed the president of Venezuela, and Trump has threatened a number of other countries, including Canada and Panama, Greenland is a special case:
– He has not annexed Venezuela, nor is he getting anywhere with Canada. So if he really wants to expand the territory, Greenland is the only option, and therefore this pressure will not go away.
The ignorance is monumental
Ole Wæver’s analysis is that there is very little substance in Donald Trump’s announcements about Greenland, and therefore he does not think there is a reason for acute panic in Greenland:
– There is no problem for the United States that needs to be solved with this, so they are in no rush.
Ole Wæver assesses that Greenland and Denmark have done the right thing in terms of reacting to the threats, among other things in terms of getting allies to support the Kingdom and showing Trump that an annexation of Greenland could be expensive and devastating for the NATO alliance.
Ole Wæver makes this point about Greenland’s role:
– For Greenland, I think it is incredibly important to keep signaling that there is no Greenlandic desire to become American.
– The ignorance about this is monumental in the USA, which means that Americans can believe many things, and in the wild confusion, it is only Greenland itself that can describe that they want independence – and that the way to get there is via the relationship with Denmark.
– A great many Americans really believe that everyone in the whole world has as their highest dream to become an American. So “no thanks” must be said loudly and often.
Advises negotiations with the US
Naalakkersuisut and other Greenlandic politicians have expressed a desire to enter into dialogue with the Americans about Trump’s statements.
Ole Wæver considers that it would be a good move to call for a clarification of what the Americans want, but he strongly advises against Greenland on its own or Denmark and Greenland jointly starting negotiations with the USA:
– From international politics and the foreign policy experiences of smaller Nordic countries, it is a golden rule that you must avoid having a small country and a large country sit alone and negotiate.
– You have to think very carefully before embarking on bilateral negotiations when you are so unequal. There, like Greenland and Denmark, things are much better served if things are wrapped up in some common framework, where there are other countries involved, says Ole Wæver, who, however, can understand the desire to understand the Americans more closely – precisely because their announcements are so messy and illogical.
At the same time, Ole Wæver warns against believing that the US can provide a shortcut to Greenland’s independence:
– The law we have now confirms that the Greenlanders are a people with the right to national self-determination, and the day they want it, they must have it, says Ole Wæver and continues:
– Once you become part of the United States, you are not allowed to leave it again.
