Arctic Encounter: Greenland’s Arctic Strategy: “It Is A Power Shift from Denmark"

In February, the Government of Greenland presented its first Foreign, Security, and Defense Strategy 2024 - 2033. Titled 'Greenland in the World - Nothing about us without us,' the strategy aims to form stronger ties with Arctic North America and hold a leading role in the Arctic Council.

“The foreign security and defense policy for the next 10 years addresses the needs and concerns of the Arctic people,” says Kenneth Høegh, Head of Greenlands Representation to the United States and Canada.

He calls the strategy a testament to the values, culture, and goals of Greenland, and relations with other countries with democracy and human rights are at the core.

The non-negotiable demand

Also at the core of the strategy is Greenland’s non-negotiable demand, motto, and message; “Nothing about us without us.”

“When we say that, we really mean it,” says Aaja Chemnitz, a Member of the Danish Folketing (MP) representing Greenland and Chair of Arctic Parliamentarians.

Together with Høegh, she presented Greenland’s new Arctic strategy at the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska, this week.

A power shift

Chemnitz starts with a clarification that Denmark is only a part of the Arctic through Greenland.

“When we say “nothing about us without us” it means that someone needs to give away power. It is a power shift in many ways. Until now, Denmark has handled Greenland’s security policy and foreign affairs and has had the formal responsibility. But it is important for us to be more independent in Greenland and to make sure that we involve indigenous communities,” says the Greenlandic politician.

“What does this policy mean to the people of Greenland?”

“Now we have a clear policy on what we want long term. 'Nothing about us without us' is making sure that we have a say on everything that has to do with Greenland in the parliament,” Chemnitz tells High North News.

The most important voice

There has been a lot of attention on Greenland in the last few years, with former US president Donald Trump (R) wanting to buy it.

“It is very important for us to be able to say that this is not a decision for Denmark. The future of Greenland should be decided by Greenland.  It is about making sure that we have our own strong voice. And our voice should be the most important one.

“This power shift, is it a new attitude towards Denmark?”

“It is not something that happened overnight. This has been going on for many years. And now the Danish government is depending upon the voices from Greenland. This is based on many years of work trying to engage and really letting the Danish parliament understand that Greenland has a voice of its own, and they want to be considered much more than what we have been used to,” says Chemnitz.

“We are still sometimes seeing that although we are being involved, they end up making different decisions. It is a work in progress.”

Broad consensus

Chemnitz says that there is a broad political consensus for the Arctic strategy in the Danish Folketing and praises the parliament for waiting for Greenland’s strategy before finishing their own.

The Kingdom of Denmark has been without an Arctic strategy since the last one expired in 2021 while waiting for Greenland to publish their foreign policy.

“It shows that we stand together when we talk about foreign affairs and security. It is very important to speak with one strong voice when it comes to Arctic matters.”

Even though several Arctic regions practice self-rule, it is often the norm that decisions about the North are made in the South. As a representative for Greenland in the Danish parliament for nine years, Chemnitz knows this too well.

“Our motto is something that other Arctic states can learn from.”

Closer ties

Chemnitz says that it makes sense to develop a close collaboration with North America, as the people and communites has a lot in common.

That is why the government of Greenland - Naalakkersuisut - is proposing an Arctic North American Forum to strengthen ties with indigenous leadership and elected assemblies in Nunavut, Nunavik, the Northwest Territories and Yukon in Canada and their counterparts in Alaska.

Kenneth Høegh agrees that this makes sense.

“North American regions, despite differences, face many of the same opportunities and challenges. We see great potential for connecting the regions further for our mutual benefit”, says Høegh.

A seat at the table

And as a part of Greenland’s strive for more independence they also work towards their own membership of the Nordic Council.

“Having our own representative would be a strong signal of collaboration. We also wish to have a seat at the Arctic Council table when Denmark takes over chairship after Norway in 2025.”

“What would you say triggered the shift into “nothing with us without us”? I heard it first time in Iceland a couple of years ago.”

“For me, it was about the power shift between Greenland and Denmark. I was quite surprised when I came to the Danish parliament nine years ago and saw how many issues had to do with Greenland and the Arctic without taking us into consideration,” the Greenland native explains.

“It has been a long struggle for me, and for the government, that has been supporting the fact that we would like to live by “nothing about us without us” to everything that has to do with foreign affairs and security policy.”

“What is next for Greenland?”

“Defense negotiations and moving forward when it comes to the Arctic Council chairship and hopefully making sure that Greenland will have a very central role in this process.”