High North Dialogue 2025 Greenland’s Previously Strong Focus Toward the US Is up for Change Moving Forward
Greenland's foreign policy focus in recent years has largely been on the US, says Dr. Rasmus Leander Nielsen, Head of Nasiffik (Centre for Foreign & Security Policy) and Associate Professor at the Department of Arctic Social Science and Economics, at Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland). (Photo: Hilde Bye).
Bodø (High North News): With strained relations with the US, the Greenlandic government may be revisiting relationships with alternative international partners – likely looking back east to Europe and other partners to a larger extent, says Associate Professor Rasmus Leander Nielsen at the University of Greenland.
Greenland and the US are all over the news as High North News sits down with Associate Professor Rasmus Leander Nielsen at the University of Greenland to talk about recent US-Greenlandic developments.
We met him at the High North Dialogue conference, which took place in Bodø, Northern Norway, this week. Among the topics discussed at the conference is security politics in the Arctic region. The Trump administration's recent moves toward the massive Arctic island are not left untouched.
“Bodø is not that different from Nuuk, actually,” Nielsen points out while referring to the shoreline area and Bodø mountains nearby. (Photo: Hilde Bye).
"Quite surreal"
"It's crazy," Nielsen tells HNN about the massive interest from reporters around the globe over the past months.
US President Donald Trump's desire to control Greenland and subsequent visits to Greenland by the Trump administration has sparked huge interest.
"I'm on sabbatical, trying to focus on my own writing, and mainly trying to stay out of the media storm – which is quite surreal, to be honest."
The Associate Professor is originally from Denmark but has worked at the University of Greenland and lived in Nuuk for almost nine years. His research fields are Greenlandic foreign policy and Arctic security policy.
Worrisome
How does this whole situation look from your perspective?
"We knew from 2019 that Trump was interested, and wanted to buy Greenland. At the time, I was telling the world press that Denmark can not just sell Greenland; that is not an argument that you can make, with Greenland having its own rights," Nielsen explains and continues:
"However, this current state of affairs, the fact that Trump can't really make a credible commitment that the US is not going to annex Greenland, is very worrisome. I know that friends and colleagues in Nuuk are scared of the whole situation, asking; 'is it cheap talk, or what is going to happen?'"
The most recent news concerns Vice President J.D. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance visit to the US military base Pituffik Space Base in Greenland this Friday. The delegation also includes national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The visit is described as the most high-profile visit yet and has caused negative reactions from politicians in Greenland and Denmark.
Trying to be the best friend to Greenland.
The visit comes as Trump continues to reiterate the US' need to "have" Greenland.
"Things like that [the visit, ed. note] would not have been a controversial story six months ago, namely because the US has been fairly good for years at soft diplomacy, trying to be the best friend to Greenland and being its preferred partner, while also trying to keep China out," Nielsen says.
"And for many years, Greenland wanted to have closer ties with the US, promoting its interest in trade and enhanced cooperation with Washington D.C. And there is also the tripartite Igaliku agreement from 2004 between Greenland, Denmark, and the US, ensuring that Greenland would have a place at the table and that collaboration with the US would be for the benefit for Greenland," he points out.
Nielsen says these kinds of foreign policy developments have been substantially disrupted in recent months, emphasizing that the White House's moves have been counterproductive.
"Quite a lot of slogans are being used by Greenlandic diplomats. A famous one was the "Nothing about us, without us," and a new one now is the "We don't want to be Danes, but don't want to be American either." The slogan sends a signal that Greenlandic people don't want just a new colonizer."
Dr. Nilsen participated in the panel New realities: security politics are reshaping the High North. From left: Andreas Østhagen, Fridtjof Nansen Institute / High North Center, Alina Bykova, Stanford University, Dr. Rasmus Leander Nielsen, Dr. Hanne Solheim Hansen, Nord University, Mr. Eivind Vad Petersson, Norway MFA, Mr. Mads Qvist Fredriksen, Arctic Economic Council, and Brigadier Steinar Dahl Kongshavn, Norwegian Armed Forces Joint Headquarters. (Photo: Hilde Bye).
Revisiting alternative partnerships
Nielsen is clear that Greenland's foreign policy focus in recent years has largely been on the US, though noting now that this focus seems likely to change moving forward.
"Greenland is kind of withdrawing from that 'US focus run amok,' which has been the state of affairs for many years and which is very present in the current strategy. Now, they may be revisiting alternative partners as the relations with the US are so strained at the moment," he adds.
While Nielsen says there is still hope that day-to-day soft diplomacy with the US can return in the future, he emphasizes that Greenland will likely look back east, to Europe and other partners, that could help it develop economically and move towards independence.
"Independence in Greenland basically means something different than the current state of affairs in the Kingdom of Denmark, and I think everybody agrees that we need to do something different. What that is depends, among other things, on negotiations."
The US has stepped up its engagement with Greenland significantly in the past six to seven years, and has looked towards building deeper security, economic and people-to-people ties. In 2020, the US among other things, reopened its consulate in Nuuk after 67 years. The news came just short time after the US announced a substantial aid package to the country. (Photo: Pro Studio).
Complicated relations
"Greenland has been building alliances across the globe for about half a century, among others with the Nordics, the US, Canada and East Asia, including China. Quite a few of these alliances are however really complicated at the moment," Nielsen further explains.
As HNN reported in November, the point of tensions with the Nordic countries particularly relates to dynamics in the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers, having been excluded from certain meetings in the organizations. The Faroe Islands and Greenland both expressed that they no longer accept exclusion from Nordic summits on foreign and security policy and demanding full-fledged membership of the two organizations.
"Greenland has for instance been quite critical of the Nordic Council in recent years and boycotting some meetings, sending a clear message that it is not ok to have meetings and discussing Arctic security while they are not around," Nielsen adds.
"It's very complicated between Greenland and Denmark at the moment as well. But that is being overtrumped by Trump all of a sudden."
When it comes to the European continent, Nielsens says the EU in an economic sense has been a much more vital part for Greenland than the US and Canada have been.
"There has been quite a lot of funding in education, for instance. In the fisheries sector, there's been fisheries agreements in place since the 80s. Now, there is a third pillar in terms of green energy," he highlights and adds that EU was however a surprisingly minor part in the foreign policy strategy.
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Westward-looking science diplomacy
For the researcher himself, the recent changes in Greenlandic-US ties also have implications. As Director of Nasiffik, Centre for Foreign and Security Policy, Nielsen says he has been focusing quite a lot on making closer collaboration with American research institutions and other actors.
"That has been the focus. Now, however, we have to reconsider. Do we keep things as they are, to, for instance, convey information of what is actually at stake and that we don't think it is ok what the White House is signaling at the moment – or do we just take a pause?"
As such, Nielsen says science diplomacy for him suddenly moved from being a theoretical concept to a very practical issue.
"That is brand new and has escalated quite substantially. We still hope we can have working relations with treasured friends in the US, who we have been building networks with for years and years," he says and adds:
"I hope we can get back to normalcy soon, but that would depend on a credible commitment from the White House, that they are not going to annex Greenland. Because people are afraid, to be honest, and the mixed signals coming out of the White House are counterproductive in many ways," he states.
New government in place soon
Since Greenland held its election on March 11, several parties have been in negotiations for a potential coalition.
Do you think there would be any major changes to Greenland's foreign policy under a new government?
"In general, there might going to be some nuances in terms of trading and entrepreneurship with the new government, Nielsen adds. "But the bigger lines in Greenlandic foreign policy will be pretty much the same. But again, they will need to revisit quite a lot of partners around the globe because things are quite complicated at the moment and more complex than they were a few months ago," he concludes.
"As mentioned, the focus on the US is probably also going to be at another level. But we don't really know for sure. This also depends on signals from the White House, whether things can resume to normal working-level relations."
