On Tuesday evening, US Vice-President J.D. Vance issued a statement that leaves little room for misinterpretation: the United States is setting its sights on Greenland. In a brief video posted on X, he announced that he, along with his wife Usha Vance, would travel to Greenland.
Initially characterized as an innocuous cultural “field trip” intended to explore historical sites and observe the national dog sled competition, the purpose of the visit has since taken on a more strategic tone. Vance now claims he will “check out” the territory’s security measures, casually invoking themes of Arctic protection and U.S. interests, as if Greenland were already within American purview.
However, this is far from the reality. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory under the sovereignty of Denmark, a fellow NATO ally. The narrative is shifting towards an imperialist agenda, with Vance normalizing a claim over a territory—allegedly by invitation, according to remarks attributed to former President Trump. Yet both Greenlandic and Danish officials have unequivocally stated that no such invitation has been extended, and there is no desire for such involvement. This development places unnecessary strain on transatlantic cooperation, especially given that Greenland has only recently held elections in March and does not yet have a fully established government.
There is a palpable sense of déjà vu—a regression to the colonial era when world powers would metaphorically spin the globe and choose a territory to claim. This isn’t merely an echo of Trump’s provocative rhetoric; the aggressive posture is mirrored by Russia and underscored by the reemergence of interstate conflicts on the European continent. The trajectory we witness today serves as an unsettling forewarning: if unchecked, such actions risk reviving an era defined by imperial ambition and arbitrary claims over sovereign lands, undermining the international order and the principles of self-determination that have shaped our modern geopolitical landscape and security.
Eline is a 1st year MIA student studying International Affairs specializing in International Security. She holds a Bachelor degree in Religious Studies from the University of Copenhagen.
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