Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic examines the international politics of semi-independent Greenland in a changing and increasingly globalised Arctic. Without sovereign statehood, but with increased geopolitical importance, independent foreign policy ambitions, and a solidified self-image as a trailblazer for Arctic indigenous peoples’ rights, Greenland is making its mark on the Arctic and is in turn affected – and empowered – by Arctic developments. The chapters in this collection analyse how a distinct Greenlandic foreign policy identity shapes political ends and means, how relations to its parent state of Denmark is both a burden and a resource, and how Greenlandic actors use and influence regional institutional settings as well as foreign states and commercial actors to produce an increasingly independent – if not sovereign – entity with aims and ambitions for regional change in the Arctic. This is the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of Greenland’s international relations and how they are connected to wider Arctic politics. It will be essential reading for students and scholars interested in Arctic governance and security, international relations, sovereignty, geopolitics, paradiplomacy, indigenous affairs and anyone concerned with the political future of the Arctic. Kristian Søby Kristensen is Deputy Director and Senior Researcher at the Center for Military Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. With a background in international relations, his academic interests are war and strategy, Arctic politics, Danish and European security and defence policy as well as issues of public safety and security. Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark, where he is affiliated to the Center for War Studies. He holds a PhD in international relations (LSE) and has been affiliated to Columbia University and CSIS. His research interests include European security, Arctic politics, Danish foreign and security policy, and civil–military relations. Routledge Research in Polar Regions Series Edited by Timothy Heleniak The Routledge series Research in Polar Regions seeks to include research and policy debates about trends and events taking place in two important world regions: the Arctic and Antarctic. Previously neglected periphery regions, with climate change, resource development and shifting geopolitics, these regions are becoming increasingly crucial to happenings outside these regions. At the same time, the economies, societies and natural environments of the Arctic are undergoing rapid change. This series seeks to draw upon fieldwork, satellite observations, archival studies and other research methods which inform about crucial developments in the polar regions. It is interdisciplinary, drawing on the work from the social sciences and humanities, bringing together cutting-edge research in the polar regions with the policy implications. For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/Routledge- Research-in-Polar-Regions/book-series/RRPS Recently published titles: New Mobilities and Social Changes in Russia’s Arctic Regions Edited by Marlene Laruelle Climate, Society and Subsurface Politics in Greenland Under the Great Ice Mark Nuttall Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic Postcolonial Paradiplomacy between High and Low Politics Edited by Kristian Søby Kristensen and Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic Postcolonial Paradiplomacy between High and Low Politics Edited by Kristian Søby Kristensen and Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 selection and editorial matter, Kristian Søby Kristensen and Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Kristian Søby Kristensen and Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-06109-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-16264-5 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by HWA Text and Data Management, London Contents List of figures vii Notes on contributors viii Acknowledgements x Introduction: Greenland and the international politics of a changing Arctic: postcolonial paradiplomacy between high and low politics 1 KrISTIAn Søby KrISTEnSEn AnD Jon rAHbEK-CLEMMEnSEn 1 Setting the scene in Nuuk: introducing the cast of characters in Greenlandic foreign policy narratives 11 MARC JACOBSEN AND ULRIK PRAM GAD 2 Independence through international affairs: how foreign relations shaped Greenlandic identity before 1979 28 JEnS HEInrICH 3 Greenlandic sovereignty in practice: Uranium, independence, and foreign relations in Greenland between three logics of security 38 KrISTIAn Søby KrISTEnSEn AnD Jon rAHbEK-CLEMMEnSEn 4 The Arctic turn: how did the High north become a foreign and security policy priority for Denmark? 54 Jon rAHbEK-CLEMMEnSEn 5 Lightning rod: US, Greenlandic and Danish relations in the shadow of postcolonial reputations 70 MIKKEL RUNGE OLESEN vi Contents 6 Chinese investments in Greenland: promises and risks as seen from Nuuk, Copenhagen and Beijing 83 CAMILLA T. N. SøRENSEN 7 The politics of economic security: Denmark, Greenland and Chinese mining investment 98 KEvIN FOLEY 8 The divergent scalar strategies of the Greenlandic government and the Inuit Circumpolar Council 113 HAnnES GErHArDT 9 Greenland and the Arctic Council: subnational regions in a time of Arctic Westphalianisation 125 InUUTEq HoLM oLSEn AnD JESSICA M. SHADIAn 10 Materialising Greenland within a critical Arctic geopolitics 139 KLAUS DODDS AND MARK NUTTALL Conclusion: the opportunities and challenges of Greenlandic paradiplomacy 155 KrISTIAn Søby KrISTEnSEn AnD Jon rAHbEK-CLEMMEnSEn Index 159 Figures 4.1 Use of terms in Danish Defence Agreements, including appendices (1999–2012) 57 4.2 Use of terms in Danish Defence Commission Reports, excluding appendices (1989–2009) 57 4.3 Use of terms in DDIS Intelligence risk Assessments (2004–2014) 65 7.1 China import iron ore fines 62% FE spot price (CFr Tianjin port), US dollars per dry metric ton (2005–2015) 99 Contributors Klaus Dodds is Professor of Geopolitics at royal Holloway, University of London, UK and his research interests include geopolitics, security and the governance of the polar regions. He is co-author with Mark nuttall of The Scramble for the Poles (Polity 2016) and co-editor of Handbook on the Politics of Antarctica (Edward Elgar 2017). Kevin Foley is a PhD student in the Department of Government at Cornell University, USA. His research interests include the role of ideas and political rhetoric in the foreign and security policy of advanced democracies and the politics of China and southeast Asia. Ulrik Pram Gad is Associate Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark. He directs a project on the Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic. Recent publications include National Identity Politics and Postcolonial Sovereignty Games (Museum Tusculanums Forlag 2016) and a special issue of Security Dialogue on ‘The politics of securitization’ (with K.L. Petersen). Hannes Gerhardt is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of West Georgia, USA. His research focuses on political geographic imaginaries, particularly as they pertain to the spatial ordering of political power, capitalism, and alternatives to capitalism. Jens Heinrich holds a PhD in history from the University of Greenland (Ilisimatusarfik). The former vice president of the Greenland reconciliation Commission, he currently works as a political consultant for the Inuit Ataqatigiit party in the Danish Parliament. His academic work has focused on the historical development of Greenland and the relationship between Greenland and Denmark. Contributors ix Marc Jacobsen is a PhD student at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. Denmark. His main research interest is how Denmark and Greenland use the Arctic to discursively position themselves internationally. Inuuteq Holm Olsen is First Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of representation for Greenland at the Danish Embassy in Washington, DC. An experienced diplomat, he has been Greenlandic Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Senior Advisor in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He holds an M.A. in international affairs from George Washington University, USA. Kristian Søby Kristensen is Deputy Director and Senior Researcher at the Center for Military Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His research interests include nATo, Western strategy and security, Danish defence, security and foreign policy, resilience, Arctic governance and security. Mark Nuttall is Professor and Henry Marshall Tory Chair of Anthropology at the University of Alberta, Canada. He also holds a visiting position as Professor of Climate and Society at the University of Greenland and Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. Much of his current research focuses on climate change, extractive industries and human–environment relations in Greenland. Mikkel Runge Olesen is a senior researcher in the Foreign Policy Unit at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). His research interests include Danish foreign and security policy, transatlantic relations, and Arctic politics. Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark, where he is also affiliated to the Center for War Studies. His research interests include European security, Arctic politics, Danish foreign and security policy, and civil-military relations. Jessica M. Shadian is Nansen Professor at the University of Akureyri, Iceland and Senior Fellow at the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, Toronto, Canada. Her research focuses on Arctic resource governance and law, Inuit governance, the role of the EU in Arctic affairs, and the politics of Arctic science. Camilla T. N. Sørensen is Assistant Professor at the Institute for Strategy at the royal Danish Defence College, Denmark. Her research interests include Chinese foreign and security policy, East Asian security, Arctic politics, and Danish foreign and security policy.