The Arctic is one of Denmark’s most important foreign and security policy priorities. This has be... more The Arctic is one of Denmark’s most important foreign and security policy priorities. This has been crystal clear during the past five years and has now been confirmed and strengthened with the government’s foreign and security policy strategy which contains some notable Arctic aspects.
Publication date: 2019 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Cita... more Publication date: 2019 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Citation for published version (APA): Gad, U. P., Jacobsen, M., & Strandsbjerg, J. (2019). Introduction: sustainability as a political concept in the Arctic. In U. P. Gad, & J. Stransbjerg (Eds.), The Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic. Reconfiguring Identity, Time and Space. (pp. 1-18). London; New York: Routledge. Routledge Studies in Sustainability
News article about the 2017 selection of Nunavut's new government. Written icw. my field ... more News article about the 2017 selection of Nunavut's new government. Written icw. my field trip to Ottawa and Iqaluit in November 2017. Published in Sermitsiaq on 1 December 2017.
Citation for published version (APA): Jacobsen, M., & Gad, U. P. (2017). Setting the scene in Nuu... more Citation for published version (APA): Jacobsen, M., & Gad, U. P. (2017). Setting the scene in Nuuk: Introducing the cast of characters in Greenlandic foreign policy narratives. In K. Søby Kristensen, & J. Rahbek-Clemmensen (Eds.), Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic: Postcolonial Paradiplomacy between High and Low Politics (pp. 1127). Routledge. Routledge Research in Polar Regions
Denne artikel undersøger, hvordan politiske beslutningstagere diskursivt har positioneret Danmark... more Denne artikel undersøger, hvordan politiske beslutningstagere diskursivt har positioneret Danmark i relation til Arktis, som i dag er én af regeringens højeste udenrigspolitiske prioriteringer. Analysen viser, hvordan diskursen i perioden 2006-2020 har gennemgået flere skift, der hver især vægter de eksterne ambitioner i regionen og de interne hensyn i rigsfællesskabet på forskellig vis. Fra udelukkende at fokusere på det dansk-grønlandske forhold betonede man senere i stedet det regionale udsyn. Det indebar, at Danmarks autoritet blev fremhævet, mens de to andre rigsdeles internationale agens blev nedtonet. I takt med en mere eksplicit erkendelse af, at rigsfællesskabets sammenhængskraft er forudsætningen for Danmarks status som en arktisk stat, er Færøerne og Grønlands betydning blevet mere anerkendt. Det har resulteret i stadig større enighed på tværs af det politiske spektrum om, at et mere ligeværdigt forhold er værd at stræbe efter. En udvikling, der ikke mindst er blevet tilskyndet af omverdenens stigende opmærksomhed.
2021 bringer mindst to gode grunde til at udgive et temanummer om Rigsfællesskabets arktiske rela... more 2021 bringer mindst to gode grunde til at udgive et temanummer om Rigsfællesskabets arktiske relationer. For det første er det 300 år siden, at Hans Egede gik i land på Haabets Ø – lidt uden for nutidens Nuuk – og dermed påbegyndte den kolonisering af Grønland, som stadig sætter rammerne for alle diskussioner af forholdet til Danmark. For det andet er det planen, at Danmarks, Grønlands og Færøernes regeringer skal blive enige om en fælles arktisk strategi i år. Disse to begivenheder tilskynder til på én gang at reflektere over, hvad Rigsfællesskabet kommer af, og se frem mod nye muligheder for international profilering, sammen og hver for sig. Rigsfællesskabet udgør fundamentet for Danmarks status som en arktisk stat, og indtil de grønlandske vælgere beslutter noget andet, udgør den danske stat Grønlands fundament for at optræde internationalt. Dette temanummer tilbyder læseren en række artikler, som giver indsigt i de interne dynamikker i Rigsfællesskabet – som på mange måder bliver mere og mere indviklede, efterhånden som Grønland agerer mere og mere selvstændigt – og i den udvikling i Arktis, som udgør en ikke uvæsentlig del af baggrunden for, at Rigsfællesskabet i disse år er under forandring.
Nye sikkerhedspolitiske dynamikker i Arktis: Muligheder og udfordringer for Kongeriget Danmark, 2020
Rapporten viser, at den nuværende udvikling i Arktis, der er præget af stormagtsrivalisering mell... more Rapporten viser, at den nuværende udvikling i Arktis, der er præget af stormagtsrivalisering mellem Rusland, Kina og USA, sætter Kongeriget i en svær situation. Som en lille stat har Kongeriget draget fordel af perioden med sikkerhedspolitisk lavspænding i Arktis. Den sikkerhedspolitiske lavspænding er nu under pres. Det er i Kongerigets interesse at forsøge at værne om de arktiske fora og samarbejdsrelationer, der har gjort lavspændingen muligt. Kongeriget må imidlertid også forholde sig til de nye sikkerhedspolitiske dynamikker i Arktis. Dette skaber behov for ændrede tilgange både i forhold til stormagterne og deres interesser i Arktis og i forhold til samarbejdet i Rigsfællesskabet.
Kongeriget må arbejde på at imødegå bekymrende russisk og kinesisk adfærd i Arktis. Endnu mere presserende for Kongeriget er imidlertid at håndtere de nylige amerikanske reaktioner på russisk og kinesisk adfærd i Arktis og ikke mindst de nye amerikanske krav og forventninger til dansk opgaveløsning i regionen, som følger med. Her bør Kongeriget handle hurtigt og proaktivt søge at holde kontrol med den amerikanske politik i forhold til Grønland og Færøerne. Det er i den forbindelse centralt, at Rigsfællesskabet formår at opretholde en fælles linje overfor stormagterne.
Greenland representatives successfully use the renewed international geostrategic interest in the... more Greenland representatives successfully use the renewed international geostrategic interest in the Arctic to enhance Greenland’s foreign policy sovereignty. This is facilitated by Denmark’s dependence on Greenland’s geographic location and continuous membership of the Danish Realm for maintaining the status of an Arctic state, which recently has become one of the five most important security and foreign policy priorities. The dependency gives Greenland an ‘Arctic advantage’ in negotiations with Denmark, while turning circumpolar events into strategic arenas for sovereignty games in the aim to move the boundary of what Greenland may do internationally without Danish involvement. This article analyzes how these games unfold in the Arctic Council, at the high-level Ilulissat meetings and at circumpolar conferences where Greenland representatives articulate, act and appear more foreign policy sovereignty through outspoken discontent, tacit gestures and symbolic alterations. Altogether, this contributes to the expanding of Greenland’s foreign policy room for maneuver within the current legal frameworks, while enhancing Greenland’s international status and attracting external investments, important in their striving towards becoming a state with full formal Westphalian sovereignty.
Introduction to an interdisciplinary special issue about the development of the Greenlandic socie... more Introduction to an interdisciplinary special issue about the development of the Greenlandic society and the road to independence.
The Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic, 2018
Introduction to the book Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic, which sets out a theoretical f... more Introduction to the book Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic, which sets out a theoretical framework for understanding and analysing sustainability as a political concept, and provides a comprehensive empirical investigation of Arctic sustainability discourses. Presenting a range of case studies from a number of Arctic countries including Greenland, Norway and Canada, the essays in this volume analyse the concept of sustainability and how actors are employing and contesting this concept in specific regions within the Arctic. In doing so, the book demonstrates how sustainability is being given new meanings in the postcolonial Arctic and what the political implications are for postcoloniality, nature, and development more broadly. Beyond those interested in the Arctic, this book will also be of great value to students and scholars of sustainability, sustainable development, identity and environmental politics.
‘Sustainability’ is often articulated in the Greenland and Nunavut mining discourses where the ex... more ‘Sustainability’ is often articulated in the Greenland and Nunavut mining discourses where the exploitation of mineral resources is perceived as a key component in their respective continuous nation-building processes. The concept is, to some degree, contested by Indigenous definitions, but the Brundtland Report’s 1987 description of sustainable development is generally the main point of reference, hence reproducing the hegemonic perception. By digging deeper into key mining documents and public hearings regarding the proposed Citronen Fiord zinc mine and the Mary River iron mine, this chapter shows how the referent object is placed on different scales and sectors within the two discourses. Whereas the national economy is given precedence in Greenland in the paramount aim for independence, the local social sustainability gets more attention in the Nunavut mining discourse, which further allows more room for disagreement. This reflects the different directions of their respective postcolonial developments, where Greenland is described as a ‘country’ on the way to ‘independence’, while Nunavut is a ‘territory’ with the declared goal of ‘devolution’. Denmark and Canada are largely left out of the respective communication, but in the few instances they are mentioned it is clear how sovereignty is central to the question of who gets to decide what to sustain. While Nunavut loyally respects Canada’s sovereignty and explicitly states that the mining projects sustain Canadian sovereignty in the North, Danish interference in the Citronen Fiord project triggers postcolonial concerns in Greenland.
By signing the Ilulissat Declaration of May 2008, the five littoral states of the Arctic Ocean pr... more By signing the Ilulissat Declaration of May 2008, the five littoral states of the Arctic Ocean pre-emptively desecuritized potential geopolitical controversies in the Arctic Ocean by confirming that international law and geo-science are the defining factors underlying the future delimitation. This happened in response to a rising securitization discourse fueled by commentators and the media in the wake of the 2007 Russian flag planting on the geographical North Pole seabed, which also triggered harder interstate rhetoric and dramatic headlines. This case, however, challenges some established conventions within securitization theory. It was state elites that initiated desecuritization and they did so by shifting issues in danger of being securitized from security to other techniques of government. Contrary to the democratic ethos of the theory, these shifts do not necessarily represent more democratic procedures. Instead, each of these techniques are populated by their own experts and technocrats operating according to logics of right (law) and accuracy (science). While shifting techniques of government might diminish the danger of securitized relations between states, the shift generates a displacement of controversy. Within international law we have seen controversy over its ontological foundations and within science we have seen controversy over standards of science. Each of these are amplified and take a particularly political significance when an issue is securitized via relocation to another technique. While the Ilulissat Declaration has been successful in minimizing the horizontal conflict potential between states it has simultaneously given way for vertical disputes between the signatory states on the one hand and the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic on the other.
Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic: Postcolonial Paradiplomacy between High and Low Politics , 2017
Greenland has for decades worked towards enhanced independent agency in international politics. T... more Greenland has for decades worked towards enhanced independent agency in international politics. The renewed global interest in the Arctic has given new impetus to a strategy of diversifying its dependency relations as a way to postcoloniality. As the Government of Greenland puts it in its foreign policy strategy; “It is important that the interest in the Arctic and Greenland is converted into concrete opportunities for the Greenlandic people and its development as a nation” (2011:3). This chapter investigates how Greenland’s foreign policy supports the national self-image in combining indigenous cultural traditions with envisioned future independence. Hence, the chapter introduces the central members of the cast of characters in the most important narratives, which Greenland is telling about its place in the world. The analysis shows how narratives about indigenous identity combines - and infrequently clashes - with narratives of modernization in different ways when Greenland relates to Inuit kinsmen, Nordic siblings, the UN, the USA, the EU and Asian powers; the presentation of each character put in historical perspective. Theoretically, the analysis draws on a tradition of analysing international politics and foreign policy as driven by narratively structured discourses constructing nation state identities in relation to Others.
This paper demonstrates how different Greenlandic governments have exploited a narrative of a uni... more This paper demonstrates how different Greenlandic governments have exploited a narrative of a unique Greenlandic identity to shape and strengthen a foreign policy autonomous from Denmark. Central to this narrative is, on the one hand, the widespread anticipation of more independence in the future and, on the other hand, the notion of a common cultural core formed in the past. The three main elements of this core are the Greenlandic language, hunting traditions, and a particular relationship to nature. While the status of the three elements is often disputed in specific domestic policy debates, such as the commissions exploring future Greenlandic constitution and reconciliation with Denmark, on the international policy level there is a remarkable agreement about the narrative. Here the three elements are understood as a matter of societal security. They need to be protected from external threats in order to uphold the current Greenlandic society. In several cases, the elements are securitised. Hereby the nomination of external threats is used to successfully legitimise extraordinary rights, such as whaling, while the strive for independence substantiate more favourable CO 2-reduction requirements. These different rights do, on the one hand, enhance Greenland's individual position in the world, and hence also strengthen the nation-building process, while, on the other hand, making visible a paradox where increased CO 2-emissions have negative implications for the traditional way of living. These implications mirror the complexity of the identity narrative, as the cultural core and the anticipated future independence sometimes contrast each other.
This special issue of Politik aims to widen the debate on Arctic security relations through a mor... more This special issue of Politik aims to widen the debate on Arctic security relations through a more comprehensive dialogue inclusive of the many different types of security, their interactions, and their challenges by using the theoretical approach of the Copenhagen School. A better understanding of security dynamics in the circumpolar North today demands a critical analysis of those changes through a multidisciplinary and multi-modal lens. Each chapter in this special issue provides one layer of that multimodal lens of Arctic security that, together, weave a complex web of change. This special issue therefore continues to move the discourse of polar security beyond – but not excluding – the conventional debates of military capabilities and state sovereignty towards a more comprehensive definition of security, including its interacting environmental, economic, political, health and cultural dimensions.
For decades, Greenlandic politicians have sought independence in international politics and econo... more For decades, Greenlandic politicians have sought independence in international politics and economy. Renewed global interest in the Arctic has given new impetus to a strategy of diversifying the existing dependency relations, as a way to put coloniality behind. This article investigates how Greenlandic foreign policy narratives have cast China in different roles that support this strategy. Some narratives are informed by Orientalist tropes imported from Denmark, while others dismiss the very same tropes. Some embrace Chinese partners as crucial on Greenland's road to independence, while others reject China as imperialist. Mainly, China has been imagined as a potent source of material resources (export revenues, investments, labour). Initially, this narrative was employed to support a business attempt to reinvigorate traditional hunting through new export channels. Later, narratives underscored Greenlandic ambitions as a mining country. Recently, they have backed a Greenlandic search for new solutions to the less-hyped fishing and tourism industries. Besides the promise of material gains, Greenlandic authorities have also imagined China as an occasion for international recognition. However, the sought for recognition has changed drastically, from the time when Greenland's national team played soccer against Tibet to current attempts to negotiate science, infrastructure and paradiplomacy with Beijing and Copenhagen. The analysis is based on media reports, government foreign policy statements and parliamentary debates 1999-2018. Theoretically, the analysis draws on a tradition of analyzing international politics and foreign policy as driven by narratives constructing nation state identities in relation to Others, focusing particularly on Orientalist tropes and anti-colonial alternatives.
Danmarks tilstedeværelse i Arktis er helt og aldeles afhængig af, at rigsfællesskabet består. Ude... more Danmarks tilstedeværelse i Arktis er helt og aldeles afhængig af, at rigsfællesskabet består. Uden Grønland ville Danmark miste muligheden for at sidde til højbords med USA, Rusland og Canada. En mulighed som, Danmarks størrelse taget i betragtning, er helt unik og af uvurderlig betydning for Danmarks plads i det globale hierarki. Det er derfor alfa og omega, at Danmark fortsat plejer forholdet til Grønland med stor omhu, og at eventuelle uenigheder mellem Nuuk og København bliver taget seriøst og behandlet med stor, gensidig respekt.
The Arctic is one of Denmark’s most important foreign and security policy priorities. This has be... more The Arctic is one of Denmark’s most important foreign and security policy priorities. This has been crystal clear during the past five years and has now been confirmed and strengthened with the government’s foreign and security policy strategy which contains some notable Arctic aspects.
Publication date: 2019 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Cita... more Publication date: 2019 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Citation for published version (APA): Gad, U. P., Jacobsen, M., & Strandsbjerg, J. (2019). Introduction: sustainability as a political concept in the Arctic. In U. P. Gad, & J. Stransbjerg (Eds.), The Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic. Reconfiguring Identity, Time and Space. (pp. 1-18). London; New York: Routledge. Routledge Studies in Sustainability
News article about the 2017 selection of Nunavut's new government. Written icw. my field ... more News article about the 2017 selection of Nunavut's new government. Written icw. my field trip to Ottawa and Iqaluit in November 2017. Published in Sermitsiaq on 1 December 2017.
Citation for published version (APA): Jacobsen, M., & Gad, U. P. (2017). Setting the scene in Nuu... more Citation for published version (APA): Jacobsen, M., & Gad, U. P. (2017). Setting the scene in Nuuk: Introducing the cast of characters in Greenlandic foreign policy narratives. In K. Søby Kristensen, & J. Rahbek-Clemmensen (Eds.), Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic: Postcolonial Paradiplomacy between High and Low Politics (pp. 1127). Routledge. Routledge Research in Polar Regions
Denne artikel undersøger, hvordan politiske beslutningstagere diskursivt har positioneret Danmark... more Denne artikel undersøger, hvordan politiske beslutningstagere diskursivt har positioneret Danmark i relation til Arktis, som i dag er én af regeringens højeste udenrigspolitiske prioriteringer. Analysen viser, hvordan diskursen i perioden 2006-2020 har gennemgået flere skift, der hver især vægter de eksterne ambitioner i regionen og de interne hensyn i rigsfællesskabet på forskellig vis. Fra udelukkende at fokusere på det dansk-grønlandske forhold betonede man senere i stedet det regionale udsyn. Det indebar, at Danmarks autoritet blev fremhævet, mens de to andre rigsdeles internationale agens blev nedtonet. I takt med en mere eksplicit erkendelse af, at rigsfællesskabets sammenhængskraft er forudsætningen for Danmarks status som en arktisk stat, er Færøerne og Grønlands betydning blevet mere anerkendt. Det har resulteret i stadig større enighed på tværs af det politiske spektrum om, at et mere ligeværdigt forhold er værd at stræbe efter. En udvikling, der ikke mindst er blevet tilskyndet af omverdenens stigende opmærksomhed.
2021 bringer mindst to gode grunde til at udgive et temanummer om Rigsfællesskabets arktiske rela... more 2021 bringer mindst to gode grunde til at udgive et temanummer om Rigsfællesskabets arktiske relationer. For det første er det 300 år siden, at Hans Egede gik i land på Haabets Ø – lidt uden for nutidens Nuuk – og dermed påbegyndte den kolonisering af Grønland, som stadig sætter rammerne for alle diskussioner af forholdet til Danmark. For det andet er det planen, at Danmarks, Grønlands og Færøernes regeringer skal blive enige om en fælles arktisk strategi i år. Disse to begivenheder tilskynder til på én gang at reflektere over, hvad Rigsfællesskabet kommer af, og se frem mod nye muligheder for international profilering, sammen og hver for sig. Rigsfællesskabet udgør fundamentet for Danmarks status som en arktisk stat, og indtil de grønlandske vælgere beslutter noget andet, udgør den danske stat Grønlands fundament for at optræde internationalt. Dette temanummer tilbyder læseren en række artikler, som giver indsigt i de interne dynamikker i Rigsfællesskabet – som på mange måder bliver mere og mere indviklede, efterhånden som Grønland agerer mere og mere selvstændigt – og i den udvikling i Arktis, som udgør en ikke uvæsentlig del af baggrunden for, at Rigsfællesskabet i disse år er under forandring.
Nye sikkerhedspolitiske dynamikker i Arktis: Muligheder og udfordringer for Kongeriget Danmark, 2020
Rapporten viser, at den nuværende udvikling i Arktis, der er præget af stormagtsrivalisering mell... more Rapporten viser, at den nuværende udvikling i Arktis, der er præget af stormagtsrivalisering mellem Rusland, Kina og USA, sætter Kongeriget i en svær situation. Som en lille stat har Kongeriget draget fordel af perioden med sikkerhedspolitisk lavspænding i Arktis. Den sikkerhedspolitiske lavspænding er nu under pres. Det er i Kongerigets interesse at forsøge at værne om de arktiske fora og samarbejdsrelationer, der har gjort lavspændingen muligt. Kongeriget må imidlertid også forholde sig til de nye sikkerhedspolitiske dynamikker i Arktis. Dette skaber behov for ændrede tilgange både i forhold til stormagterne og deres interesser i Arktis og i forhold til samarbejdet i Rigsfællesskabet.
Kongeriget må arbejde på at imødegå bekymrende russisk og kinesisk adfærd i Arktis. Endnu mere presserende for Kongeriget er imidlertid at håndtere de nylige amerikanske reaktioner på russisk og kinesisk adfærd i Arktis og ikke mindst de nye amerikanske krav og forventninger til dansk opgaveløsning i regionen, som følger med. Her bør Kongeriget handle hurtigt og proaktivt søge at holde kontrol med den amerikanske politik i forhold til Grønland og Færøerne. Det er i den forbindelse centralt, at Rigsfællesskabet formår at opretholde en fælles linje overfor stormagterne.
Greenland representatives successfully use the renewed international geostrategic interest in the... more Greenland representatives successfully use the renewed international geostrategic interest in the Arctic to enhance Greenland’s foreign policy sovereignty. This is facilitated by Denmark’s dependence on Greenland’s geographic location and continuous membership of the Danish Realm for maintaining the status of an Arctic state, which recently has become one of the five most important security and foreign policy priorities. The dependency gives Greenland an ‘Arctic advantage’ in negotiations with Denmark, while turning circumpolar events into strategic arenas for sovereignty games in the aim to move the boundary of what Greenland may do internationally without Danish involvement. This article analyzes how these games unfold in the Arctic Council, at the high-level Ilulissat meetings and at circumpolar conferences where Greenland representatives articulate, act and appear more foreign policy sovereignty through outspoken discontent, tacit gestures and symbolic alterations. Altogether, this contributes to the expanding of Greenland’s foreign policy room for maneuver within the current legal frameworks, while enhancing Greenland’s international status and attracting external investments, important in their striving towards becoming a state with full formal Westphalian sovereignty.
Introduction to an interdisciplinary special issue about the development of the Greenlandic socie... more Introduction to an interdisciplinary special issue about the development of the Greenlandic society and the road to independence.
The Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic, 2018
Introduction to the book Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic, which sets out a theoretical f... more Introduction to the book Politics of Sustainability in the Arctic, which sets out a theoretical framework for understanding and analysing sustainability as a political concept, and provides a comprehensive empirical investigation of Arctic sustainability discourses. Presenting a range of case studies from a number of Arctic countries including Greenland, Norway and Canada, the essays in this volume analyse the concept of sustainability and how actors are employing and contesting this concept in specific regions within the Arctic. In doing so, the book demonstrates how sustainability is being given new meanings in the postcolonial Arctic and what the political implications are for postcoloniality, nature, and development more broadly. Beyond those interested in the Arctic, this book will also be of great value to students and scholars of sustainability, sustainable development, identity and environmental politics.
‘Sustainability’ is often articulated in the Greenland and Nunavut mining discourses where the ex... more ‘Sustainability’ is often articulated in the Greenland and Nunavut mining discourses where the exploitation of mineral resources is perceived as a key component in their respective continuous nation-building processes. The concept is, to some degree, contested by Indigenous definitions, but the Brundtland Report’s 1987 description of sustainable development is generally the main point of reference, hence reproducing the hegemonic perception. By digging deeper into key mining documents and public hearings regarding the proposed Citronen Fiord zinc mine and the Mary River iron mine, this chapter shows how the referent object is placed on different scales and sectors within the two discourses. Whereas the national economy is given precedence in Greenland in the paramount aim for independence, the local social sustainability gets more attention in the Nunavut mining discourse, which further allows more room for disagreement. This reflects the different directions of their respective postcolonial developments, where Greenland is described as a ‘country’ on the way to ‘independence’, while Nunavut is a ‘territory’ with the declared goal of ‘devolution’. Denmark and Canada are largely left out of the respective communication, but in the few instances they are mentioned it is clear how sovereignty is central to the question of who gets to decide what to sustain. While Nunavut loyally respects Canada’s sovereignty and explicitly states that the mining projects sustain Canadian sovereignty in the North, Danish interference in the Citronen Fiord project triggers postcolonial concerns in Greenland.
By signing the Ilulissat Declaration of May 2008, the five littoral states of the Arctic Ocean pr... more By signing the Ilulissat Declaration of May 2008, the five littoral states of the Arctic Ocean pre-emptively desecuritized potential geopolitical controversies in the Arctic Ocean by confirming that international law and geo-science are the defining factors underlying the future delimitation. This happened in response to a rising securitization discourse fueled by commentators and the media in the wake of the 2007 Russian flag planting on the geographical North Pole seabed, which also triggered harder interstate rhetoric and dramatic headlines. This case, however, challenges some established conventions within securitization theory. It was state elites that initiated desecuritization and they did so by shifting issues in danger of being securitized from security to other techniques of government. Contrary to the democratic ethos of the theory, these shifts do not necessarily represent more democratic procedures. Instead, each of these techniques are populated by their own experts and technocrats operating according to logics of right (law) and accuracy (science). While shifting techniques of government might diminish the danger of securitized relations between states, the shift generates a displacement of controversy. Within international law we have seen controversy over its ontological foundations and within science we have seen controversy over standards of science. Each of these are amplified and take a particularly political significance when an issue is securitized via relocation to another technique. While the Ilulissat Declaration has been successful in minimizing the horizontal conflict potential between states it has simultaneously given way for vertical disputes between the signatory states on the one hand and the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic on the other.
Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic: Postcolonial Paradiplomacy between High and Low Politics , 2017
Greenland has for decades worked towards enhanced independent agency in international politics. T... more Greenland has for decades worked towards enhanced independent agency in international politics. The renewed global interest in the Arctic has given new impetus to a strategy of diversifying its dependency relations as a way to postcoloniality. As the Government of Greenland puts it in its foreign policy strategy; “It is important that the interest in the Arctic and Greenland is converted into concrete opportunities for the Greenlandic people and its development as a nation” (2011:3). This chapter investigates how Greenland’s foreign policy supports the national self-image in combining indigenous cultural traditions with envisioned future independence. Hence, the chapter introduces the central members of the cast of characters in the most important narratives, which Greenland is telling about its place in the world. The analysis shows how narratives about indigenous identity combines - and infrequently clashes - with narratives of modernization in different ways when Greenland relates to Inuit kinsmen, Nordic siblings, the UN, the USA, the EU and Asian powers; the presentation of each character put in historical perspective. Theoretically, the analysis draws on a tradition of analysing international politics and foreign policy as driven by narratively structured discourses constructing nation state identities in relation to Others.
This paper demonstrates how different Greenlandic governments have exploited a narrative of a uni... more This paper demonstrates how different Greenlandic governments have exploited a narrative of a unique Greenlandic identity to shape and strengthen a foreign policy autonomous from Denmark. Central to this narrative is, on the one hand, the widespread anticipation of more independence in the future and, on the other hand, the notion of a common cultural core formed in the past. The three main elements of this core are the Greenlandic language, hunting traditions, and a particular relationship to nature. While the status of the three elements is often disputed in specific domestic policy debates, such as the commissions exploring future Greenlandic constitution and reconciliation with Denmark, on the international policy level there is a remarkable agreement about the narrative. Here the three elements are understood as a matter of societal security. They need to be protected from external threats in order to uphold the current Greenlandic society. In several cases, the elements are securitised. Hereby the nomination of external threats is used to successfully legitimise extraordinary rights, such as whaling, while the strive for independence substantiate more favourable CO 2-reduction requirements. These different rights do, on the one hand, enhance Greenland's individual position in the world, and hence also strengthen the nation-building process, while, on the other hand, making visible a paradox where increased CO 2-emissions have negative implications for the traditional way of living. These implications mirror the complexity of the identity narrative, as the cultural core and the anticipated future independence sometimes contrast each other.
This special issue of Politik aims to widen the debate on Arctic security relations through a mor... more This special issue of Politik aims to widen the debate on Arctic security relations through a more comprehensive dialogue inclusive of the many different types of security, their interactions, and their challenges by using the theoretical approach of the Copenhagen School. A better understanding of security dynamics in the circumpolar North today demands a critical analysis of those changes through a multidisciplinary and multi-modal lens. Each chapter in this special issue provides one layer of that multimodal lens of Arctic security that, together, weave a complex web of change. This special issue therefore continues to move the discourse of polar security beyond – but not excluding – the conventional debates of military capabilities and state sovereignty towards a more comprehensive definition of security, including its interacting environmental, economic, political, health and cultural dimensions.
For decades, Greenlandic politicians have sought independence in international politics and econo... more For decades, Greenlandic politicians have sought independence in international politics and economy. Renewed global interest in the Arctic has given new impetus to a strategy of diversifying the existing dependency relations, as a way to put coloniality behind. This article investigates how Greenlandic foreign policy narratives have cast China in different roles that support this strategy. Some narratives are informed by Orientalist tropes imported from Denmark, while others dismiss the very same tropes. Some embrace Chinese partners as crucial on Greenland's road to independence, while others reject China as imperialist. Mainly, China has been imagined as a potent source of material resources (export revenues, investments, labour). Initially, this narrative was employed to support a business attempt to reinvigorate traditional hunting through new export channels. Later, narratives underscored Greenlandic ambitions as a mining country. Recently, they have backed a Greenlandic search for new solutions to the less-hyped fishing and tourism industries. Besides the promise of material gains, Greenlandic authorities have also imagined China as an occasion for international recognition. However, the sought for recognition has changed drastically, from the time when Greenland's national team played soccer against Tibet to current attempts to negotiate science, infrastructure and paradiplomacy with Beijing and Copenhagen. The analysis is based on media reports, government foreign policy statements and parliamentary debates 1999-2018. Theoretically, the analysis draws on a tradition of analyzing international politics and foreign policy as driven by narratives constructing nation state identities in relation to Others, focusing particularly on Orientalist tropes and anti-colonial alternatives.
Danmarks tilstedeværelse i Arktis er helt og aldeles afhængig af, at rigsfællesskabet består. Ude... more Danmarks tilstedeværelse i Arktis er helt og aldeles afhængig af, at rigsfællesskabet består. Uden Grønland ville Danmark miste muligheden for at sidde til højbords med USA, Rusland og Canada. En mulighed som, Danmarks størrelse taget i betragtning, er helt unik og af uvurderlig betydning for Danmarks plads i det globale hierarki. Det er derfor alfa og omega, at Danmark fortsat plejer forholdet til Grønland med stor omhu, og at eventuelle uenigheder mellem Nuuk og København bliver taget seriøst og behandlet med stor, gensidig respekt.
Through a poststructuralist perspective primarily inspired by Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe and ... more Through a poststructuralist perspective primarily inspired by Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe and Ole Wæver, this MA thesis explores how the hegemonic and contingent identity discourse in Greenland has been used to constitute the Self Rule government’s foreign policy during the period 2009–2014. Firstly, the analysis of the hegemonic identity discourse renders visible how the narrative of a unique Greenlandic identity is contingent and in position to be dislocated. Especially the common aim for increased independence, which seems to unite all the political parties, appears to only do so when independence is articulated with no further details. At the same time, the identity discourse also highlights a cultural core, consisting of the Greenlandic language, hunting traditions and, through this, the relationship with nature. In a widened perspective, this core is, however, challenged by e.g. the notion of ‘non-Greenlandic speaking Greenlanders’, indicating that language cannot be used as a demarcation line. Furthermore, the climate changes represent a paradox, which, on the one hand, could benefit the state-building process while, on the other hand, threatening the traditional way of living. Secondly, the analysis of Greenland’s foreign political communication shows how the cultural elements of the discourse are securitized and highlighted as a matter of societal security, which is used to legitimize extraordinary rights. These are achieved by referring to both Indigenous rights and the anticipated future with enhanced independence. Sometimes even in the same case, which seems paradoxical as the different arguments articulate different subject positions to the Greenlandic people as either a minority or an equal partner. This oscillation may be perceived as a cause of the relatively recent transition from Home Rule to Self Rule, but could also be seen as a strategy to gain the best possible bargaining position with the economy and state-building process as the underlying logic.
Greenland’s foreign policy representatives use the great international attention to the Arctic to... more Greenland’s foreign policy representatives use the great international attention to the Arctic to appear and act as a more sovereign foreign policy actor. This is possible due to Denmark’s dependence on Greenland to maintain its “Arctic state” status and because Greenland’s foreign policy competence is open to interpretation. The article analyzes how representatives of shifting Greenlandic governments have expanded the foreign policy room for manoeuvre in discourse and praxis to strengthen Greenland’s position at Arctic-related events. This has been achieved by, among other things, 1) outspoken discontent in the Arctic Council, 2) tacit gestures at the Ilulissat Declaration’s 10-year anniversary, and 3) by mimicking full sovereignty at the Arctic Circle conference serving as a particularly useful platform for enhancing bilateral international relations due to its more informal setup.
Arctic identity interactions Reconfiguring dependency in Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policies, 2019
This PhD dissertation investigates how Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policy identities intera... more This PhD dissertation investigates how Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policy identities interact in the light of the renewed global geopolitical attention towards the Arctic. A development, which is used to enhance their common and distinct positions in international politics, where their roles as key Arctic actors offer opportunities to have more frequent, direct interactions with the world’s most powerful state leaders. Something which is not common for a small state like Denmark and even rarer for a self-governing territory such as Greenland.
Whereas the Arctic is discursively highlighted in foreign policy identities of the two countries, it is so to quite different extends: In Greenland, it is ubiquitous and inevitable to the prevailing collective identity representation as well as in paradiplomatic relations to the outside world. In Denmark, the status as an Arctic state is conditioned upon Greenland’s geographic location and continuous membership of the Danish Realm. This difference reconfigures the dependency between the former colony and colonizer: It gives Greenland representatives an ‘Arctic advantage’ in the postcolonial negotiations, as to remain an Arctic state, Denmark must maintain the Danish Realm. This advantage is used to enhance Greenland’s foreign policy autonomy and to alter the relationship towards one of more equality. At the same time, the Government of Greenland welcomes the increased international Arctic attention as an opportunity to diversify dependency beyond Denmark, hence reducing the relevance of the Danish Realm and enhancing Greenland’s agency in international politics.
How Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policy representatives (inter)act - together and separately - in discursive Arctic contexts is examined through five different articles. These focus on discourse and praxis within the Arctic Council, circumpolar conferences and concrete tri- and bilateral relations, but also how e.g. proposed mining projects and questions of sustainability activate postcolonial nuances about who has the ultimate right to decide. As such, all the articles contribute to a better understanding of Greenland’s and Denmark’s Arctic affairs, while some of them are also part of other academic advancements contributing with new theoretically informed perspectives on circumpolar security developments and new understandings of how the concept of sustainability is used politically in the Arctic.
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Papers by Marc Jacobsen
Kongeriget må arbejde på at imødegå bekymrende russisk og kinesisk adfærd i Arktis. Endnu mere presserende for Kongeriget er imidlertid at håndtere de nylige amerikanske reaktioner på russisk og kinesisk adfærd i Arktis og ikke mindst de nye amerikanske krav og forventninger til dansk opgaveløsning i regionen, som følger med. Her bør Kongeriget handle hurtigt og proaktivt søge at holde kontrol med den amerikanske politik i forhold til Grønland og Færøerne. Det er i den forbindelse centralt, at Rigsfællesskabet formår at opretholde en fælles linje overfor stormagterne.
Kongeriget må arbejde på at imødegå bekymrende russisk og kinesisk adfærd i Arktis. Endnu mere presserende for Kongeriget er imidlertid at håndtere de nylige amerikanske reaktioner på russisk og kinesisk adfærd i Arktis og ikke mindst de nye amerikanske krav og forventninger til dansk opgaveløsning i regionen, som følger med. Her bør Kongeriget handle hurtigt og proaktivt søge at holde kontrol med den amerikanske politik i forhold til Grønland og Færøerne. Det er i den forbindelse centralt, at Rigsfællesskabet formår at opretholde en fælles linje overfor stormagterne.
Whereas the Arctic is discursively highlighted in foreign policy identities of the two countries, it is so to quite different extends: In Greenland, it is ubiquitous and inevitable to the prevailing collective identity representation as well as in paradiplomatic relations to the outside world. In Denmark, the status as an Arctic state is conditioned upon Greenland’s geographic location and continuous membership of the Danish Realm. This difference reconfigures the dependency between the former colony and colonizer: It gives Greenland representatives an ‘Arctic advantage’ in the postcolonial negotiations, as to remain an Arctic state, Denmark must maintain the Danish Realm. This advantage is used to enhance Greenland’s foreign policy autonomy and to alter the relationship towards one of more equality. At the same time, the Government of Greenland welcomes the increased international Arctic attention as an opportunity to diversify dependency beyond Denmark, hence reducing the relevance of the Danish Realm and enhancing Greenland’s agency in international politics.
How Greenland’s and Denmark’s foreign policy representatives (inter)act - together and separately - in discursive Arctic contexts is examined through five different articles. These focus on discourse and praxis within the Arctic Council, circumpolar conferences and concrete tri- and bilateral relations, but also how e.g. proposed mining projects and questions of sustainability activate postcolonial nuances about who has the ultimate right to decide. As such, all the articles contribute to a better understanding of Greenland’s and Denmark’s Arctic affairs, while some of them are also part of other academic advancements contributing with new theoretically informed perspectives on circumpolar security developments and new understandings of how the concept of sustainability is used politically in the Arctic.