SOCIETY
Donald Trump’s overture to make Greenland American may be a fog curtain for real interests.
– This is like the opening in a chess game, says political scientist Anamaria Dutceac Segesten.
In the United States, allies of Donald Trump are trying to rally support for a bill that would give the president-elect a mandate to negotiate a purchase of the island.
– You should see it as a sign that there are Republicans who think that Trump is doing the right thing and think that Greenland should belong to the United States, says Jan Hallenberg, political scientist at the Institute for Foreign Policy.
The US itself has a history of buying up land. In 1803 Louisiana was purchased from France and in 1867 the purchase of Alaska from Russia was completed.
– The Republicans regard it as a real estate deal. They see Greenland as a kind of land that they want to develop, in the same way as if Trump were to develop a new resort, says Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, Associate Professor of European Studies at Lund University.
But it is not certain that Trump’s plan is actually to make Greenland American. The move can be about positioning.
Open to discussions
The real goal may be that the economic and security interests of the United States are taken care of, that the country can build more military bases, or that American companies can start extracting the island’s natural resources – alternatively, prevent Russian and Chinese interests from doing the same.
– I think the Americans will demand a security policy military rearmament, perhaps both from the Danes and from the Americans themselves, says Hallenberg.
The Greenlanders themselves have rejected the idea of becoming Americans, but say they are open to discussions.
Anamaria Dutceac Segersten believes, for example, that they can imagine mining ventures, if they are done in the right way.
– Greenland has received much more attention now and it is something that they enjoy. Because they have always felt a bit forgotten, despite their strategic position and mineral wealth.
In a fox shears
She also believes that the Greenlanders can use the interest from the US to improve their negotiating position with Denmark.
– Greenland can say that now we have an interested party here who wants to develop us and give us so many billions of dollars. What does Denmark have to offer? Can Denmark assist in any way?
Denmark, for its part, is in something of a tailspin.
– Denmark is actually in a very difficult position because they cannot allow themselves to become very critical of the United States. Denmark is completely dependent on the US for its security policy, says Anamaria Dutceac Segesten.
Source: www.nyteknik.se
