This book is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary volume about Greenland's international relations seen through the external and internal relationships Greenland has with Denmark and foreign powers. Following an introduction where the editors set the stage, the book is divided into ten varied chapters including different perspectives concerning Greenland and its international relations. The volume ends with a concluding chapter where the editors tie up the loose ends and provide the reader with the main thread of the analyses discussed in the book.
The first chapter, written by Marc Jacobsen and Ulrik Pram Gad, looks at interrelations between Greenland, the Inuit world, Nordic connections, the UN, the USA and the EU through the lens of the narrative of Greenland using its national self-image in combination with symbolic elements of indigenous cultural traditions in order to envision future independence (p. 11). The focus is on Greenlandic identity narratives and how these are used within the scope of international relations. The authors conclude that Greenland has become a player in international relations and that the island is fully aware of how to play its cards with other stakeholders in the Arctic. Sometimes this might have positive and at times more negative consequences. It all comes down to the context and the matter at hand.
In his contribution, Jens Heinrich gives us a historical tour of Greenlandic international politics from 1900 to the advent of Home Rule back in 1979. In the beginning, Denmark had the ultimate power in relation to foreign affairs (which, although still the case, is now more moderate as a consequence of increased self-government since 2009). During World War II, the German occupation of Denmark handed Greenland de facto and de jure its own power over foreign relations. However, the Danish consul, Henrik Kauffmann, became a key player since the Greenlandic politicians were inexperienced in handling international relations. This led to the 1941 defence agreement with the USA. After the war Greenland became integrated as a country within the Danish realm. In the 1960s and 1970s a more nationalistic awakening period started in Greenland as a result of decolonisation, which led to the introduction of Home Rule in 1979. The chapter reflects these historic pathways accurately and some further details are outlined.
In the third chapter, the editors focus on the Greenlandic discourse within the political, economic and the environmental sector through the lens of the so-called Copenhagen School within international relations. The uranium controversy is used as an example; this has been a heated debate since 2013–2014 between Denmark and Greenland, as well as internally in Greenland and in relations with other external actors. In the subsequent chapter, Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen takes on Danish foreign policy with a focus on the Arctic area. He calls this the Arctic turn (p. 54) with reference to the changes in Danish foreign policy between 2006 and 2014. Increased attention towards Greenland and the High North has forced Denmark to become more active in Arctic affairs.
Chapter five, written by Mikkel Runge Olesen, elucidates the triangular relationship between Greenland, Denmark and the USA from a reputation perspective. Olesen uses the countries' reputations as a point of departure for how these three actors affect each other in order to pursue their own national interests in this specific relationship.
In chapters six and seven the focus is on China as a rising power. There has been a lot of media attention regarding Chinese investments in Greenland and elsewhere in the Arctic; however, there has been a lot of hype with no relation to reality. China has not invested as much as has been speculated, merely attaining its relationships on a bilateral level between various Arctic states.
Chapters eight and nine elucidate Greenland's relationships with international organisations with a focus on the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) and the Arctic Council. Greenland is very active in the ICC because of its majority of Inuit peoples. There are various visions and strategies between the Government of Greenland and the ICC, but sometimes there are disagreements as well. Fundamentally different views surround the issue of sovereignty, where the Government of Greenland is aiming for a Western state approach and the ICC wants to address sovereignty as a non-state affair. Greenland and Denmark have had some disputes within the Arctic Council regarding representation and the ‘missing chair’ policy. The Arctic Council has moved in the direction of becoming a more conventional intergovernmental organisation. There are also complementary Arctic organisations that have appeared and it is a question of how the Arctic Council will handle its future endeavours as an international organisation including non-state actors. The authors reflect on these matters and conclude that the very actions undertaken by the Arctic Council might undermine its power, and I can only agree with them. Nevertheless, the future is unpredictable and it is hard to tell what the future might hold.
The final chapter, written by Klaus Dodds and Mark Nuttall, looks at Greenland with a critical geopolitical perspective. There is a long history of scientific investigations and operations in Greenland, and the geophysical and climatic characteristics undoubtedly play a role in how the world approaches the island and how Greenland perceives itself.
Even though the chapters are written by scholars deriving from different disciplines, they are synchronised within the framework of the overall scope of the book. The complex structure helps readers to follow the main ideas throughout the volume. All chapters are neatly combined together, which is sometimes hard in an anthology of this sort. The book is more empirically driven with a focus on contemporary Greenlandic politics, with the exception of Heinrich's chapter. This sometimes makes the volume seem like a snapshot on the surface, and since most of the chapters are relatively short some more in-depth discussions around certain issues are totally lacking. However, the book gives the reader food for thought and insights into Greenlandic politics from an international perspective.
