EditorSA国际影视传媒檚 note: This essay is a continuation from last week.
As stated in Section 1 (Introduction), SA国际影视传媒淕reenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 foreign, security and defense strategy is an expression of our vision and desire for more collaboration with the world around us SA国际影视传媒� not just because this is the course that we intend to pursue, but because it is necessary. Greenland is seeking greater international cooperation and trade because our development and progress require it.
Section 1 further elaborates, SA国际影视传媒淭he strategy aims to lay down the overall framework and guidelines for GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 relations and policies with other countries to safeguard the security and defend the interests of Greenland and the Greenlandic people, to define our objectives, and to foster cooperation for the benefit of our country and our partners. Our foreign policy must support and strengthen our foreign trade and bolster our progress towards achieving a self-sustaining economy to enhance our self-determination, defend our interests, and increase our independence as stipulated in the Act on Greenland Self-Government and under international law.SA国际影视传媒�
On the independent spirit that infuses its Arctic strategy, Section 1 further states: SA国际影视传媒淲ith the right to self-determination and the goal of independence, our country and people aim to increase their cooperation with other countries. It is important for us as responsible citizens of the world, in our own name, to have the courage to take a stand on issues and events around the world.SA国际影视传媒�
Among the many shared values described in Section 1 that SA国际影视传媒渦nderpin GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 approach to relations with other countriesSA国际影视传媒� are its commitment that SA国际影视传媒淒emocracy and human rights are at the core of all relations;SA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒淕reenland and the Arctic is an area of low tension;SA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒淚mproving the lives and livelihoods of the Greenlandic people is of key importance;SA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒淎ll relations are based on the premise that Greenland and the Greenlandic people constitute an independent people and nation;SA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒淎ll relations must be solution oriented;SA国际影视传媒� and SA国际影视传媒淲e stand in solidarity and work hand in hand with other Arctic communities.SA国际影视传媒�
On GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 aspiration to independence, Section 1 proclaims: SA国际影视传媒淥ur country is aware that we are part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but we also strive for independence. We want to make a difference in the world, and we have something to contribute to the world.SA国际影视传媒� Within the Kingdom of Denmark, it is GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 aim that SA国际影视传媒渁ll member countries must cooperate with respect for their differences and with equal rights and conditions;SA国际影视传媒� beyond the Kingdom, within the Indigenous world in which most Greenlanders also reside, Section 1 also affirms that SA国际影视传媒淚nuit in Greenland will continue to serve as a role model for other indigenous peoples, and we can champion their rights.SA国际影视传媒�
As Section 13 (Closing Remarks) asserts, SA国际影视传媒淕reenland in the World SA国际影视传媒� Nothing about us without us is an ambitious strategy that demonstrates that Greenland is insisting on a seat at the table. Greenland has something to contribute, and it is important that GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 voice is heard and that we safeguard our interests and articulate our values. At the same time, this is a strategy that sets out our objectives for developing ties with our neighboring countries, partners and the international community.SA国际影视传媒�
It presents not only an Arctic vision, but a global one, as described in Section 1: SA国际影视传媒淚n addition to pursuing our collaborations with countries farther south, as an Arctic nation we also look to the East and the West, including our closest neighbors, and intend to develop our North-to North ties as a source of inspiration and collaborative opportunities;SA国际影视传媒� Greenland thus plans to utilize its SA国际影视传媒渇oreign policy and diverse collaborative relationships to convey to the outside world our culture and our values, and to promote peace and democracy, international law and the right to self-determination, all the while providing an understanding of the conditions in the Arctic and the unique and valuable interplay between the peoples of the region. Our climate is changing, and the ice is getting thinner.
SA国际影视传媒淲e have proud peoples in the Arctic who continue to live and adaptSA国际影视传媒攁nd we seek greater cooperation on todaySA国际影视传媒檚 terms. We will not allow ourselves to be hemmed in by outdated mindsets and structures, which give us no control over the course of developments. Nothing about us without us.SA国际影视传媒�
GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 aspiration for independence, and its vision of a collaborative world in which it can not only survive but also thrive as an independent sovereign state, are essential to its first Arctic strategy. Indeed, the most likely sovereign polity to emerge across the vast Inuit homeland stretching from the northeastern tip of Siberia all the way to GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 easternmost shores is an independent Kalaallit Nunaat, as Greenland is also known, within its present geographical dimensions; achieved through a peaceful, negotiated secession from the Kingdom of Denmark; with both continued NATO membership and close bilateral ties to fellow NATO members the United States, Canada and Iceland; while nurturing new economic ties to trading partners in Asia, particularly China, and fostering close diplomatic ties to the host of multinational and intergovernmental fora to which it presently belongs as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, such as the Arctic Council.
GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 strategy is thus a bold declaration of decolonized thinking about GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 place in the world, one where it is increasingly independent when it comes to matters of state and statecraft. A peaceful and cooperative Arctic remains the goal, but with GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 increased engagement and agency as a NATO ally and partner, while simultaneously fostering the formation of a new Arctic North America Forum to help strengthen the unity of the regions of Arctic North America (Alaska, in the USA; Yukon, NWT, Nunavut, and Nunavik, in Canada; and Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark, at least for now); pursuing continued cooperation at the international and regional level through the UN, EU, Arctic Council, Nordic cooperation councils (Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordic Council, and West Nordic Council), and Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC); maintaining close bilateral ties with neighboring allied states, foremost of which is the United States for its military power and prominence in NATO, but also Canada and Iceland; and nurturing its evolving relationship with China and other East Asian trading states.
At the centre of these multiple overlapping collaborations stands Greenland, as a partner to all of these stakeholders, revealing a complex, balanced, pragmatic, thoughtful and independent approach to statecraft that illustrates GreenlandSA国际影视传媒檚 maturation as an emergent sovereign polity, ready not only for its seat at the table, but its place among the worldSA国际影视传媒檚 family of nations.
Barry Scott Zellen is a PhD, research scholar in the department of geography, University of Connecticut
