Taking Greenland Would Cost the U.S. the Nordic Region

Would occupying Greenland make the United States safer? No. The idea rests on a bad reading of the map and a poor understanding of Northern Europe. If Donald Trump moves ahead with a plan to take control of Greenland, the United States could end up weakening its position across the entire North Atlantic.

Start with geography. Greenland is important, but it is not the only strategic island in the North Atlantic. Iceland matters just as much. Anyone who wants to control shipping routes in the region needs access to Iceland as well. Iceland is a small country with no standing army, but it is a NATO member. That status was never in question.

If the United States says it needs control over North Atlantic sea lanes, the argument applies to Iceland too. And it does not stop there. To the east lies Norway, with a long coastline running from the North Sea into the Arctic. Greenland, Iceland, and Norway all sit along the same waters. Taking Greenland alone would not give the United States control of the region. Cooperation with Iceland and Norway would still be necessary.

There is another problem the Trump administration seems to miss. The Nordic countries act like a family. The region includes Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. We share a long history that goes back to the Viking era. Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish are different languages today, but they all come from Old Norse. Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians can still understand each other. Finnish is a separate language, but Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom for six hundred years and still has a large Swedish-speaking minority. Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, grew up speaking Swedish.

People in the Nordic countries see themselves as part of the same community. Iceland and Norway are not members of the European Union, but that has not weakened their ties to the rest of the region.

The U.S. administration has repeatedly criticized Denmark, calling it a weak ally and claiming it cannot defend Greenland. These statements treat Denmark as a small country of six million people that can be pushed aside by a larger power.

That view ignores how the Nordic region works. When Denmark is challenged, the rest of the Nordics line up behind it. Together, the Nordic countries have about 28 million people. That does not make them a great power, but it does make them large enough that they cannot simply be ordered to comply.

Nordic unity is not just a military alliance. It runs deeper than that. It is built on shared history, culture, and long-standing loyalty.

Greenland and its people are part of that family. The entire Nordic region includes several ethnic minorities. The Sámi are the best known, but there are others. Greenland is part of the Danish kingdom for historical reasons. Iceland and Norway once were too.

Greenland is now going through its own political process to decide its future. The island’s ties to Denmark remain strong for a simple reason: Greenland’s population is small. Many Greenlanders who wanted education or careers moved to Denmark. Whether Greenland becomes fully independent or remains within the Danish kingdom is a decision for Greenlanders to make.

The U.S. president has said the United States must take Greenland for its own security. Denmark has called that idea unthinkable. So have Greenland.

If the United States were to push ahead anyway, it would not just damage relations with Denmark. It would break trust with the entire Nordic region, including Iceland and Norway, which sit in the same strategic waters. It is hard to see how that would make the United States safer.