Denmark and Greenland’s changing sovereignty and security challenges in the Arctic

Regional security dynamics are not felt uniformly throughout the Arctic. Greenland, a regional entity within the Kingdom of Denmark with extensive autonomy and a roadmap to independence, illustrates how local political forces and authority structures affect security dynamics. Whereas Cold War civilian security challenges were primarily consequences of the American presence on the island and the Danish modernization project, current civilian security challenges stem from the enhanced commercial activity in the region, which is pushed primarily by the local government in Nuuk. While Cold War political–military security dynamics were mainly a bilateral Danish–American affair, Greenland has gained a say in these matters, which has made it more difficult to secure American interests.