ABSTRACT
Greenland is a subnational entity within the Kingdom of Denmark with extensive autonomy and a path to full independence that occupies a geostrategically important position in an Arctic in flux. Studying Greenland’s international relations sheds light on crucial perspectives that are often overlooked within several academic literatures. For the literature on Arctic politics, it highlights the importance of sub-national actors for the legitimacy and effectiveness of Arctic governance. For the Inuit Studies literature, it highlights that international dynamics, including geopolitics and globalisation, shape local visions and identities. For the paradiplomacy literature, which typically focuses on low politics relations, it introduces a critical case where a subnational region is able to influence high politics relations with the global great powers and use a postcolonial past to carve out an independent space.
