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Institutions, Resources, and the Governance of Postcolonial Greenland

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Governing the North American Arctic

Part of the book series: St Antony’s Series ((STANTS))

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Abstract

There are different visions of Greenland. For the inhabitants, Kalaallit Nunaat is a homeland with increasing autonomy and independence.1 For most of the world, Greenland is often reduced to its ice cap, a ‘global laboratory’ for science, and an emblem of climate change for environmental NGOs and, increasingly, global civil society. For Denmark, the island is a constituent part of the Danish Kingdom. For North Americans, especially the US military, Greenland is geographically, geologically, and continentally part of North America. For some representatives in the European Parliament or the European Commission, Greenland is part of Europe, offering a further window for the European Union to develop its Northern Dimension. For many new actors in the Arctic, whether for multi-nationals wanting to develop resources or Asian states such as China and South Korea, Greenland is depicted as a ‘newly-independent state’ seeking new partners for development.

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Notes

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Authors
  1. Richard C. Powell
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Cornell University, USA

    Dawn Alexandrea Berry (Postdoctoral Fellow) (Postdoctoral Fellow)

  2. Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford, UK

    Nigel Bowles (Senior Research Fellow) (Senior Research Fellow)

  3. St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, UK

    Halbert Jones (Senior Research Fellow) (Senior Research Fellow)

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© 2016 Richard C. Powell

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Powell, R.C. (2016). Institutions, Resources, and the Governance of Postcolonial Greenland. In: Berry, D.A., Bowles, N., Jones, H. (eds) Governing the North American Arctic. St Antony’s Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137493910_10

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