Three-Minute Legal Talks: America's Long-Standing Interest in Greenland
Greenland’s strategic location in the Artic, its abundant natural resources and its potential for military significance has made the island a subject of international interest spanning more than a century. President Donald Trump’s renewed discourse on the United States acquiring the autonomous territory has brought about discussions of the island’s future.
As early as 1867, the United States showed interest in purchasing Greenland due to its valuable coal deposits, extensive fishing opportunities and the beliefs that it would prevent British influence, while also pressuring Canada to join the United States. But no official offer was made at the time. Since then, several pursuits to acquire the island for the U.S. have yielded no results, and the territory continues to operate autonomously under the protection of the Kingdom of Denmark.
In three minutes, Anita Ramasastry, the associate dean for global and graduate programs at the University of Washington School of Law and the Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law, goes in-depth on this issue, covering the history of the U.S.’s interest in Greenland, the options available for acquisition and what rights the citizens of Greenland have concerning this topic.
Read the Transcript
Anita Ramasastry (AR): Hi, I'm Anita Ramasastry. I'm the Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law.
UW Law: Why is President Trump interested in the United States acquiring Greenland?
AR: President Trump was interested during his first presidency, and now again, because of its geographic location and importance. Greenland is located between North America and Europe and is a big piece of territory. So, strategically and militarily, it's an important place to have a base. Also, there are a lot of critical minerals and hydrocarbons there. So, it's actually a mineral rich country. Economically, it also makes a lot of sense.
UW Law: Is Greenland part of Denmark? If not, how are they associated?
AR: So, Greenland is part of Denmark in certain ways. It was a former colony in the 19th century. It was a colony of Denmark, but in the early 20th century, it obtained its, sort of, autonomy or independence politically in the sense that it does govern the territory. There are elections, there is a national government, but it’s a trust territory of Denmark. It receives fiscal support from Denmark. It doesn't have its own military, so Denmark defends it. Those kinds of things. And the court of Denmark is the highest court governing Greenland.
UW Law: Has the United States tried acquiring Greenland before?
AR: Yes. The U.S. has tried acquiring Greenland, or at least talked about it, since 1867 at the end of the Civil War. So, before World War I, after World War II and during the Cold War there have been previous discussions, negotiations and an offer even in 1955 of $100 million in gold bullion to buy Greenland.
UW Law: What potential avenues are available for the United States to acquire Greenland?
AR: Well, there are multiple pathways for the U.S. to acquire — or I would say just have more influence or control over — Greenland. The first one is the one that we've been talking about, which is the purchase or acquisition, right? It changing hands from one sovereign to another. The challenge there is that the people of Greenland, having their own kind of semi-autonomous territory, should have a say in that. So, it's not just a matter of Denmark signing a contract with the U.S.
The second one is military occupation or invasion. And again, because Denmark and the U.S. are allies, right, this is challenging, and they're both members of NATO.
The third is not about taking control as a matter of it becoming part of the U.S. but some kind of agreement or association where the U.S. has military rights, or more military rights. There's already a base there.
UW Law: What is a “Compact of Free Association,” and what benefits would this type of agreement provide to both the U.S. and Greenland?
AR: So, a Compact of Free Association is a kind of agreement or treaty between two governments. And so again, assuming, let's say, that Greenland has its own independence — it gains independence — then it could negotiate an agreement with the U.S. where it gives the U.S. exclusive military rights to have bases and presence there, meaning no other governments could do so in exchange for other things, often economic support. The U.S. and the Pacific does have those compacts with several different countries. One is the Federated States of Micronesia. Another is the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau.
UW Law: Do the citizens of Greenland have a say on whether the U.S. acquires the island, or they stay connected with Denmark?
AR: So, the citizens do. And Denmark, of course, has recognized this right to independence. What it takes is a referendum of the citizens of Greenland to vote in favor of independence. And of course, independence doesn't happen in a day. It would require unwinding the relations they have as a trust territory protected by Denmark, but if they do so, it also needs to be approved by the Danish Parliament. But they do have a say, and this is why this idea of the buying and selling isn't so simple.