Greenland’s post-colonial identity formation: a new perspective: About the effects of Greenland’s political and socioeconomic dependency on Denmark, and its consequences for Greenland’s post-colonial identity formation

van Kammen, Han Sietze

4. term

Development and International Relations, Master

2015

2015-07-30

85 pages

Contemporary academic research on Greenland’s post-colonial relationship with Denmark is mainly done from the perspective of post-colonialism. As a result, there is a significant focus on Greenland’s post-colonial identity formation in relation to Denmark. However, postcolonialism often fails to take into account political, and socioeconomic factors especially, with regards to the post-colonial identity formation of former colonies. In this study, it is argued that dependency theory can provide a valuable complement to post-colonialism. Through an analysis of the effects of Greenland’s political and socioeconomic dependency on Denmark, on the former’s post-colonial identity formation, this study aims to provide a new perspective on how the effects of the colonial history between both countries still resonate within Greenland. In addition, interviews have been conducted with officials from the Greenlandic Representative Office in Copenhagen to support the claims that have been made. This study has found that while the reduction of Greenland’s political dependency on Denmark has strengthened the formation of a national Greenlandic identity, Greenland’s ongoing socioeconomic dependency on Denmark seems to have more adverse consequences. It is argued that while Greenland’s socioeconomic relationship with Denmark engenders the formation of a hybrid identity that offers possibilities for agency within Greenlandic identity politics, Greenland’s dependency on especially the Danish block grant perpetuates the Greenlanders’ subaltern position in relation to the Danish Other.

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