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.