The Greenlandic Voices in Foreign and Security Policy: Perspectives from Danish and Greenlandic Politicians and Officials
Author
Horsfeldt, Katja Dahl
Term
4. term
Publication year
2021
Abstract
This thesis examines how Greenlandic voices in foreign and security policy are articulated by Danish and Greenlandic experts, including diplomats, officials, and politicians. Drawing on an ontological phenomenological constructivist approach, it combines eight qualitative interviews with relevant secondary documents and applies the securitization framework of Buzan, Wæver, and de Wilde to map complexity, identify dualisms, and assess whether the articulation of Greenlandic voices itself becomes securitized. The analysis indicates a grey zone between Greenlandic commercial interests and the Danish administration’s competences, shows that the Joint Arctic Command navigates between military and societal sectors, and portrays relations with the United States as offering development opportunities alongside spillover risks. Several informants call for Greenlanders to represent Greenlandic voices and to have greater influence; differences between Greenlandic and Danish approaches can cast “shadows” of security issues but do not fully amount to securitization, partly due to improved relations between the administrations before the Greenlandic election. Finally, a stronger knowledge base in foreign and security policy emerges as securitized by several informants and accepted by both Greenlandic and Danish authorities, yet is threatened by fact-resistant decision-making as well as Danish and American analyses. Overall, the study underscores the intertwined nature of issues in this field, the importance of Greenlandic representation, and the need to build knowledge as Greenlandic decision-makers gain influence.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan de grønlandske stemmer i udenrigs- og sikkerhedspolitikken artikuleres af danske og grønlandske eksperter (diplomater, embedsmænd og politikere). Med et ontologisk-fænomenologisk konstruktivistisk udgangspunkt kombinerer studiet otte kvalitative interviews med relevante sekundære dokumenter og anvender sekuritiseringsrammen hos Buzan, Wæver og de Wilde til at kortlægge kompleksitet, identificere dualismer og vurdere, om selve artikulationen af de grønlandske stemmer sekuritiseres. Analysen peger på en gråzone mellem grønlandske erhvervsinteresser og den danske administrations kompetencer, at Joint Arctic Command balancerer mellem militær- og samfundssektoren, samt at forholdet til USA både rummer udviklingsmuligheder og risici via afsmittende effekter. Flere informanter efterlyser, at grønlændere selv repræsenterer de grønlandske stemmer og får større indflydelse; forskelle mellem grønlandske og danske tilgange kan skabe “skygger” af sikkerhedsproblemer, men udvikler sig ikke fuldt ud til en sikkerhedssag, bl.a. fordi relationerne mellem administrationerne (før valget i Grønland) var forbedrede. Endelig fremstår behovet for et stærkere vidensgrundlag om udenrigs- og sikkerhedspolitik som sekuritiseret af flere informanter og accepteret af både grønlandske og danske myndigheder, mens dette vidensgrundlag trues af faktarestent beslutningstagning samt danske og amerikanske analyser. Overordnet fremhæver specialet, at emnerne er tæt sammenvævede, at repræsentationen bør styrkes af grønlandske aktører, og at en videnopbygning er central i takt med øget grønlandsk indflydelse.
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Keywords