Trump’s Greenland Threats Reveal A Revival Of U.S. Neo‑Colonial Strategy In The Arctic

By Uriel Araujo

By refusing to rule out force over Greenland, Trump has unsettled European allies and reframed Arctic geopolitics. The parallels with US pressure on Venezuela point to a consistent strategy rooted in resource control and strategic positioning. Greenland thus emerges as a potential test case for 21st-century neo-colonial power dynamics.

Copenhagen’s decision to summon the US ambassador this week is no mere diplomatic theatre. It is rather a response to a very real signal coming from Washington: Greenland is still on Washington’s strategic radar. In fact, by appointing a new special envoy to Greenland, the Trump administration is not merely reopening an old debate, but rather is reviving a doctrine.

The appointment of Jeff Landry as special envoy for Greenland has been framed by Washington as a matter of “coordination” and “dialogue.” Commentator Alexandra Sharp, writing for Foreign Policy, notes that the move revives US ambitions tied to strategic minerals, Arctic shipping routes, and military positioning.

Trump openly floated the idea of purchasing Greenland during his first term, only to face firm Danish rejection. What has changed now is not the underlying intent, but tone and timing. Trump’s recent statements — that Greenland is “essential for US security” and that “all options”, including force, remain open — should not necessarily be brushed off as mere rhetoric. By refusing to rule out military action against a NATO ally’s territory, Trump has compelled European capitals to treat his once-dismissed bravado as a genuine strategic contingency.

So much for the post-Cold War narrative that territorial revisionism was the monopoly of official adversaries. Denmark, for its part, has reacted sharply. The Danish foreign ministry, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, made clear that Greenland is not for sale and that any suggestion otherwise is unacceptable. European leaders have closed ranks, with France, Germany, and the EU Commission issuing statements backing Greenland’s sovereignty.

European unity, however should not be mistaken for confidence: officials understand that Trump’s threats are part of a broader pattern. Washington is simultaneously reviving its “all options” rhetoric toward Venezuela, signalling potential regime change. When one administration simultaneously signals openness to coercive action in the Arctic and the Caribbean, this is no coincidence. The logic here, far from ideological, is material enough.

Greenland, as it so happens, holds vast reserves of rare earths, uranium, and critical minerals increasingly vital to advanced technologies and military systems. Its geographic position also anchors US missile defence architecture and Arctic surveillance. Venezuela, meanwhile, remains home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Trump’s rhetoric is often dismissed as bombast, yet in this case it aligns with long-standing US strategic documents that treat access denial, resource security, and chokepoint control as existential matters. The Arctic, in particular, has quietly moved from peripheral concern to a central theatre of the New Cold War.

As I previously noted, the next major Russia-West standoff could even take place in the Arctic — rather than Ukraine or the Middle East — due to NATO’s expanding presence and military buildup, which risks dangerous escalation. This includes Nordic expansion through Finland’s and Sweden’s accessions, alongside renewed US focus on Greenland, seen by Moscow as part of a broader encirclement strategy.

Moreover, melting ice is currently opening new shipping lanes and intensifying competition over seabed resources. No wonder Greenland’s strategic value has skyrocketed.

European outrage over American assertions on Greenland is understandable but arguably selective, given the long-standing US military primacy at Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule) under Danish sovereignty. In his own way, Trump is not inventing American dominance but openly declaring it, dispensing with euphemisms and ambiguity to the detriment of diplomatic decorum — preferring blunt clarity, however destabilizing.

Critics rightly call any coercion of Greenland reckless and legally untenable. Yet legality has seldom restrained American actions when vital strategic interests are at stake — as seen in Iraq, Kosovo, Libya, and Syria — through creative reinterpretations of international norms. With its small population and weak defences, Greenland may appear to Washington as vulnerable enough to pressure without risking major escalation.

This does not necessarily mean annexation is imminent. It does mean leverage is being recalibrated. The special envoy post allows Washington to deepen ties directly with Greenlandic elites, bypassing Copenhagen where convenient. It also places Greenland squarely within Trump’s transactional framework: security guarantees in exchange for access, alignment, and eventual dependency.

The Venezuelan parallel reinforces the pattern. Both cases involve resource-rich territories, weak bargaining positions (especially in Greenland’s case), and narratives of “security necessity.” In both cases, Trump presents coercion not as aggression but as prudence. The huge difference is that the European allies happen to be implicated in Greenland, whereas Latin America has long been accustomed to US pressure. That asymmetry alone explains the sudden shock in Copenhagen and Brussels.

There is also a domestic angle. Trump’s base responds favourably to assertive postures that promise control over resources and borders. Greenland, framed as vital and vulnerable, fits neatly into this narrative. This does not mean that such threats are electoral theatre and nothing else. Instead, they are policy signals calibrated for multiple audiences at once.

None of this guarantees success, of course. European resistance, Greenlandic self-determination, and international backlash remain real constraints. But the signal has been sent. To put it simply, Trump is reasserting a 19th-century vocabulary in a 21st-century setting.

To what extent this strategy destabilizes the Arctic remains to be seen. One may recall that Trump is also pushing an Anglo-American administration to “rule” Palestine, in a neo-colonial fashion (clashing with Israel’s own projects). Greenland right now might thus also be a test case: a test of how far blunt power politics can go when wrapped in the language of security. Moreover, it is also a test of whether Europe can defend sovereignty without escalation in a divided NATO. And it is a reminder that, in Washington’s worldview, territory, resources, and leverage remain inseparable.

Uriel Araujo, Anthropology PhD, is a social scientist specializing in ethnic and religious conflicts, with extensive research on geopolitical dynamics and cultural interactions.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.

Categories: Analysis, Geopolitics, International Affairs

Tags: Donald Trump, EU, Europe, Geopolitics, Greenland, NATO, New Cold War, The Arctic, USA