The Arctic, once a region defined by multilateral cooperation and scientific collaboration, is rapidly becoming a dangerous flashpoint. President Trump’s escalating threats to seize Greenland by military force or economic coercion have created an existential crisis for international law and order.

This week, Germany, France, the UK, and a few other European NATO states sent a small number of troops, barely 30 in all, to Greenland as a show of support for Denmark and “to strengthen the alliance’s footprint in the Arctic.” The handful of European soldiers won’t stop the American military if Trump acts on his threats. But their presence points to a disturbing new reality: America has become the threat its own allies need protection from. How did we get to this point?
 

Why Trump Wants Greenland

When Trump first brought up the idea of purchasing Greenland in 2019, people laughed it off. But now, nobody’s laughing. The whole thing has gone from a bizarre real estate pitch to something much more aggressive. Trump now says he’ll take Greenland “whether they like it or not” and even warned Denmark, “If we don’t do it the easy way we’re going to do it the hard way.”

At first, Trump tried to justify his interest by claiming that Russian and Chinese ships were swarming Greenland’s coast. When experts and diplomats debunked this claim, noting that those countries’ ships are thousands of miles away in the Barents and Bering seas, the narrative shifted to missile defense. Now Trump insists Greenland is crucial for the Golden Dome, his proposed multilayer missile defense system.

There is no denying the strategic value of the island, but annexation isn’t the answer. The United States already operates Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland, with comprehensive radar coverage, under a 1951 agreement that has served American security for seven decades. The Golden Dome pretext feels more like a smokescreen. At its core, Trump just wants to put more US territory on the map.

The president has reportedly ordered Special Forces to develop invasion plans, even though top military officials told him an invasion would break international law and violate NATO treaties. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Trump said, “I don’t need international law.”
 

Denmark and Greenland React

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Greenlanders have been clear: 85 percent oppose joining the US. The 2025 elections in Greenland delivered victory to parties that reject Trump’s advances. Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated firmly this week: “We choose Denmark. We choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark and the EU.”

Trump’s response wasn’t just a personal jab at Nielsen but to Greenlandic democracy itself: “I don’t know who he is.… but that’s going to be a big problem for him.”

Greenlanders want eventual independence from Denmark, but on their own terms and timeline. They’ve endured centuries of colonialism. Danish authorities forcibly sterilized Greenlandic women in the 1960s and sent kids to “re-education” schools. No one is eager to go back to being someone else’s property, especially when that someone sees their homeland as just a strategic prize.

In her New Year’s address, Danish Prime Minister Mekke Frederiksen took a hardening stance against Washington’s ambitions, declaring, “Never before have we increased our military strength so significantly, so quickly.”
 

Climate Colonialism

The Arctic is experiencing the planet’s most dramatic warming, with temperature rising four times faster than the global average. Greenland’s ice sheet is melting seven times faster than in the 1990s. If it fully melts, global sea levels would rise 24 feet, submerging Miami, New Orleans, and much of Manhattan.

Yet where scientists see catastrophe, Trump and his Silicon Valley backers see opportunity. Tech billionaires like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk envision Greenland as not just a source of rare earth minerals for electric vehicles and renewables but also a laboratory for libertarian “freedom cities,” unregulated zones where they can extract resources without environmental oversight or labor laws. Ken Howery, Trump’s ambassador to Denmark and PayPal cofounder with Thiel, has reportedly been interested in these special economic zones.

This is the ugliest kind of climate colonialism: One of the nations that created the climate crisis is now trying to cash in on the damage. While Indigenous Greenlanders watch their hunting grounds disappear and their homes sink into thawing ground, American billionaires see a blank slate for their pet projects.
 

A Crisis of International Order

Wednesday’s White House meeting between Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt failed to find common ground on the future of the Arctic island.

While the parties agreed to establish a “high-level working group” to keep the conversation going, that spun out into public contradiction. Rasmussen told reporters the group would “explore if a common way forward can be found to address the American security concerns in relation to Greenland.” The White House, on the other hand, pushed a different story. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the talks would focus on “the acquisition of Greenland.” Not exactly the same thing.

Europe’s leaders didn’t hold back. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius have warned that if America used force against a NATO member state, the alliance would be finished. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk went even further, saying it would be “the end of the world as we know it.” If the US attacks a NATO ally, the alliance doesn’t just crack; it falls apart completely.
 

Risks for America

America has a choice. The Arctic has for years been the setting for peace and cooperation in the Far North, even during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War and 2014 Ukraine crisis. Trump’s administration wants to go it alone, chasing total dominance instead of working with others. That only guarantees an intensified arms race in the Arctic. Russia, which already has the biggest military presence in the region, will double down and solidify its partnership with China.

The White House claims that grabbing Greenland would keep Russia and China at bay. In reality, it may invite them in. Ditching international law and pushing aside cooperation just makes Beijing look like the grown-up in the room. China already has its eye on Greenland’s resources, and the Greenlanders may take them up on their offers.

There’s still an off-ramp from this crisis, though it requires Washington to abandon imperialist unilateralism. The 1951 Defense Agreement already gives the United States the access it says it needs. America can get critical minerals through partnerships that respect Greenlandic environmental rules and Indigenous rights. Arctic security challenges can be addressed through strengthened multilateral frameworks.

If Trump pushes ahead, whether by force or by economic threats, he doesn’t just acquire territory. He’ll shred international law, trash what’s left of international order, and turn the Arctic from a shared laboratory to help the planet adapt to the climate crisis into a zone for a new arms race.