In 2018, a colleague and I, along with a staff of Greenlandic analysis assistants, carried out one of the vital complete surveys to this point on public opinion in Greenland. We travelled to 13 randomly chosen cities and settlements throughout the island nation, conducting in-person interviews with a consultant pattern of grownup residents.
The survey explored a variety of subjects. We requested for views on local weather change, financial issues – and the prospect of independence from Denmark. Till lately, this was the most recent ballot on what the individuals of Greenland thought of this subject.
Greenland, a former Danish colony, is presently an autonomous territory throughout the Kingdom of Denmark. This political association grants Greenland in depth self-rule, together with management over most home affairs, in addition to its personal prime minister and parliament. Nonetheless, Denmark retains authority over overseas coverage, defence and financial coverage.
Trump posting the 2018 ballot in 2025.
Fact Social
Trump didn’t add a remark within the put up however the insinuation was clear given his current statements about annexing Greenland from Denmark: Greenlandic residents need independence from Denmark, and subsequently, they could be open to different political or financial preparations with the US.
“I think we’re going to have it,” Trump lately stated after a telephone name with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who instructed him the land was “not for sale”. Trump has up to now spoken of someway “purchasing” Greenland however has since moved on in the direction of talking in additional assertive phrases about taking management of the territory.
Again in 2018, once we carried out the survey, Trump had not but revealed any plans to annex the island nation. It was a state of affairs we might hardly even have imagined and subsequently didn’t ask our members about. As such, no matter how Trump framed them, the survey outcomes under no circumstances indicated that the inhabitants harboured a want to affix the US.
Within the research I revealed primarily based on the 2018 knowledge assortment, I reported {that a} majority of the Greenlandic inhabitants aspired to independence. Two-thirds of the members thought that “Greenland should become an independent country at some point in the future”.
Opinions have been extra divergent concerning the timing of independence. When requested how they’d vote in an independence referendum if it have been held in the present day, respondents who acknowledged a desire have been evenly break up between “yes” and “no” to independence.
‘I think we’re going to have it’.
EPA
The Act on Greenland Self-Authorities, handed in 2009, grants the Greenlandic authorities the authorized authority to unilaterally name a referendum on separating from the political union with Denmark. In response to the legislation, “the decision regarding Greenland’s independence shall be taken by the people of Greenland”.
Throughout the 15 years since its passage, the choice to name a referendum has not been exercised. That is seemingly as a result of potential financial penalties of leaving the union with Denmark.
Every year, Denmark sends a block grant that covers roughly half of Greenland’s funds. This helps a welfare system that’s extra in depth than what is on the market to most People. As well as, Denmark administers many expensive public companies, together with nationwide defence.
This backdrop presents a dilemma for a lot of Greenlanders who aspire to independence, as they weigh welfare issues in opposition to political sovereignty. This was additionally evident from my research, which revealed that financial issues affect independence preferences.
For a lot of Greenlanders, the island nation’s wealthy pure assets current a possible bridge between financial self-sufficiency and full sovereignty. International investments and the related tax revenues from useful resource extraction are seen as key to decreasing financial dependence on Denmark. Presumably, these pure assets, which embody uncommon earths and different strategic minerals, additionally assist clarify Trump’s curiosity in Greenland.
As Greenland’s future is prone to stay on the centre of a geopolitical energy wrestle for a while, it’s essential to keep in mind that solely Greenlanders have the precise to find out their very own path. What scarce data is on the market on their views means that whereas many aspire to independence, it isn’t pushed by a want to affix the US.
