Greenland Protests US Plans, Reminds Empire 'Discovery' isn't Ownership
While DW notes protestors opposing U.S. plans for military upgrades and resource extraction, the underlying narrative of 'US strategic interests' often glosses over a long history. From the 1823 Monroe Doctrine asserting hegemony over Latin America to repeated interventions in the Caribbean and Pacific, Washington routinely prioritizes its perceived security over the sovereignty of smaller
nations. Greenland, with its vast mineral wealth and Arctic access, is merely the latest chess piece in a game its inhabitants never asked to play. One might wonder if 'Hands Off Greenland' sounds too much like 'Hands Off Cuba' or 'Hands Off Vietnam' for comfortable Western consumption. The constant drumbeat for 'securing supply chains' and 'countering rivals' seems to inevitably lead to someone
else's land becoming a new front in an old geopolitical battle. Perhaps the protests simply reflect a desire for self-determination, a concept surprisingly unproblematic when applied to certain regions, and stubbornly inconvenient when applied to others.