Polar Geopolitics - Arctic and Antarctic analysis

This is a REPRISE of an episode of Polar Geopolitics originally published on 15 April 2024 “Greenland is the most dynamic piece in the new Arctic security jigsaw puzzle”, according to a new book that applies the international relations theory of securitization to analyze the security and geopolitics of Greenland and the Arctic. Marc Jacobsen, Ole Wæver and Ulrik Pram Gad, co-editors and authors of Greenland in Arctic Security: (De)securitization Dynamics under Climatic Thaw and Geopolitical Freeze, join the podcast to discuss the configuration of Arctic security and explain how relations between Nuuk, Copenhagen and Washington, as well as issues such as Greenlandic national identity, independence and sovereignty, are strongly influencing the future of the region. Marc Jacobsen is an Assistant Professor at the Royal Danish Defence College; Ole Wæver is a Professor at the University of Copenhagen; and Ulrik Pram Gad is a Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Greenland in Arctic Security is available from the University of Michigan Press: https://press.umich.edu/Books/G/Greenland-in-Arctic-Security2 Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on SubStack: https://polargeopolitics.substack.com/  Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

In this enlightening conversation, Alexander B. Gray, a former Deputy Assistant to the President and current CEO of American Global Strategies, delves into the U.S. interest in acquiring Greenland. He discusses the geopolitical risks of Chinese influence in an independent Greenland and emphasizes the urgency of ensuring Arctic security. Gray proposes a hemispheric defense strategy while addressing the balance between resource needs and security concerns. He also advocates for a robust America First policy in Antarctica, linking the strategic importance of both polar regions.

Several weeks into the latest, most acute, phase of the ongoing Greenland Crisis, a Danish strategy for keeping the Kingdom intact in the face of the Trump administration’s unwelcome advances can be discerned. Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen from the Center for Arctic Security Studies at Royal Danish Defence College joins the podcast to provide his analysis of Copenhagen’s approach to managing the crisis, and to discuss dynamics inside the Kingdom of Denmark at a time of extreme external pressure from the United States in its attempt to acquire Greenland.   Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on SubStack: https://polargeopolitics.substack.com/  Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

With transatlantic ties and the future of NATO at stake, security policy analyst Maria Martisiute from the European Policy Center in Brussels joins the podcast to discuss the role of the EU, NATO and member states in attempting to mitigate the Greenland Crisis. She also presents six recommendations for potentially turning the crisis into an opportunity to enhance Arctic security and foster greater cooperation between Denmark, Greenland, the United States, and European countries and institutions on issues ranging from natural resources to collective security. Her recent article on the topic is called It’s a bargain: the case of Greenland. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on SubStack: https://polargeopolitics.substack.com/  Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

In a captivating conversation, Steven Lamy, a political science expert from USC, delves into Trump’s controversial approach to Greenland. He characterizes this strategy as coercive diplomacy aiming at Denmark, a stark shift from post-war norms towards a 19th-century mindset. Lamy also analyzes the economic motives behind the interest, suggesting legacy concerns may drive the push more than security. The appointment of a special envoy is seen as symbolic, with the potential to fracture NATO ties. His insights into alternative strategies for cooperation are equally thought-provoking.

What might the future of the Arctic look like, and in what ways has the optimistic Arctic future of 15-20 years ago taken a different path than expected at that time? Mia Bennett, associate professor at the University of Washington and producer of the Cryopolitics blog, joins the podcast to discuss the new book she has co-authored with Klaus Dodds, Unfrozen: the fight for the future of the Arctic (Yale UP 2025). The conversation covers topics such as Arctic flashpoints and future scenarios, the effects of a weakened Arctic Council on the political voice of Arctic indigenous peoples, the demise of Arctic Exceptionalism and narratives of a Global Arctic, interest in the Arctic among Asian states, Greenland, and the role of technologies in the circumpolar North. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on SubStack: https://polargeopolitics.substack.com/  Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

Perceptions of massive economic opportunity have propelled Arctic geopolitics for almost two decades, and the late Scott Minerd estimated the region required over $1 trillion in infrastrucutre investments to realize its full potential. On this episode, Mads Qvist Frederiksen, executive director of the Arctic Economic Council, discusses the Arctic’s business environment, the array of opportunities and challenges faced by would-be stakeholders, and the role of narratives in reflecting and shaping the  present and future of the circumpolar North. The recent AEC mining report on Critical Raw Materials is discussed, as is the new Arctic Encyclopaedia published by the Arctic Economic Council as part of its extensive communications efforts that promote the Arctic as not only a place for investment but also as a region of diverse cultures and environments. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on SubStack: https://polargeopolitics.substack.com/  Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

Evan Bloom, a former senior diplomat with over two decades shaping U.S. polar policies, dives into emerging trends in American engagement in the Arctic and Antarctic. He discusses the alarming funding cuts for polar science, the proposed investments in icebreakers, and the intricacies of extended continental shelf claims around Alaska. Bloom also sheds light on the vital role of the Arctic Council amidst geopolitical tensions and emphasizes the need for collaboration in shaping future governance in both polar regions.

The United States, due in large part to Donald Trump’s renewed ambition to acquire Greenland, has this year dominated discussions on Arctic geopolitics. A timely new book, America in the Arctic: Foreign Policy and Competition in the Melting North (Columbia University Press 2025), analyses the long-term evolution of U.S. Arctic engagement across an array of issue areas. The book’s author Mary Thompson-Jones, a retired diplomat with the U.S. State Department and currently Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, joins the podcast to share her wide-ranging insights into the formation and future directions of U.S. policy in the Arctic, including topics such as climate change and science diplomacy, the Arctic as a theater for strategic competition, the procurement of icebreakers, and the increasingly important role of the U.S. Arctic gateway states of Alaska and Maine. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on SubStack: https://polargeopolitics.substack.com/  Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

In the wake of the recent 47th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Milan, Alan Hemmings, Adjunct Professor at Gateway Antarctica at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch and veteran of many a ATCM, joins the podcast to provide a comprehensive, somewhat sobering, analysis of the current state of Antarctic governance, and the changing geopolitical dynamics within the Antarctic Treaty System. Among the range of topics discussed are the uncertainty of American Antarctic engagement under the Trump administration, the dual function of science in Antarctica, and the actual significance of the year 2048 for the Madrid Protocol and the ATS. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on SubStack: https://polargeopolitics.substack.com/  Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU