Arctic News and Analysis
After reviving the ill-conceived concept of the US 'acquiring' Greenland earlier this year, the Trump administration this month that a special envoy to Nuuk would be appointed, over the objections of Greenland and Denmark. This backward strategy reflects a greater interest in Washington in creating a regional 'buffer zone' in the Western Hemisphere, threatening to further damage Arctic diplomacy.
This year's Arctic Circle Assembly conference in Reykjavík illustrated growing concerns about security and geopolitics in the high north. At the same time, the reduced presence of some major country delegations, and questions about the future of the ACA within Arctic policymaking, add to the questions about the role of 'Track II' diplomacy in the Arctic under the difficult political conditions seen today.
Canada's election season has been rocked both by unprecedented economic and political pressures from the new Trump administration, and renewed debates over the direction of Arctic Canadian security policy, including in the Arctic.
Even before the second Trump administration began, the president-elect began to yet again raise the dead-end prospect of annexing Greenland, giving no coherent reasons and alienating the Danish Kingdom. This controversy overshadowed the March elections in Greenland, leading to a new coalition government and a largely-unified stance against American neo-imperialism.
As the 2025 Arctic Frontiers conference concluded, the question of how to define and address Arctic security threats dominated the dialogues, including in the wake of the hyper-nationalist and anti-environmentalist foreign policy promised by the incoming Trump administration.
Over the Circle 