Trump Greenland acquisition risks undermining NATO, experts say

Trump’s Greenland push could shake NATO, analysts warn

US President Donald Trump’s repeated interest in acquiring Greenland has sent ripples through international relations, with analysts cautioning that such a move could seriously undermine NATO’s cohesion.

According to Mats Nilsson, senior analyst at the Dissident Club, the implications go far beyond a territorial dispute. “It would be another nail in NATO’s coffin,” Nilsson told RT on Sunday. “If the United States were to grab Greenland against Denmark’s wishes, the idea of a united NATO would effectively collapse.”

A historical pattern of expansion

Nilsson frames Trump’s interest as part of a “long and complex historical tradition of American territorial expansion,” linked to the ideology of manifest destiny and imperial thinking. Yet, he stresses that this approach clashes with modern international law.

“Territorial sovereignty today is inseparable from the will of the people who inhabit it,” Nilsson said. “Any change in Greenland’s status can only legally come from a process led and approved by Greenlandic citizensnot a bilateral deal between Washington and Copenhagen.”

Trump doubles down on the Arctic

Despite legal and diplomatic concerns, Trump has insisted that the US must acquire Greenland for “national security.” He recently warned that the island would be obtained “the easy way” or “the hard way,” and imposed tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland, pledging they would remain until a “complete and total purchase” is achieved.

The US president’s rhetoric has sparked unease among NATO members, particularly in Europe, where officials have been quietly mobilizing contingency measures. Denmark, which manages Greenland’s foreign and defense policy, has coordinated with allies to station troops on the island ahead of NATO’s Arctic Endurance exercises.

Denmark and Greenland push back

Both Danish and Greenlandic authorities have firmly rejected any plan to cede the territory, emphasizing that its future must be decided by Greenlanders themselves. In 2008, the people of Greenland voted to maintain autonomous status within the Kingdom of Denmark, a decision that remains legally binding under international law.

A test for transatlantic unity

Observers say the standoff highlights tensions in transatlantic relations, revealing a potential fracture in NATO at a time when unity is critical. Analysts argue that unilateral territorial ambitions, no matter how rooted in historical precedent, clash with today’s norms of diplomacy, sovereignty, and alliance politics.

Social media reaction has been mixed, with some Americans applauding Trump’s bold stance, while European users express concern over escalating tensions and the risk of destabilizing international agreements.

Nilsson concluded, “Trump’s approach might have fit 19th-century expansionist thinking, but today, trying to acquire Greenland without its people’s consent is not just naive, it’s dangerous.”

{Source: IOL}

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