Research projects
Arctic diplomacy and security politics
In my current 2-year research project, funded by the Carlsberg Foundation, I seek to improve our understanding of, firstly, how new security dynamics affect Denmark's and Greenland's foreign-, security- and defence policies, and, secondly, how (para)diplomatic moves try to alter the power relations within the Realm. When doing so, I examine three specific cases:
1) The Arctic Council, which is currently on pause due to the war in Ukraine;
2) The continental shelf project in the Arctic Ocean, where the territorial claims of the Kingdom of Denmark significantly overlaps with Russia's and Canada's ditto;
3) USA's and China's approaches in the Arctic, and Denmark's and Greenland's respective and joint relations to these great powers in light of global competition and ambitions for increased self-determination.
Against this background, I will discuss different scenarios for how to adjust the Realm in order to accommodate new changes, as well as how such changes may affect international relations in the Arctic. The output will be a monograph, timed to coincide with the Kingdom of Denmark's Arctic Council chairmanship in 2025-2027.
Greenland (de)securitization dynamics
Together with Ulrik Pram Gad and Ole Wæver, I have edited an anthology about how acts and dynamics of securitization and desecuritization unfold in and in relation to Greenland. Each chapter analyzes specific discourses and dynamics pertaining to hard or soft security questions spanning from great power interests in geostrategic infrastructure to domestic debates regarding how to promote and protect national Greenlandic identity when engaging with the outside world.
The aim of the book is threefold: First, it draws disparate case studies together to give a full picture of the security dynamics, altogether forming a Greenland security constellation. Secondly, the book analyzes specificities of Arctic security as shaped under the strained Danish sovereignty, hence scrutinizing the distinct postcolonial characteristics of Greenland which constitutes the most autonomous self-governing non-state in the region. Finally, each chapter draws attention to and develops different aspects of (de)securitization theory, whereas we conclude on how these peculiarities make us think differently about the Copenhagen School of security studies.
University of Michigan Press will publish the edited volume in the beginning of 2024. It can be ordered here.