Closer to Washington, than Brussels? The Comparative Analysis of Grenland’s and Faroe Island’s Paradiplomacy

The article presents a comparative analysis of paradiplomatic and Arctic strategies of Denmark’s autonomies – Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Given the growing uncertainty around the Arctic governance’s future and the related institutions, both Tórshavn and Nuuk are facing a new set of external threats and opportunities that differ significantly from the early 2010s, when the autonomies published their first foreign policy documents. While the 2022 Faroese document retained a regional Arctic focus, the 2024 Greenland strategy significantly increased the geographical and thematic range of partners and agendas compared to the 2011 document. Greenland in particular added special sections dedicated to relations with Canada, Iceland and the North-East Asia, while the 2022 Faroese document contains only a general thematic block related to international cooperation. While Greenland, as stipulated in the 2024 strategy, openly talks about the goals of gaining independence, the Faroe Islands chose to leave such ambitions outside the scope of the document. Geographically, the EU and individual member states occupy a larger place in the Faroese strategy, while Greenland, compared to the 2011 document, seeks to significantly expand cooperation with the United States and Canada. Nordic cooperation and belonging to the Norden space are not an end in itself for Greenland, but have value insofar as they generate tangible economic and practical gains for the autonomy’s development. However, Greenland and the Faroe Islands share the common interests regarding regional security, and both autonomous entities rely on de facto membership in NATO and do not seek to receive a special demilitarized or neutral status, despite them wanting to preserve low tension in the Arctic. The Danish autonomous territories’ main ambition is to play a more meaningful role in shaping and implementing national defense policy decisions, especially those concerning the construction of military facilities on their territory, as well as to be more engaged in the discussions and defense planning process at the NATO level. The conclusion is that in the near future the most acute conflicts in Denmark's relations with Greenland and the Faroe Islands will be connected with expanding autonomies’ external powers and paradiplomatic opportunities, while their scope of power and control over domestic politics and questions is already quite extensive and does not lead to significant contradictions. Under these conditions Denmark will face difficulties conducting a common foreign policy and be in command of the relations of the autonomies with the United States and the EU that consider enhancing cooperation with Greenland and the Faroe Islands to be an important element of their Arctic strategies.