Trump's Vision for Greenland and the Emerging World Order

The US renewed claim to Greenland is an attempt to re-establish a sphere of influence rather than a conventional territorial grab for military bases or resources.

Published on Feb. 20, 2026

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The article examines President Donald Trump's renewed bid to acquire Kalaallit Nunaat, also known as Greenland, arguing that this crisis is better explained in terms of the Trump administration's political project, which seeks to reinvent the United States' identity as a great power in an emerging post-rules-based international order. The article explores Greenland's colonial legacy, the US's historical designs on the island, and why narrow materialist explanations about security, resources, and China/Russia influence are unsatisfying. Instead, it advances an interpretation of Trump's Greenland campaign as a project of sphere-of-influence building and domestic legitimacy.

Why it matters

The Trump administration's sphere of influence discourse is not an epiphenomenon but the driver of the US's newfound expansionism in the Arctic. This episode signals a deeper transformation of the international order, as the liberal international order, which was underpinned by the spirit of cooperation, seems to be drawing to an end. The US used to be a steward and a provider of public goods, but it has already incurred significant reputational costs, and it is a mistake to think that the new post-rules-based world order will spell peril only for small nations like Kalaallit Nunaat.

The details

The article argues that the US renewed claim to Greenland is an attempt to re-establish a sphere of influence rather than a conventional territorial grab for military bases or resources. The Trump administration's sphere of influence discourse is not an epiphenomenon but the driver of the US's newfound expansionism in the Arctic. The article examines and dismisses the narrow materialist explanations about security, resources, and China/Russia influence, and instead advances an interpretation of Trump's Greenland campaign as a project of sphere-of-influence building and domestic legitimacy.

  • In 2025, the Trump administration intervened in Venezuela.
  • In November 2025, the Trump administration's National Security Strategy proclaimed the entire Western Hemisphere as the US sphere of influence under a 'Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine'.
  • In December 2025, President Trump reaffirmed his desire to acquire Kalaallit Nunaat, citing that the US is a great power, much greater than people even understand.
  • In April 2025, Vice-President J.D. Vance visited Greenland, which was featured in the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's MAGA Minute as historic.
  • On October 9, 2025, President Trump proclaimed the day as Leif Erikson Day, celebrating him as the first European to ever set foot in the New World who travelled to America through Greenland and as the forefather of the American story.

The players

Donald Trump

The 45th and 47th President of the United States who has renewed the US's bid to acquire Greenland, citing strategic national security and international security reasons.

Kalaallit Nunaat

Also known as Greenland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark located on the world's largest island with an area of ca. 2.2 million km².

Mike Pence

The former Vice-President of the United States who stated that Greenland is enormously important to the US and its national security, but the fact that the US already has two military bases there and the ability to negotiate further is more than enough to satisfy that need.

Ted Cruz

A US Senator who stated that if the US were to gain access to Greenland's resources, it could significantly reduce the US's dependence on foreign suppliers, particularly China, which currently operates a virtual monopoly on the rare earth market.

Jens-Frederik Nielsen

The Premier of Greenland who denied reports of Russian and Chinese ships or submarines around Greenland.

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What they’re saying

“Greenland is enormously important to us and our national security. But the fact that we already have two military bases there and the ability to negotiate further is more than enough for us to satisfy that need.”

— Mike Pence, Former Vice-President of the United States (N/A)

“If the U.S. were to gain access to Greenland's resources, it could significantly reduce our dependence on foreign suppliers, particularly China, which currently operates a virtual monopoly on the rare earth market.”

— Ted Cruz, US Senator (N/A)

The takeaway

This case highlights the Trump administration's desire to re-establish a sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere, which is driven more by domestic political considerations and a quest for international status than by clear strategic necessity. The episode signals a deeper transformation of the international order, as the liberal international order underpinned by cooperation seems to be drawing to an end, and the US has already incurred significant reputational costs in the process.