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Denmark: an Atlanticist pawn in the Arctic and the Baltic Sea?
28.05.2019
In the beginning of May 2019 the US State Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was scheduled to visit Greenland in order to call for a strengthening of the American military presence there. This hard power approach is aimed against the interests of Russia and China in the Arctic region.
Since Greenland is part of Denmark, and Denmark is part of NATO, the Danish government is firmly committed to accommodate American economic and geopolitical aspirations in this region. According to a recent risk analysis conducted by the intelligence branch of the Danish Defence it concluded that “Russia is currently feeling threatened by Western activities in the Arctic; not least by the American plans to massively invest in airports on Greenland (McGhie: 20 May 2019). Again, the American strategy here is clear.
The Danish Defence Minister, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, has already come out and spoken in favour of the creation of a “defence readiness squadron” on Greenland which will include four new F-35 fighter jets (JP: 20 May 2019) – not counting the already agreed upon purchase of 27 F-35s back in May 2016 (Jacobsen: 22 June 2016). A decision has yet to be made on what an increased Danish-American military presence on Greenland will look like. However, it is estimated to become very expensive for the Danish taxpayers.
Another area where the Danish government might choose to follow the lead of Washington DC is regarding the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Germany and Russia. This pipeline will stretch across the Baltic Sea from Narva to Sassnitz Mukran. Denmark is involved due to the fact that the pipeline will run close to the Danish island of Bornholm and thus enter Danish territory. The US Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, has already made it clear that they intend to sanction all the European businesses involve in the building of this project (Kruse: 21 May 2019). This aggressive behaviour from America aimed towards what seems to be internal European economic and energy interests is linked to the situation in Ukraine. The Atlanticist supported Junta in Kiev, the Ukrainian oligarchs as well as American gas companies involved there stand to lose out on great profits if Russia finds another way to export its gas into the heart of Europe.
As of this writing, Denmark is the only country in the Baltic Sea region that has not yet accepted the proposed pipeline from the Russian company Gazprom which is in charge of the project. This places Denmark at the centre of the dispute. On the one hand; if Denmark agrees to the pipeline she will risk negative consequences from the Atlanticist powers in the USA, The UK, Poland and the Baltic states. While on the other hand; refusing will put Denmark up against Russia and Germany. But with the Danish government’s historic obedience to America we fear a Russo-Germanic confrontation is looming ahead of us.
The possible economic and energy cooperation between the European Heartland and the Eurasian Heartland is something the Atlanticists in Washington DC see as a great threat to their continued control and influence in Europe. The creation of a Berlin-Moscow axis, not unlike that envisioned by Karl Haushofer and the Munich School of geopolitics, where a German-Russian alliance would balance out the Anglo-American domination of Europe would get them up in arms. The realization of such a scenario would correspond to the geopolitical concept of Tellurocracy against Thalassocracy. The Land against the Sea.
The final goal for America in the Arctic is to secure the pipelines and make sure the access to resources and raw materials are kept away from Russia and China. The USA is using its regional pawns such as Denmark to realize this goal. Furthermore, the motives and lobbying power of the American energy companies also come into play here since they see great potential for profit. As stated by Dr. Matthew Raphael Johnson: “The US government is not independent and not separate from capital. It exists to do their bidding” (Johnson 2016:p7).
Sources:
“Claus Hjort: Kampfly til Grønland skal købes oveni” Ritzau. Jyllands Posten (JP) 20 May 2019. Web. 25 May 2019.
Jacobsen, Mads. “Denmark cuts welfare but buys new US fighter jets” Geopolitica. Geopolitica 22 June 2016. Web. 25 May 2019. https://www.geopolitica.ru/en/article/denmark-cuts-welfare-buys-new-us-fighter-jets
Johnson, Matthew Raphael (2016). The Foreing Policy of Mass Society: The Failure of Western Engagement in the Islamic World. Johnstown, PA. Hromada Press.
Kruse, Simon. “Trump vil kvæle russiske gasdrømme - og tyske protester - med nye sanktioner i Østersøen” Berlingske Internationalt. Berlingske 21 May 2019. Web. 25 May 2019.
McGhie, Steffen. “Claus Hjort åbner for at sende kampfly til Grønland” Berlingske. Berlingske 20 May 2019. Web. 25 May 2019.
