Editing Greenland (section)

=== Home rule and self-rule (1945–present) ===
{{See also|Greenlandic independence}}
[[File:Margrethe II of Denmark 1966.jpg|thumb|[[Margrethe II]] of Denmark, during whose reign (1972–2024) Greenland received home-rule in 1979 and self-rule in 2009. [[Queen Margrethe II Land]] is named after her.]]
Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sermitsiaq.ag/node/77393 |title=Eske Brun - det moderne Grønlands ophavsmand? |date=24 November 2010 |publisher=Sermitsiaq |access-date=19 April 2012}}</ref> Greenland was a colony, and it was believed that this society would be subjected to exploitation or even eradication if the country was opened up. Therefore, a strict monopoly on Greenlandic trade was maintained, until it was abolished in 1950.<ref>[https://danmarkshistorien.dk/vis/materiale/groenland Grønlands historie] danmarkshistorien.dk</ref> With the G-50 report from 1950, the first steps toward the modernization of Greenland were taken. Greenland was to become a modern [[welfare state]] modelled after Denmark proper.

With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended, and the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an [[amt (country subdivision)|''amt'']] (county), and thus fully integrated into Denmark like all other Danish counties. Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation — or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and some lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Loukacheva |first=Natalia |year=2007 |url={{GBurl |id=HzPzwrUYdgkC |p=29}} |title=The Arctic Promise: Legal and Political Autonomy of Greenland and Nunavut |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413025807/https://books.google.com/books?id=HzPzwrUYdgkC&pg=PA25 |archive-date=13 April 2016 |url-status=live |publisher=University of Toronto Press |page=25 |isbn=978-0-8020-9486-5}}</ref>

As in metropolitan Denmark, Greenland has seen significant expansion of the welfare state in the postwar era. Education and healthcare are free, and [[LGBTQ rights in Greenland]] are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world. In 1987, the [[University of Greenland]] was founded to provide Greenlanders with higher education in their own language and country.

Following World War II, the United States developed a [[Geopolitics|geopolitical]] interest in Greenland and in 1946 offered to [[Proposed United States purchase of Greenland|buy the island from Denmark]] for $100,000,000; Denmark firmly rejected the offer, as Greenland was seen as an integral part of the Danish kingdom, important to its history and national identity.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=27 January 1947 |title=Deepfreeze Defense |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778870,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=14 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221020734/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778870,00.html |archive-date=21 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=John J. |date=7 May 2001 |title=Let's Buy Greenland! — A complete missile-defense plan |work=National Review |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment050701b.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107010850/http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment050701b.shtml |archive-date=7 January 2010}}</ref> In 1951 Denmark and the United States signed the Greenland Defense Agreement, which allowed the United States to keep its military bases in Greenland, and to establish new bases or "defence areas" if deemed necessary by [[NATO]]. The U.S. military could freely use and move between these defence areas, but was not to infringe upon Danish sovereignty in Greenland.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |chapter=The Greenland Issue |author1-first=Erik |author1-last=Beukel |title=Phasing Out the Colonial Status of Greenland, 1945–54: A Historical Study |volume=37 |series=Meddelelser om Grønland |issn=0106-1062 |editor1-first=Jens Elo |editor1-last=Rytter |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |year=2010 |pages=56–57 |isbn=978-87-635-2587-9}}</ref> The United States greatly expanded [[Thule Air Base]] between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO defence strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=in}} away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret [[Missile launch facility|nuclear missile launch sites]] in the Greenlandic ice cap, named [[Project Iceworm]].<ref>Weiss, Erik D. “Cold War Under the Ice: The Army’s Bid for a Long-Range Nuclear Role, 1959–1963.” ''Journal of Cold War Studies'', vol. 3, no. 3, 2001, pp. 31–58. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/26925134 JSTOR website] Retrieved 12 Apr. 2025.</ref> According to documents declassified in 1996,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Petersen |first=Nikolaj |date=17 December 2007 |title=The Iceman That Never Came |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03468750701449554 |journal=Scandinavian Journal of History |publisher=Scandinavian Journal of History Volume 33, 2008 – Issue 1 |volume=33 |pages=75–98 |doi=10.1080/03468750701449554 |access-date=15 August 2020 |s2cid=142526881 |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324002002/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03468750701449554 |url-status=live}}</ref> this project was managed from [[Camp Century]] from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 August 2016 |title=A Radioactive Cold War Military Base Will Soon Emerge From Greenland's Melting Ice |work=Smithsonian |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/radioactive-cold-war-military-base-will-soon-emerge-greenlands-melting-ice-180960036/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820163632/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/radioactive-cold-war-military-base-will-soon-emerge-greenlands-melting-ice-180960036/ |archive-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> The missiles were never fielded, and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government was not aware of the programme's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking in the declassified documents for records related to the [[1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash|crash of a nuclear-equipped B-52 bomber]] near the Thule air base in 1968.<ref name="h-bomb"/>

In 1973, an amicable [[Whisky War|border dispute between Denmark and Canada]] arose over the ownership of [[Hans Island]], a small island in [[Nares Strait]] directly between Greenland and the Canadian territory of [[Nunavut]]. The island remained in dispute until 2022, when both countries agreed to split the disputed island roughly in half.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Matt |title=Whisky Wars: Denmark and Canada strike deal to end 50-year row over Arctic island |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61801682 |website=BBC |access-date=10 January 2025 |date=14 June 2022}}</ref>

Due to political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979. [[1979 Greenlandic home rule referendum|A referendum]] was held on 17 January 1979. This gave Greenland limited autonomy, with [[Parliament of Greenland|its own legislature]] taking control of some internal policies, while the [[Folketing|Parliament of Denmark]] maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The [[List of Danish monarchs|Danish monarch]] remains Greenland's [[head of state]]. In 1985, Greenland [[Withdrawal of Greenland from the European Communities|left the European Economic Community]] (EEC), as it did not agree with the [[European Economic Community|EEC]]'s commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on [[pinniped|sealskin]] products.<ref>[[#Stern|Stern]], pp. 55–56</ref>

Greenland voters approved a [[2008 Greenlandic self-government referendum|referendum on greater autonomy]] on 25 November 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cowell |first=Alan |date=26 November 2008 |title=Greenland Vote Favors Independence |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/world/europe/27greenland.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417043301/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/world/europe/27greenland.html |archive-date=17 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 November 2008 |title=Vejledende folkeafstemning om selvstyre ? 25-11-2008 |url=http://www.valg.gl/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208143857/http://www.valg.gl/ |archive-date=8 December 2008 |access-date=26 November 2008 |publisher=SermitValg |language=kl}}</ref> According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence".<ref>{{Cite web |title=CIDOB – Secession and Counter-secession. An International Relations Perspective |url=https://www.cidob.org/en/publications/publication_series/monographs/monographs/secession_and_counter_secession_an_international_relations_perspective |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127014249/https://www.cidob.org/en/publications/publication_series/monographs/monographs/secession_and_counter_secession_an_international_relations_perspective |archive-date=27 January 2018 |access-date=19 May 2018 |website=CIDOB |page=70}}</ref> On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of its [[judiciary|judicial affairs]], policing matters, and [[natural resource]]s. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under [[international law]].<ref name="stm.dk">[http://www.stm.dk/_p_13090.html Description of the Greenlandic Self-Government Act on the webpage of the Danish Ministry of State] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922104912/http://www.stm.dk/_p_13090.html |date=22 September 2014 }} "The Self-Government Act provides for the Self-Government authorities to assume a number of new fields of responsibility, such as administration of justice, including the establishment of courts of law; the prison and probation service; the police; the field relating to company law, accounting and auditing; mineral resource activities; aviation; law of legal capacity, family law and succession law; aliens and border controls; the working environment; as well as financial regulation and supervision, cf. Schedule I and II in the Annex to the Self-Government Act."</ref> Denmark maintains control of the territory's [[Foreign policy|foreign affairs]] and defence matters, and upholds an annual block grant of 3.2&nbsp;billion Danish kroner. As Greenland begins to collect revenues from its natural resources, this grant will gradually be diminished; this is generally considered to be a step toward the territory's eventual full independence from Denmark.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greenland/5594140/Greenland-takes-step-toward-independence-from-Denmark.html Greenland takes step toward independence from Denmark] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718214954/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greenland/5594140/Greenland-takes-step-toward-independence-from-Denmark.html |date=18 July 2018 }}. ''The Daily Telegraph'' (21 June 2009). Retrieved 29 September 2012.</ref> In 2012, [[Greenlandic language|Greenlandic]] was declared the sole official language of Greenland at a historic ceremony.<ref name = selvstyre /><ref name="law" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 June 2009 |title=Nearly independent day |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13854765 |url-status=live |access-date=20 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625014014/http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13854765 |archive-date=25 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2009 |title=Greenland set for self-rule |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25659553-26040,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624151256/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C25197%2C25659553-26040%2C00.html |archive-date=24 June 2009 |access-date=20 June 2009 |website=[[The Australian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boswell |first=Randy |date=19 June 2009 |title=Greenland takes big step towards full independence |url=http://www.canada.com/news/Greenland+takes+step+towards+full+independence/1713910/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624150211/http://www.canada.com/news/Greenland%2Btakes%2Bstep%2Btowards%2Bfull%2Bindependence/1713910/story.html |archive-date=24 June 2009 |access-date=20 June 2009 |website=Canwest News Services |publisher=Canada.com}}</ref> In February 2024, Naalakkersuisut released a policy document outlining the territory's goal of asserting greater autonomy in international affairs. The strategy emphasizes Greenland's right to influence decisions that impact its future. Key objectives include strengthening relations with Arctic North America, promoting regional peace, enhancing security cooperation within the Kingdom of Denmark and NATO, and addressing the growing global interest in the Arctic from major powers such as the United States, Canada, Russia, and China.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://paartoq.gl/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Greenlands_Foreign_-Security_and_Defense_Policy_2024_2033.pdf |author=Naalakkersuisut/Government of Greenland, Ministry for Statehood and Foreign Affairs |title=Greenland's Foreign, Security and Defense Policy 2024-2033{{mdash}}an Arctic Strategy |date=February 2024 |translator-last=Cohen |translator-first=Paul}}</ref>

Since 2019, U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] has claimed that the [[Proposed United States acquisition of Greenland|U.S. should control Greenland]],<ref name="stm.dk"/> stating that its residents "want to be with us", despite 85% opposition by Greenlandic adults.<ref>{{cite news |title=Poll: 85% of Greenlanders don't want to join the U.S. |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/01/29/greenland-poll-join-us-trump-message |agency=Axios}}</ref> The Danish government called Trump's claims "absurd" and confirmed that Greenland is not for sale. Denmark plans to spend an extra $2 billion on Arctic defence, and Greenland's government is moving to ban foreign political funding. Prime Minister [[Mette Frederiksen]] has emphasized that Greenland, part of Denmark, is not for sale.<ref>{{cite news |title=European leaders ponder 'cruel paradox' of U.S. threatening tariffs and a possible land grab |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/european-leaders-ponder-cruel-paradox-of-u-s-threatening-tariffs-and-a-possible-land-grab |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=PBS}}</ref> Denmark's Minister of Defence [[Troels Lund Poulsen]] has emphasized that Trump will ''not'' get Greenland, and that he cannot demand a part of Denmark's territory.<ref>{{cite news |title=Danmarks forsvarsminister om Grønland: – Trump kan ikke bare diktere |url=https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/aldxr7/danmarks-forsvarsminister-om-groenland-trump-kan-ikke-bare-diktere |access-date=5 March 2025 |work=Aftenposten}}</ref> The Greenland government has accused the United States of foreign interference in its affairs.<ref>{{cite news |title=Greenland accuses US of 'foreign interference' ahead of second lady's visit |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/03/24/greenland-accuses-us-of-foreign-interference_6739464_4.html |access-date=25 March 2025 |work=Le Monde}}</ref> Greenland's then-prime minister [[Múte Bourup Egede]] said "until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working very closely, but that time is over."<ref>{{cite news |title=Greenland Furious, Will Boycott US Second Lady's Visit Amid Buyout Threats |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/greenland-furious-will-boycott-us-second-ladys-visit-amid-buyout-threats-7999773 |access-date=25 March 2025}}</ref> Greenland's new prime minister [[Jens-Frederik Nielsen]] said Trump will ''not'' "get" Greenland.<ref>{{cite news |title=Greenland's Prime Minister Says the U.S. Will Not 'Get' the Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/us/politics/greenland-prime-minister-trump.html |access-date=31 March 2025 |work=NYT|date=31 March 2025 |last1=Zhuang |first1=Yan }}</ref> Under the [[Danish Penal Code]], activities that unlawfully threaten Denmark’s sovereignty or constitutional order, including through foreign interference or attempts to alter territorial integrity by illegal means, are criminalized under provisions relating to national security and crimes against the state.<ref>{{cite web |title=Straffeloven (Danish Penal Code) |url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2022/1260 |publisher=retsinformation.dk |access-date=11 April 2025}}</ref> In April 2025, a plan by the United States for undermining the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark through a campaign of foreign interference and [[disinformation]] on social media became known.<ref>{{cite news |title=USA har planen klar for å overta Grønland |url=https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/3MO7zv/new-york-times-usa-har-planen-klar-for-aa-overta-groenland |access-date=11 April 2025 |work=[[Aftenposten]]}}</ref> [[Pituffik Space Base]] commander Susannah Meyers said the [[Donald Trump|Trump]] regime's threats against the Kingdom of Denmark "are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base."<ref>{{cite news |title=US fires Greenland military base chief for 'undermining' Vance |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/creq99l218do |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=BBC}}</ref>