Return of the Americas and the rise of Norden

The Arctic as a world-shaping space

Abstract

The Arctic is emerging as a world-shaping space where US hemispheric ambitions and Nordic sovereignty converge. Washington’s renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere turns attention northward — including but not exclusively toward Greenland — generating friction with a traditional ally, Denmark, while creating alignment with Finland. Meanwhile, the Nordic Council’s institutional promotion of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland marks a geopolitical shift, stretching Norden across two continents. Although all Nordics now belong to NATO, the rootedness of their different strategic cultures portends a great test for Nordic Unity precisely where the Arctic meets the Americas. Emerging dynamics may also split the European geostrategic space into two, separating the Arctic and the immediate sub-Arctic from the rest of the continent.