Arctic at the Crossroads: Greenland, Geopolitics, and the Importance of Indigenous Sovereignty

The Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs program on Security and Global Affairs presents “Arctic at the Crossroads: Greenland, Geopolitics, and the Importance of Indigenous Sovereignty” with Dr. Melody Burkins.

The Arctic is entering a period of profound geopolitical strain. Heightened military posturing, great-power competition, and climate-driven transformation are converging across a region long defined by cooperation. As sea ice retreats and strategic access expands, the stakes for security, infrastructure, energy, and governance are rising sharply. Yet durable stability in the Arctic will not be achieved through power projection alone. It depends on ethically grounded partnerships with Arctic Indigenous Peoples whose homelands, knowledge systems, and governance institutions are central to the region’s wellbeing. Security, prosperity, and sustainability in the Arctic are inseparable from respect, consent, and long-term trust.

This talk explores Greenland’s growing role in Arctic security, climate policy, and geopolitical competition, placing today’s tensions within a longer defense history, including the 1950s DEW Line. It argues that security strategies co-created with Indigenous Peoples strengthen U.S. and allied outcomes. Greenland’s development ambitions and the Arctic Council’s strained consensus model are examined in the context of recent geopolitical disruptions from Russia (2022) and, most recently, from the U.S.. While centered on Greenland, the discussion offers lessons for the entire Arctic: lasting stability depends on trusted alliances and equitable Indigenous partnerships across the region.

Melody Brown Burkins, PhD, is the Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies, Senior Associate Director in the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth. 

In person event.  For more information on the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, visit here.