Trump, Territory and Greenland: Mixed Claims for Ownership, Rights, and Control

Territory is a central topic in President Trump’s political program. The case of Greenland is special in that Trump apparently sees Greenland as a piece of territory that he wants to have as such. This raises several questions about what Trump wants in relation to Greenland, about his understanding of the legal and political status of Greenland, but also what the implied view of territory is and how Trump’s view of territory relates to how territorial issues have been discussed in political theory. One can identify at least three different claims that Trump is making about territory, namely one about “ownership,” one about “control,” and one about “legal right.” There are, furthermore, different justifications for these claims.This essay consideres each claim and justification both in relation to what the actual situation is concerning Greenland and in relation to how these claims and justifications relate to debates about territorial rights.