Transitional Justice in the North Atlantic: The Greenland Reconciliation Commission and the Role of Political Authority

This chapter analyses the politics of accountability, recognition, and disruption in relations between Greenland and Denmark, marked by centuries of colonization, modernization, and inequality. In 2013, the Greenland government initiated the establishment of a truth-telling mechanism, the Greenland Reconciliation Commission, aiming to reconcile Greenlanders with their past and with Denmark. The Danish government, meanwhile, plainly rejected participation in the Commission, which therefore became a unilateral project seeking recognition and – to some extent – post-colonial disruption. In the absence of Danish involvement, the Commission’s work turned towards intra-Greenlandic relations, outlining the contours of a disruptive potential that may shape the island’s future independence. To make sense of these developments, Gissel analyses three narratives about colonization and modernization in Greenland which inform the approach to transitional justice. The case illuminates the state-centric nature of standardised truth-telling and the extent to which it is shaped by political authority.