AbstractsPolitical Science

THE ATTITUDES OF DANISH POLITICIANS TO THE PROSPECTS OF URANIUM MINING IN GREENLAND

by Marco Schow




Institution: Roskilde University
Department:
Year: 2014
Keywords: Greenland; uranium
Record ID: 1120057
Full text PDF: http://rudar.ruc.dk/handle/1800/16116


Abstract

The following case study may well function as a basis or groundwork for another project on Greenland concerning natural resources. The study gathered data primarily from interviews with experts on the subject i.e. politicians. The main point of this study is the attitudes of the Danish party political spectrum to the prospect of uranium extraction in Greenland. The study discusses whether or not Greenland has jurisdiction over its own resources, as well as entailing a summary of the jurisdictional issues with the Danish government. It also deals with foreign relations in regards to the debate about jurisdictional authority, but not in depth as that will be left for another project. The study establishes that most of the Danish parties agree on the issue that Greenland’s uranium deposits and its extraction is a security issue, which falls under Danish jurisdiction. Meanwhile the current Greenlandic government believes that uranium is to be categorised as a rare mineral and thus jurisdiction belongs to them in accordance with the Self-Governance Act.