In this episode, Gary Gensler and Simon Johnson discuss whether the United States might attempt to acquire “ownership” or a greater degree of control over Greenland. We review some relevant history and attempt to assess the true importance of critical minerals and strategic/defense interests in this context. Would attempting to take over Greenland really be in the interests of the U.S.? What would be the likely impact on the people of Greenland?
For historical and constitutional background, we strongly recommend that you start with, “Greenland” by Bo Lidegaard, Mira Kleist and Nick Bæk Heilman, which appears as Chapter 37 in The Economic Consequences of the Second Trump Administration, second edition, published in December 2025 by CEPR. Gary and I edited that volume, along with Beatrice Weder di Mauro and Ugo Panizza. You can download the entire book as a pdf (it’s free).
Trump & Greenland: Is There Logic in the Chaos? By Andreas Østhagen, The Arctic Institute, January 8, 2026. A careful review of strategic and economic considerations by a leading Norwegian expert.
Greenland, Rare Earths, and Arctic Security. By Meredith Schwartz and Gracelin Baskaran, Center for Strategic and International Studies, January 8, 2026. Taking strategic considerations seriously.
Greenland’s Critical Minerals Require Patient Statecraft By Reed Blakemore and Alexis Harmon, Atlantic Council, January 13, 2026. Taking critical minerals seriously.
For all questions related to critical minerals, we ask Professor Elsa Olivetti at MIT. She and her group are currently preparing some materials that they can share more broadly – these will be posted shortly in a research section on the Minerals Stewardship Consortium website. We would like to thank Ilenia Romani (a post doc working with Elsa), who helped us enormously in our class discussion on Greenland.
Elsa also has an excellent chapter on “Critical Minerals: Diversifying Supply Chains to Drive Resilience and Innovation,” forthcoming in Priority Technologies, an MIT Press book, edited by Elisabeth B. Reynolds, which will appear in April. This book is the outcome of a seminar series at MIT, focused on the development of technologies that are essential to national security; also includes chapters on semiconductors, drones, biomanufacturing, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing. I contributed the introduction to this book. (Liz Reynolds and I convene the seminar.)
A Brief Explanation of the Overton Window Joseph Lehman, Mackinac Center, 2017. Gary refers to the Overton Window during our discussion, as a shorthand for the range of what is considered reasonable or feasible policy.
The 1917 Treaty through which the US acquired what are now the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark. The relevant language is in the Declaration by Robert Lansing, dated August 4, 1916, on p.35, “the undersigned Secretary of State of the United States of America, duly authorized by his Government, has the honor to declare that the Government of the United States of America will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.” (Emphasis added by me).
A Bonus Item: If, like me, you enjoy reading fiction that contains historical background relevant to current issues, I suggest Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg. This book is also highly recommended by my niece, Daisy Johnson, a brilliant British novelist (note that she refers to the book by its British title, Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow). In 2018 Daisy became “the youngest author ever to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize with her debut novel Everything Under”.
This episode of Power and Consequences was recorded on March 6th, 2026. This article (by Simon) was posted on March 23rd, 2026.
