Poonam Sharma
The recent declaration from the White House that military force is “always an option” for the acquisition of Greenland marks a chilling departure from the foundations of modern diplomacy. Following the lightning military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration appears to be discarding the “rules-based order” in favor of a raw, transactional geopolitics reminiscent of 19th-century colonial expansion.
The message is clear: in this administration’s worldview, if a resource is deemed a “national security priority,” sovereignty is no longer a shield—it is an obstacle.
Sovereignty as a Variable
For decades, the global order has rested on the principle of territorial integrity. Small nations and autonomous territories like Greenland survived not through military might, but through the collective agreement that borders are inviolable. That trust is currently being incinerated.
By suggesting that the U.S. military could be used to seize territory from a NATO ally, the administration is effectively announcing a new World Order. It is an order where:
Might Makes Right: Alliances are secondary to strategic “needs.”
The Neighborhood Bully Logic: If a neighbor has something you want—be it rare earth minerals or a strategic Arctic vantage point—and you have the power to take it, you are justified in doing so.
One Government, One World: This isn’t a vision of global cooperation, but of a unipolar hegemony where the “World Police” has been replaced by the “World Landlord.”
Is This the Way to Survive?
The administration’s logic suggests a desperate zero-sum game. The argument is that since Russia and China are active in the Arctic, the U.S. must own the land to “deter” them. But this raises a terrifying question for the 21st century: If I do not have enough, must I snatch it from my neighbor?
If the world moves toward a system where every superpower “acquires” what it lacks by force, we are not entering a new era of security; we are entering an era of permanent, global predation. When officials like Stephen Miller suggest that “nobody is going to fight the U.S. militarily over the future of Greenland,” they are essentially saying that no land is safe if a stronger power decides it can “manage” it better.
The Death of the Transatlantic Alliance
The reaction from Europe has been one of unprecedented alarm. Leaders like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron are now forced to confront a reality where their “greatest ally” views a NATO partner’s territory as a real estate opportunity. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s warning that this could be the “end of everything” for NATO is not hyperbole. If the U.S. can threaten a loyal ally over mineral deposits and “dog sleds,” the security guarantees that have held since 1945 are effectively dead.
A Turn Toward Global Anarchy
What we are witnessing is the
birth of a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine—what critics are calling the “Don-roe Doctrine.” It assumes that the Western Hemisphere (and now the Arctic) is a private sphere of influence where the U.S. acts as judge, jury, and executioner.
This is not a sustainable path for world politics. A world governed by the whims of the strongest leads to:
Nuclear Proliferation: Small nations will realize that only “the ultimate deterrent” can protect them from annexation.
Economic Chaos: Global markets cannot thrive on a map that is constantly being redrawn by military fiat.
The End of Diplomacy: Why negotiate a treaty if the “military option” is always on the table for the next administration?
Conclusion: The Direction of World Politics
The direction of world politics is currently veering toward a fractured, neo-imperialist landscape. The choice facing the international community is whether to submit to this “One Government” hegemony or to build a new coalition that can stand for the “universal principles” of sovereignty.
If we accept that “snatching” is the only way to survive, we are not building a new world order—we are reverting to a state of nature that the world spent a century trying to escape.
