Greenland is the world’s largest non-continental island; but with a very small resident population. It is a subnational island jurisdiction with extended self-government, belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark: itself a small state. Greenland has developed its Home Rule since its implementation in 1979 and with an extension of self-government of 2009 to include some room for manoeuvre within international relations. Due to new tensions that have arisen with the 2nd US Trump Administration, Greenland now finds itself in the middle of great power rivalry. This has led to tense discussions between the Kingdom of Denmark and the EU on the one hand and the USA on the other. Since WWII, the US has been largely seen as the protector of Greenland and an important ally.
This special issue would like to answer such questions as: How typical is Greenland as a subnational island jurisdiction? How relevant is Denmark in the Greenland equation? Is Greenland safer becoming independent, or the other way round? What lessons can other island jurisdictions take from Greenland? Are Greenland’s minerals (including rare earths) crucial to the prosperity and security of the West? What do the Indigenous Greenlanders/ Inuit think about this recent attention to their territory?
We welcome papers to be considered for a special section of Small States & Territories – diamond open access journal – to appear in Vol. 10, No. 1, May 2027.
To be eligible for consideration, please submit an abstract of around 200 words to the SST section guest editor, Dr Maria Ackrén, Ilisimatusarfik / University of Greenland by email by 15 May 2026. The abstract should include the author(s) name, institutional affiliation, the title of the proposed paper, five-six keywords, and a corresponding email address. All manuscripts will be rigorously double-blind peer-reviewed.
SST uses APA 7th edition as its house style: More details are available online.
SST’s publication ethics, including resort to Artificial Intelligence are explained at www.um.edu.mt/sst/ethics
Important dates
Abstract submission deadline: 15 May 2026
Deadline for complete draft submission to Guest Editor: 30 September 2026
Publication (Online: Diamond Open Access): SST, Vol. 10, No. 1, May 2027
==========
About the journal: Launched in 2018, Small States & Territories (SST) has the Islands and Small States Institute at the University of Malta, Malta, as its institutional home. All articles published in SST are rigorously peer-reviewed. SST is committed to the principles of open access (OA) publishing, as outlined in the IFLA Statement on Open Access to Scholarly Literature and Research Documentation. SST is a Diamond Open Access journal, with no processing charges or fees.