Denmark last week ordered its soldiers to prepare for a US attack.

CopenhagenThe influence and strength of NATO allies are not measured solely by troop numbers or defense budget figures. Denmark clearly illustrates this. Despite being a small nation with a modestly sized armed forces, the Nordic country has built a reputation as a crucial member for NATO's interests. This is due to its geographic location and its political reliability, as it has historically been one of Washington's closest and most loyal allies.

But faced with Donald Trump's ambitions to annex GreenlandDanish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded a few weeks ago in a stern tone, saying that "a US invasion of the Arctic island would break with the eighty-year-old alliance." Now we also know, thanks to the Danish public broadcaster DR, that a week ago the Danish government was preparing for the "worst possible scenario" in Greenland, and therefore ordered its deployed troops to respond with military force should the Arctic island be attacked by the US. The broadcaster explained that the number of troops that have arrived in Greenland in recent weeks is extraordinary, as is the fact that they are equipped with combat gear, demonstrating their readiness to act swiftly.

This new scenario represents a paradigm shift fraught with uncertainties in Denmark's security landscape and for the Atlantic Alliance. But before the geopolitical counter turned to the Arctic, when it came to ensuring its security, Copenhagen had always looked to Washington. Now, the long-standing trust between the US and Denmark has been shattered, but the Nordic country remains a key member for NATO's interests, also in the eyes of the United States.

Guarantee military control of Greenland

When NATO was founded in 1949, at the start of the Cold War, "Denmark controlled the entry of Russian ships and submarines into the Baltic Sea from the front line," explains Peter Viggo Jakobsen, an analyst at the Danish Defense Academy. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, "naturally this role has diminished, but, in contrast, Denmark's greatest asset to NATO has been its control of Greenland," notes Jakob Linnet Schmidt, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS).

As climate change and melting ice have increased competition between global powers in the Arctic regionBecause Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, "the US has effectively controlled the island militarily since World War II," Jakobsen points out. However, the analyst clarifies, "in the last 20 years the US has done absolutely nothing up there," since "of the 15,000 soldiers they had during the Cold War, only 150 remain, and they have no weaponry beyond radar."

Loyal to the USA

Control of Greenland under the US umbrella was one of the reasons why Washington and Copenhagen had gotten along so well until now within the NATO framework, but there's more. "Denmark has always been a NATO partner that has prioritized its relations with the US and been more reluctant with Europe," says Jakob Linnet Schmidt, "although this has now changed."

This understanding has meant that Denmark has contributed a large number of soldiers, and also its political support, to the numerous wars in which the US has been involved in recent decades. Denmark played a prominent role in NATO operations in the Balkans, in the 2011 air intervention in Libya, and in the 2002 war in Afghanistan, where the Nordic country suffered the highest number of soldier deaths per capita of any participating nation.

Another example was in 2003 when Denmark supported the US invasion of Iraq, "a war that was tremendously unpopular in Europe, but one in which we Danes also participated," noted Peter Viggo Jakobsen. According to DIIS expert Jakob Linnet Schmidt, "Denmark did all this, so to speak, without asking anything in return from the Americans, who will now lose a voice within NATO that used to align itself with Washington when divisions existed within the alliance."

Robust support in Ukraine

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO has reshaped its strategic and defense map, as the Baltic Sea region has become a focal point for deterrence, surveillance, and rapid response against Russia. In this context, Denmark has moved closer to NATO's front line of defense, and the Nordic country has rearmed and is one of the most committed nations, increasing its defense budget, which now reaches 3% of its GDP. However, "Denmark has been one of the countries that has sent the most aid to Ukraine," noted DIIS analyst Mikkel Runge Olesen, "and was the first ally to provide F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv."