Identity, Urbanization and Political Demography in Greenland

Abstract

From the early colonial days in the eighteenth century, Greenland's demographic structure, including people's movements from settlements to towns, have followed political decisions taken in Copenhagen and, after the introduction of Home Rule in 1979, inherited by the local authorities in Nuuk. In the 1970s, the Greenlandic resistance against this policy came to epitomize the defence of the traditional culture, which was associated with life in the settlements. This discourse regained some momentum towards the end of the millennium, but after the introduction of self-rule in 2009, a new discourse seems to have taken over, which may change close to 300 years of demographic thinking and have a significant impact on the roots and negotiation of identity.