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Denmark's Diplomatic Ties to Latin America - A Green Pivot · Diplomacy and International Relations

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You know, when you think of a nation's global footprint, you
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usually picture it like like a stamp and a passport.
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Right. Yeah, neat and predictable.
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Exactly. You look at a map, you draw a
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straight line from capital A to capital B, and you just assume
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that's the whole story. But of course I mean, actual
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statecraft is never that clean. No, never.
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It's messy, it's full of these wild contradictions, and
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occasionally it requires a country to just, you know,
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completely reinvent its global identity to survive.
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Welcome to Diplomacy and International Relations.
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Before we jump into today's exploration, just a quick
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It allows us to keep analyzing these the complex geopolitical
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histories for you all. Right.
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So today's journey traces an absolutely radical evolution.
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We are looking at Denmark's footprint in Latin America and
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the caridian and we. Have an incredibly diverse stack
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of sources for this one. We really do.
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I mean everything from centuries old treaties and like Diaries of
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19th century migrants to the latest EU trade agreements and
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United Nations climate funding structures.
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And the reason this specific analysis matters to you, whether
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you follow Nordic politics or, you know, international trade or
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global climate negotiations, is that it perfectly illustrates
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how a small state projects power.
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We're talking about a country that shifted from a strategy of
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brutal colonial extraction and strict cultural isolationism in
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the Americas all the way to reinventing itself as a well,
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the modern powerhouse of global trade and normative green
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diplomacy. So let's start with the physical
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footprint, which begins in the Caribbean.
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We're talking about the Danish W Indies, right?
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The Danish W India Company annexed the uninhabited island
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of Saint Timus back in 1672. They followed that up by
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claiming St. John in 1718 and then finally
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bought Saint Croix from the French in 1733.
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And we really have to look closely at the economic logic
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driving this expansion. I mean, it was pure
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mercantilism, the triangular trade, right?
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Right. Danish colonizers would bring
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firearms and manufactured goods down to Africa, and they
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exchanged those for enslaved people, who were then forced to
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endure the horrors of the Middle Passage.
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Which was just devastating. Completely and once in the
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Caribbean, these enslaved individuals were forced to work
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the sugar plantations under horrific, deadly conditions,
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producing the sugar, molasses and rum that were then shipped
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back to Denmark. And the wealth generated from
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that triangle was staggering for a nation the size of Denmark.
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But I mean, it was a system built entirely on human
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suffering, and the sources make it very clear that this system
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was actively resisted. A major point of resistance
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happened early on. In 1733 there was a massive
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insurrection on Saint John led by the Aquamu people.
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Yes. And that wasn't just, you know,
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a minor uprising. The Aquamu, who had previously
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been a really powerful force in West Africa before being
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captured, organized a highly coordinated rebellion.
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Exactly, they were led by a woman named Brefu and they
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actually took control of a massive portion of the island
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for months. Months, Yeah, before the
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rebellion was violently suppressed with the help of
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French and Swiss troops. It was a prolonged, desperate
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fight for freedom. It was.
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And it actually wasn't until 1848 / a century later and after
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further uprisings that emancipation was officially they
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achieved in the Danish West Indies.
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And that 1848 emancipation effectively broke the economic
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model of the islands. Because they couldn't exploit
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free labor anymore. Right.
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Without forced labor, the massive profit margins of the
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plantations collapsed. So Fast forward to the early
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20th century and these islands had turned into a severe
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financial drain on the Danish state.
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Which brings us to the exit strategy.
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By World War One, the United States was terrified that
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Germany might actually seize these financially struggling
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Danish islands to use as U boat bases.
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Yeah, a massive strategic fear. So in 1917, Denmark essentially
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cuts its losses and sells the islands to the US for $25
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million. Today, of course, you know them
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as the US Virgin Islands. Right, So officially, the Danish
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state packs up its colonial ambitions and leaves the
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Americas. But the wealth generated in the
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Caribbean wasn't enough to sustain a global empire
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indefinitely, which forced Danish citizens to look
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elsewhere for opportunity. And that leads to a completely
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different and frankly bizarre type of settlement further South
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in Argentina. Yeah, this is where the history
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takes a really sharp turn. Right.
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Well, the state is retreating from the Caribbean.
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You have individual Danish pioneers migrating into the
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Argentine Pampus in the 1840s and beyond.
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But this wasn't about extracting wealth to send back to
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Copenhagen. It was about extreme cultural
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preservation. The academic research on these
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migrants highlights a fascinating psychological
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contrast. I mean, they were stepping into
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the vast Argentine wilderness, but they were absolutely
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terrified of losing their identity.
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Terrified. Yeah.
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There's a story in the sources that perfectly captures this.
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It's about a prominent pioneer named Hans Christensen Fogle,
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who settled in the town of Tandel, Argentina.
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Oh, the story is wild. It really is.
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So Feckel goes to visit a Danish woman, Mrs. Jacobson.
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She had apparently left her Danish husband and was living in
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a very simple dirt Hut with an Argentine gaucho.
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The sources paint a very vivid picture, like she's living on a
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makeshift sofa made of sticks covered with a raw cow skin, and
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when Fogel arrives, she bursts into tears and begs him to speak
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to her in Danish. And his reaction is just
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entirely devoid of empathy. It's.
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Brutal. He refuses to speak his native
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tongue. He replies to her in Spanish,
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basically telling her I will no longer speak Danish to you
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because I no longer recognize you as my countrywoman.
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Just incredibly cold You aren't. Worthy of being addressed in the
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language of my motherland, I mean, Wow.
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That interaction is the textbook definition of what academics in
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your sources call the survival manual.
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In the wilderness mentality. These Danish migrants were
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geographically in South America, but mentally they were building
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a fortress. They deliberately isolated
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themselves. They built their own Lutheran
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churches, right? Yeah, they built churches, they
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held highly structured traditional Summerfest and or
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summer feasts, and they practically forbade marrying
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outside the community. But why though?
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Why travel across the globe just to lock yourself in a cultural
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bubble? Because they viewed the local
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Argentine environment, the gaucho lifestyle, as a low
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culture, they genuinely believe that if they didn't build a
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rigid wall around their perceived Danish efficiency,
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their faith and their agricultural traditions, they
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would be swallowed up by the wilderness.
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They'd lose everything that made them civilized in their eyes.
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Exactly. OK, wait, I need to stop you
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here because I'm struggling to connect the dots.
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OK, sure. So we have a history of brutal
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state sponsored colonial extraction in the Caribbean on
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one hand, and on the other we have these strict snobbish
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cultural fortresses in Argentina where they won't even speak
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Danish to someone who lives in a dirt Hut.
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How does a country with that specific historical starting
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point in the Americas pivot to the friendly, cooperative, hyper
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integrated diplomatic relations we see today?
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Like what actually caused that mindset to change?
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Well, that is the essential question of modern Danish
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foreign policy and understand the why.
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You really have to look at the brutal geopolitical for reality
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Denmark face back home in Europe.
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You mean losing territory? Exactly.
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In 1864, Denmark suffered A devastating military defeat to
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Prussia and Austria. They lost the Dutchies of
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Schleswig and Holstein. Which was what, almost a third
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of their landmass? Yeah, roughly 1/3.
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Combine that with eventually selling the West Indies and the
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Danube state had to face a hard truth.
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They could no longer compete as a military or colonial power.
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So hard power and isolationism equal death for a small nation.
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Precisely, they realized that to survive, they had to make
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themselves useful to the global system.
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They had to pivot to what international relations scholars
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called soft power and normative influence.
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They needed a web of treaties. Right.
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Treaties and trade to guarantee their sovereignty, right?
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And we actually see the seeds of this planted very early on.
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While the migrants were isolating themselves in
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Argentina, the state was quietly building legitimate sovereign to
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sovereign relationships. Like the treaty with Mexico, the
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sources show that as early as 1827, Denmark signed a Treaty of
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Friendship, Trade and navigation with Mexico.
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Yeah, which is fascinating. And it comes with a great
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historical footnote to the first known Dane to visit Mexico
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wasn't a 19th century diplomat, it was way back in 1542.
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Oh, right, Brother Jacob, Yeah. Brother Jacob the Dacian, who
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was actually a Danish Prince turned Franciscan Friar who went
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to live among among the indigenous populations.
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It's such a great detail. And they didn't stop with
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Mexico. In 1828, Denmark established
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formal diplomatic relations with Brazil.
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Those ties grew so strong that Emperor Pedro the second of
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Brazil personally visited Denmark in 1876.
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They realized that their security relied on international
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recognition and open trade. And today, those relations
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across the region are the foundation for massive economic
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integration. Which brings us to modern trade,
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because this pivot has culminated in something
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absolutely massive. I mean, it's like Denmark went
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from trying to build a tiny closed off replica of Copenhagen
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in the Argentine pampas to setting up the biggest open
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market in the town square. Very well put.
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So specifically, we're looking at the EU Mercosur partnership
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agreement. Yeah, when you look at the
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mechanics of this agreement, this shift from 19th century
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isolation to 21st century integration is just staggering.
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Mercosur being the South American trade bloc.
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Right, Correct. And for a small country like
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Denmark, this agreement is an economic lifeline.
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Damage. Exports of services to Mercosur
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are currently worth €2.2 billion a year.
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And what blew my mind in the source of is that 2 billion of
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that is in transport alone. Like Denmark isn't just trading
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goods, they are literally the logistical backbone physically
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moving the goods between these continents.
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Exactly. And the agreement aggressively
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cuts the red tape that usually chokes international commerce.
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It simplifies customs, makes certifying products much easier.
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But wait, I want to clarify who actually benefits from this,
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because usually when we talk about billion euro trade deals,
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it's really easy to assume it's just giant multinational
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shipping conglomerates reaping all the rewards.
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Right, that's the common assumption.
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But the sources highlight that 84% of all Danish exporters are
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actually small and medium sized businesses.
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That is a critical point. The agreement eliminates tariffs
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that were previously sitting anywhere between 27 and 55%,
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down to 0 on €42 million worth of Agri food.
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Yeah, So if you're a small Danish producer, suddenly a
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market of hundreds of millions of people is completely open to.
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You. And that brings us to one of the
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most clever economic mechanisms in the entire EU Mercosur deal,
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which brilliantly contrasts with that old isolationist mindset we
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talked about. Oh, the geographical
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indications. The protection of 344 EU
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geographical indications. I'm glad you brought this up,
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but I want to make sure I understand the mechanics of it.
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Like if I decide to make a Danish style blue cheese in my
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kitchen in Buenos Aires, why does Denmark care?
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How does an EU designation actually stop me from selling
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it? Well, a geographical indication
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or AGI is a legally binding intellectual property, right?
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It protects a specific regional food or drink from imitation.
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OK, so if you make blue cheese in Buenos Aires, you can
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certainly sell it as blue cheese, but you absolutely
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cannot legally call it Dana Blue, which is the protected
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Danish regional name. Because that name implies a
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specific origin and quality standard.
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Exactly. And why does this matter
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economically? Because by protecting that
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distinct Danishness in international law, Danish
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producers can sell those specific delicacies at a massive
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premium. Like how much of A premium?
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Usually two to three times higher than generic products.
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That is such a wild psychological inversion, right?
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In the 1840s, maintaining Danishness meant hiding in a Hut
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in Argentina and refusing to speak your language to outsiders
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because you thought contact would taint you.
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But today, maintaining Danishness is a highly lucrative
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global branding strategy that relies entirely on engaging with
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the outside world. It really is the ultimate
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evolution of cultural identity into soft power economics.
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But you know, the economic baseline is just the foundation.
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Because there's more. Yeah, because while shipping and
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agriculture are vital, the sources show us that Denmark's
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most sophisticated diplomatic tool in Latin America today
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isn't a product at all. It's green expertise.
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Right. They've essentially transitioned
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from exporting goods to exporting policy and knowledge.
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This is where we see Denmark acting as what scholars call A
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normative power. They aren't trying to coerce
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other nations. They're trying to shape global
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norms by sharing their own domestic successes.
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Which brings us to Mexico again. Yes, a perfect example of this
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is their bilateral climate cooperation with Mexico, which
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was incredibly active from 2014 to 2017.
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So to set the context for you, Mexico had set these incredibly
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ambitious domestic goals. They wanted to reduce their
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greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2020.
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Huge undertaking. And transitioned to having 35%
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of their electricity generated by non fossil fuels by 2024.
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And Denmark essentially steps in to help them actually pull it
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off. Right.
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But what does that actually look like on the ground?
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Are they just, you know, shipping over a bunch of wind
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turbines? No, and that's the genius of it.
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Denmark has spent the last 20 to 30 years going through its own
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highly complex energy transition, moving heavily away
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from fossil fuels and integrating massive amounts of
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wind energy. So.
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They have the blueprint. Exactly.
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Instead of just selling hardware, they are exporting the
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bureaucratic and technical blueprint.
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OK, so they're sharing the math. Yes, the Danish energy agencies
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worked directly inside Mexican government ministries,
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specifically Semernat, which is Mexico's environment ministry,
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and center their energy ministry.
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Danish experts sat down with their Mexican counterparts and
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shared the highly technical modeling needed to establish
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national energy baselines. Because you need to know where
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you're starting from, right? They shared the complex
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algorithms required to balance an electrical grid when the wind
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stops blowing. They help design the actual
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mitigation policies required to make the transition a reality.
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They are acting as an open source consultant for a country
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thousands of miles away. And it doesn't stop with
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bilateral one-on-one agreements like the one with Mexico.
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The sources show they are scaling this up to the
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international level. This is the most recent
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development. Yeah, just recently, in July
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2024, Denmark contributed 730 thousand U.S. dollars, which is
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about 5 million Danish kroner, to the United Nations
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Development Program. And this is a really surgical
15:05
use of diplomatic funding. That money is earmarked
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specifically to support ALS. Which stands for the Independent
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Association of Latin America and the Caribbean.
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It's a coalition of seven countries, Chile, Colombia,
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Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Peru.
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Right? But I mean, what exactly does a
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$730,000 grant actually buy for seven whole countries?
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It doesn't sound like enough to build a power plant.
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Well, it's not for infrastructure, it's for
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leverage. The money fund, something called
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the Progressive Platforms Project.
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You have to understand the brutal reality of major UN
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climate summits, specifically the UNFCCC, the UN Framework
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Convention on Climate Change. Right.
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These are the massive global negotiations where treaties like
15:51
the Paris Agreement are hammered out.
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Exactly. And in those rooms, it's a David
15:54
versus Goliath scenario. Large polluting nations or
15:58
massive economy show up with delegations of 100 people.
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Backed by armies of policy analysts and real time economic
16:04
modeling, I imagine. Absolutely, while smaller or
16:07
developing nations often show up with three exhausted negotiators
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who simply do not have the logistical capacity to counter
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the arguments of the superpowers.
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So they just get steamrolled. They get completely drowned out.
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So Denmark's funding through the Progressive Platforms project
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pays for the logistical capacity, the high level
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advisory services and the policy strength that these seven Latin
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American nations need. That's incredible.
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Denmark is literally paying to ensure that smaller, progressive
16:34
nations have the substantive assistance required to go toe to
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toe with major polluters and fight for highly ambitious
16:42
climate treaties that. Is fascinating.
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Denmark realized that their ultimate security against
16:48
climate change isn't just about putting more solar panels on
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roofs in Copenhagen. No, it's way bigger than that.
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Their true power is acting as an amplifier.
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They are financing the negotiation power of an entire
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coalition of Latin American states to ensure those countries
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have a louder voice on the global stage.
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It represents a total reinvention of how a nation
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views its role in the world. I mean, think about the arc
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we've traced for you today. It's.
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A long journey. We began in the 1600s in the
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Caribbean with the brutal state sponsored mechanics of the
17:17
triangular trade, a system purely designed to extract
17:20
wealth through human suffering. We then looked at the Argentine
17:23
pompous in the 1800s, where Danish migrants build rigid
17:27
cultural fortresses, utterly terrified of engaging with the
17:30
local environment. And from those highly
17:33
problematic, incredibly isolated origins, we arrive at a
17:36
completely different modern reality.
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A total 180. We see billion euro transport
17:42
agreements seamlessly connecting the continents, where cultural
17:46
identity is used for premium branding rather than isolation.
17:49
Exactly. And we see a small Nordic nation
17:52
literally funding the diplomatic muscle of seven in Latin
17:56
American countries to fight for global climate action.
17:59
It really is one of the most profound geopolitical
18:01
transformations you can study, and as we wrap up, it leaves us
18:05
with a totally different question to ponder.
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OK, what's that? Well, as the devastating impacts
18:09
of climate change continue to reshape the map, will this kind
18:13
of green diplomacy become the new currency of global power?
18:17
Oh, that's really interesting. Right.
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Are countries like Denmark quietly securing the
18:21
geopolitical loyalty of the global S not with gunboats or
18:24
colonial extraction, but by handing over the blueprints for
18:27
green survival? It makes you wonder if being the
18:30
world's most helpful consultant is actually the most aggressive
18:34
strategy for long term survival. It completely reframes how we
18:38
think about what makes a country powerful in the 21st century.
18:41
It really does. Thank you so much for joining us
18:44
on this exploration of the sources today.
18:46
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Really appreciate it. We'll catch you next time on
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