Panel discussion: Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
The Arctic region of the North Atlantic has recently become increasingly important in terms of both security policy and the economy. There are various interrelated reasons for this, ranging from the unpredictability of US foreign policy to the already recognizable and foreseeable consequences of climate change, which are changing access to the region and thus also its strategic importance.
The panel discussion will focus on Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. How have the discourses within these societies changed? What challenges do the three countries face in terms of their cultural and political self-image? While questions about the future shape of the Danish kingdom have become highly topical in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Iceland is discussing the referendum expected in 2027, which will focus on the resumption of EU accession negotiations.
The panel will be introduced by three short keynote speeches on the different regional perspectives. Following the panel discussion, the audience will also have the opportunity to ask questions.
Participating in the panel are:
Dr. Tobias Etzold is a political scientist specializing in international relations and European studies with a focus on Northern European politics. He lives in Oslo and currently works as a freelance senior researcher. His previous professional experience includes the German Institute for Foreign Policy (SWP) in Berlin, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) in Oslo. Etzold is mainly concerned with foreign, security and European policy in the Nordic countries, Nordic-German relations and cooperation and security in the Baltic Sea region and the Arctic.
Theresa Kohlbeck Jakobsen has a background in Scandinavian Studies and European Ethnology and is currently working on her doctorate. The interdisciplinary dissertation analyzes the interrelationship between family and fishing in Faroese novels from the first half of the 20th century and examines their significance in the discourse on Faroese identity formation. Among other things, Kohlbeck Jakobsen is interested in the (maritime) politics of the North Atlantic region and in art-based scientific communication. Kohlbeck Jakobsen also translates professionally from Faroese into German.
Ebbe Volquardsen is a cultural and political scientist and works in the field of political education at an adult education center near Frankfurt am Main. Until 2025, he was an associate professor of cultural history at Ilisimatusarfik, the University of Greenland in Nuuk. His research focuses on Scandinavian and global colonial history, Danish-Greenlandic relations, memory cultures and politics as well as post-colonial entanglements.
Moderation: Charlotte Steinert (International Research Training Group Baltic Peripeties).
The panel discussion will be held in English. Organized by Nordischer Klang and the IRTG Baltic Peripeties.
Free admission!
Photo of Tórshavn: Aline Dassel via Pixabay
