Opinion
Denmark, regional powerhouse and global player

flickr/baronreznik
Denmark has proven its abilities to be a pro-active defense member of NATO and the EU. Now the country isn’t only a regional power, it’s also expanding its role outside of the geographical territory, becoming an international player in today’s geopolitical challenges.
Today, Denmark is proudly getting out of its comfort zone and moving into one of the areas that was until now reserved for a only a small group of power players – space. Denmark recently agreed to contribute 313 million Kroner ($51 Million) to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) projects, especially the International Space Station (ISS). Although it isn’t directly linked to Denmark’s defense, it is a strong sign of where Denmark stands in terms of spatial exploration and industry. In fact, Denmark’s first astronaut, Andreas Mogensen will soon visit the ISS.
“Within the next two years, we will have both an astronaut and a climate gauge sent up to the USS. With Denmark’s contributions, we are sending a clear signal about out participation,” said Sofie Carsten Nielsen, the minister for higher education and research. Nielsen said that the ESA’s sensational Philae mission helped to demonstrate the importance of space exploration – “it is important for me that we see an increased focus on how important the space industry is to our modern infrastructure and daily life” (1).
Back on earth, gravity has taken hold of Denmark and the future of its defense seems to be developing rapidly. Recently, Danish authorities have made it clear that they want to be on the frontline for any worldwide issue, recognized as a global power. During the recent events in Syria with the Islamic State (ISIL), Denmark’s two coalition parties agreed on punishing foreign fighters and have been discussing ways of implementing it. Social Democrats Spokeswoman Trine Bramsen said the government is to release further details of a new comprehensive anti-jihadist package and Morten Østergaard, Minister of Economy and Interior declared, “my position is that If someone is on their way down to help the Islamic State with their brutality, it should be stopped. We are obligated to stop Danish citizens from going to Syria and committing serious offences. There is no doubt that no Danes should be going to Syria (2)”.
But for Denmark, the Syrian issue became an international geopolitical problem, which Denmark is willing to face out of its borders. Morten Ostergaard recently declared that Denmark will do whatever it can to help Lebanon cope with the Syrian refugee crisis. “We in Denmark stress our commitment to finding a political solution to the ongoing Syrian crisis, especially on a humanitarian level, over the coming years” said Ostergaard after meeting Lebanese Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk in Beirut (3).
Denmark also directly faced Qatar to address its indirect support of the Islamic State. If Qatar’s regime is officially supporting the coalition against the Islamic State, the government has been ignoring traffickers who use Qatar to launder money and fund terrorist groups. Critics have lately argued that the regime could easily put a stop to the flow of money, if they wanted to. “Qatar should be thrown out of the alliance. We are at war with the Islamic State and we can not have someone on the team that is also on the side,” said Søren Espersen, foreign Policy spokesman for the Danish People’s Party. “Economic sanctions can be an option,” added Holger K. Nielsen, former Foreign Minister, asking the U.S. to confirm the accusations against Qatar before taking any consequences. Ole Haekkerup, member of the Foreign Policy Committee would like to have a serious talk with Doha’s government along with the U.S. “There is an impression that Qatar is doing something criminal. We need to have a thorough talk with them,” said Haekkerup.
Today, Denmark has become a key country involved in this international challenge. Its place within NATO is also significantly shifting Denmark’s history within the alliance, as NATO has been seeking to share the burden of providing expensive defense equipment in an equal manner across the Alliance. In fact, a new multinational project is being launch to increase the availability of munitions to the Alliance. Denmark, once again is in the lead in the project, which is focused on air-to-ground precision-guided munitions (PGMs). It’s because of its recent on the ground experiences that Denmark is able to lead such projects today. “Danish experiences from the air operation over Libya in 2011 showed us that national munitions stockpiles are not always sufficient… and they cannot easily be re-supplied within the short timeframe needed during operations,” said Lieutenant General Per Pugholm Olsen, Danish National Armaments Director (4). “Therefore we must pursue innovative and more flexible approaches towards provision of munitions” he added.
This effort illustrates the success of the Smart Defence initiative and of Allies working together on armament matters. But it also shows Denmark’s proactive approach for equipment. Because of its recent engagement in Afghanistan, or even in Mali to support the French Armed-forces, and also because of what’s at stake today for Denmark’s sovereignty in Greenland and larger parts of the Arctic, Denmark is thinking in terms of ground force projection.
As Denmark is willing to partner with some European countries on a case-by-case basis on worldwide engagement, the Danes have now made a priority of being able to send out troops and sustain them on the ground wherever the mission calls them. That’s one of the reasons why the Danish government has partnered with France during their engagement in Northern Mali. From these experiences, the two countries are now able to develop partnerships in terms of strategy, as well as industrial cooperation. The idea behind it is to develop a comprehensive mutual strategy throughout defense matters in order to be able to work together in all domains, including strategy planning, industrial development, equipment sharing, training and on the ground cooperation. All of these components are adaptable to the different existing frameworks, either in a bilateral partnership, within the EU framework though European Defense, or within NATO.
With Denmark raising its voice within Europe but also for the Arctic, for the Middle-East, for Africa, we should soon see a significant shift in the Danish defense policy, as well as a reinforced Danish military.
(1) Denmark ups ESA funds ahead of first astronaut, The local DK, December 4th 2014
(2) Denmark prepared to get tougher on Jihadists, The Local DK, September 12th 2014
(3) Danish minister pledges to help Lebanon deal with Syrian refugee crisis, December 17th 2014, Daily Star Lebanon.
(4) Danish ministry of defense
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