Interview: Bosnian expert warns against erosion of diplomacy in changing global order

"What is happening with Greenland mirrors what has already happened elsewhere," Bosnian historian and former diplomat Soja said. "This is why the situation must be condemned as a blatant violation of international law, even though the international community appears powerless to prevent it."

SARAJEVO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Slobodan Soja, a Bosnian historian and former diplomat, has warned that the world is witnessing an unprecedented erosion of diplomacy, as power politics increasingly override international law, with Greenland emerging as a new focal point in global strategic competition.

"This is something entirely new in history," Soja told Xinhua recently. "For someone to appear openly and say, 'I will enter a country and do whatever I want there,' without even pretending to respect diplomatic norms, is deeply alarming." He described this trend as a "cowboy system" that reflects not merely the will of a single political figure, but the interests of powerful multinational capital operating behind state institutions.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated his interest in Greenland, from "buying" the island during his first presidential term, to the current employment of "a range of options" including "utilizing the U.S. military" to seize the autonomous island from Denmark.

"What is happening with Greenland mirrors what has already happened elsewhere," Soja said. "This is why the situation must be condemned as a blatant violation of international law, even though the international community appears powerless to prevent it."

He pointed to reactions within the European Union (EU) as an evidence of strategic confusion. "The EU does not know what to do," Soja said. "And the real question is what it will do if Greenland is effectively taken over." In his view, the outcome is predictable: symbolic protests without meaningful resistance.

Soja warned that the EU's double standards -- protesting selectively while avoiding confrontation with the United States -- would accelerate its decline as a global power. "The EU will not sanction the United States, just as it turns a blind eye to certain conflicts elsewhere," he said.

In the long term, Soja predicted that Europe risks marginalization due to its lack of strategic autonomy.

"Greenland is not just a territorial issue," Soja said. "It is a symbol of a new world order in which international law is weakened, diplomacy is discarded, and economic power dictates political outcomes." ■