Can Sovereignty be Bought?: A Doctrinal Analysis of Trump’s Greenland Proposal under Modern International Law

This paper examines the legality of President Donald Trump's 2025-2026 proposal to acquire Greenland under contemporary international law. The research question addresses whether territorial acquisition through purchase or partial sovereignty transfer, without the consent of the affected population, complies with modern legal principles governing territorial sovereignty, self-determination, and non-consensual acquisition. Employing doctrinal legal analysis of primary sources including the UN Charter, International Covenants on Human Rights, and ICJ jurisprudence, this paper argues that any non-consensual acquisition of Greenland violates three fundamental norms of international law. First, Greenland's internationally recognized status as a self-determination unit under Denmark's 2009 Self-Government Act means that any territorial or sovereignty changes require Greenlandic consent through democratic processes. Second, the prohibition on territorial acquisition through threat or use of force, codified in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, extends to economic coercion and renders agreements negotiated under pressure legally invalid. Third, the post-1945 international legal framework categorically rejects colonial-era models that permitted territorial transfers without local consent. The paper concludes that sovereignty cannot be "bought" under modern international law when transactions lack the free and genuine consent of peoples holding self-determination rights, and that historical precedents like the Alaska Purchase provide no legal support for contemporary territorial acquisitions.