World Review: Possible Greenland deal. Trump's Peace Board. Global Economy under Trump 2.0.

A synopsis of this week's edition of World Review

Each week, I host a video podcast called World Review with Ivo Daalder where journalists from major news outlets around the world join me to discuss the latest global news stories of the week.

Yesterday, January 23, Carla Anne Robbins, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Director of the MIA Program at Baruch College’s Marxe School, filled in for me while I was traveling. She discussed a possible agreement on Greenland, President Trump’s new “Board of Peace” meant to rival the UN, and the state of the global economy. Joining her this week were Stefanie Bolzen, Washington Correspondent of Die Welt, Robbie Gramer, National Security Reporter of The Wall Street Journal, and Prashant Rao, Senior Editor of Semafor.

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While I encourage you to listen to the episode (and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!), here are a few interesting things I took away from our discussion:

• Discussions on Greenland continued in Davos this week, where President Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte agreed on a framework, but the details of the agreement remain unclear. Robbie argued that the US already had access to most of the elements of a possible deal, including unfettered military access, under the previous defense agreement with Denmark. Nevertheless, the President appears to have backed off his tariff threats against European allies, but the damage is lasting. As Stefanie pointed out, a majority of Europeans now call Trump the enemy of Europe. But the underlying issue remains that Europe does not know how to respond to the President’s threats and lacks a clear plan B.

• Next to Greenland, Europe must also find a response to President Trump’s proposal for a Board of Peace. Originally proposed to resolve the conflict in Gaza, the Trump administration has since tried to broaden it to rival the role of the UN. As Robbie argued, the Board of Peace strikes at a central truth that the UN system is dysfunctional and not fit for the modern age. The administration sees value in disrupting this ineffective system. But so far, the success in getting other countries to sign on seems limited. As Stefanie pointed out, the Board of Peace has not received much traction in Europe, with German officials avoiding commenting on the proposal. Most European countries, except Hungary, have declined the invitation to join.

• Canada was disinvited from the Board of Peace following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech in Davos and his recent trip to China, during which he discussed a new strategic partnership. Prashant argued that Carney has taken a big risk, given his country’s reliance on trade with the US. But as tensions between the US and China rise, more and more countries are facing a similar difficult choice about whom to align with. What does all this mean for the state of the global economy? Growth has remained surprisingly resilient despite tariffs and persistent political uncertainty. Prashant suggested that part of the answer may be that exporters have absorbed most of the costs, while investment in AI continues to drive growth. But this form of jobless growth and protectionism may not be sustainable, especially as other countries seek new trade partnerships outside the United States.

Those are my quick takes on this week’s episode here on World Review. To get the full story, please listen to the episode itself.