By Right of Might: How Politics Puts Pressure on the Nobel Peace Prize Jury
Donald Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by several organizations. NI has figured out what this award is actually given for and whether Russians have a chance to become laureates.
A serious candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize has emerged: Congressman Buddy Carter has nominated Donald Trump for the award for his “outstanding and historic role” in ending the recent conflict between Israel and Iran. And a few days before that, Trump was nominated by the Pakistani government for mediating and settling the May conflict between Delhi and Islamabad. This is how he is today – the image of the world’s chief peacemaker.
However, being nominated for the Nobel Prize does not yet provide a 100% guarantee of receiving it.
Donald Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Photo: Shealah Craighead / White House
Nominating the US president to the Nobel Committee has been a tradition since the award was first introduced in 1901. The pioneer was William Howard Taft (1909–1913) — he was nominated for developing international arbitration and peaceful conflict resolution. In the early 1930s, Herbert Hoover was nominated for helping starving people in Europe after World War I, and Franklin Roosevelt was nominated in 1945 for strengthening international cooperation during World War II. In 2001, even George W. Bush was nominated, even though he unleashed a war in Afghanistan after the September 11 terrorist attack. And in 2020, the Nobel Committee submitted an application to award the prize to Joe Biden .
What can we say about past presidents? Donald Trump himself has already been nominated twice. In 2018, Norwegian politician Tyrbing-Gjedde nominated him for his efforts to reconcile North and South Korea, and in 2020, the same Norwegian nominated Trump for normalizing relations between Israel and a number of Arab countries.
Even Barack Obama, who has never signed a peace agreement, received the Nobel Peace Prize. Photo: White House
Much luckier were the American presidents who not only nominated but also received the Nobel Peace Prize. Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama became laureates.
It is hard to imagine the Nobel Peace Prize without American presidents. But if there are no questions about the leaders of the first half of the 20th century, then the nomination of George Bush and Joe Biden and the award to Barack Obama are, to put it mildly, surprising.
And it couldn't be otherwise: the Nobel Prize very quickly transformed from the humanitarian field into the sphere of politics. Judge for yourself.
The first Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1901 was Henry Dunant , the founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross. A worthy choice, no doubt. In 1904, the award was received by US President Theodore Roosevelt for his assistance in concluding the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. In 1919, the prize was awarded to Woodrow Wilson for creating the League of Nations, the predecessor of the UN, and in 1945 to Cordell Hull for his participation in the founding of the UN. Notable laureates include George Marshall (1953), who developed the Marshall Plan to rebuild post-war Europe, and Henry Kissinger (1973), who helped broker a ceasefire in Vietnam.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to people who defined the modern world order. Photo: ProtoplasmaKid / Wikimedia
Until the 1970s, the prize often went to Western politicians who shaped the modern world order, although there were exceptions, such as Albert Schweitzer , who founded a hospital in Gabon and worked there as a surgeon.
Since the 1970s, the focus has shifted to rewarding fighters for human rights and humanitarian ideals. In 1979, the prize was awarded to Mother Teresa for her charitable work, in 1989 to the 14th Dalai Lama for his non-violent struggle for the rights of Tibet, in 1993 to Nelson Mandela for his contribution to overcoming apartheid, and in 1999 to Doctors Without Borders for humanitarian aid. This period was characterized by recognition of people and organizations promoting peace through compassion and justice. But it did not last long.
In the late 20th century, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for humanitarian values, including to the Dalai Lama. Photo: The Vancouver Peace Summit
In the 2000s, the focus of the prize changed again, and politics came to the fore. There would be nothing wrong with this if the Nobel Committee did not have a one-sided view of the world situation. As Alfred Nobel bequeathed, all five members of the committee are chosen by the Norwegian Parliament. Random people with the "wrong" point of view will not get in.
The choice of laureates is also appropriate. In 2021, the award was received by Dmitry Muratov* (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia), editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta* (recognized as an undesirable organization in Russia), for defending freedom of speech and supporting journalist Ivan Golunov and Alexei Navalny* , convicted of extremism. In 2022, the award was shared by three laureates: the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, which supported Euromaidan, Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski* , who participated in the 2020 protests, and the Russian Memorial Society* (recognized as a foreign agent NGO in the Russian Federation and liquidated).
Last year, teachers at Norway's OsloMet University nominated musicians Noize MC* and Monetochka*, who left Russia after the start of the SVO and were recognized as foreign agents in the Russian Federation, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Their candidacies were noted for the fact that they "represent the voice of a new generation advocating for humanistic values."
Only foreign agents are nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize among Russians. Photo: Mihail_Tokmakov / Flickr
As practice shows, only "correct Russians" who condemn the SVO and are recognized as foreign agents can be nominated for the Nobel Prize now. But even they have little chance compared to American presidents.
*For reference: - Novaya Gazeta has been recognized as an undesirable organization by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia;
— Alexei Navalny has been recognized by the court as an extremist and terrorist;
— Ales Belyatsky, Dmitry Muratov, Noize MC, "Monetochka" are recognized as foreign agents in Russia;
— The Center for Civil Liberties and the Memorial Society have been recognized in Russia as foreign agents and undesirable organizations.
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