Foreign Affairs

unhappycamper

(60,364 posts) Wed Dec 11, 2013, 07:28 AM Dec 2013

Expanding scandal of the Nobel peace prize

http://atimes.com/atimes/World/WOR-01-111213.html

Expanding scandal of the Nobel peace prize
By Fredrik S Heffermehl
Dec 11, '13

~snip~

Nobel did not believe in civilizing war, reducing a weapon here and an army there; he was quite specific when, in his 1895 will, he described a prize for "the champions of peace" seeking to abolish all weapons in all nations, as an alternative to militarism and military forces. With terms like the "brotherhood of [disarmed] nations", he used language that anyone familiar with the history of the peace movement will recognize.

~snip~

For years, Norwegian politicians have used the prize to pursue their own ideas and purposes. Last year's prize, which went to the European Union, the 2009 prize for US President Barack Obama, the 2010 prize for Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, the 2011 prize for Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - almost all of the prizes awarded in the last two decades have failed to respect Nobel's will.

Instead of appointing a committee dedicated to the peace ideas described in the will, parliament is, with few exceptions, using the coveted seats as a bonus to reward retired parliamentarians. In Norway, attitudes have shifted away from Nobel's aims. Politicians strongly loyal to the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are obviously unsuited to manage a prize for peace by disarmament, and the members ought to resign.

After six years, I have to state that my conclusions are indisputable - and they have not in fact been disputed. But it is of little consequence. Norwegian politicians behave as if they were above the law and feel confident that the courts, as well as public authorities and the media, will let them get away with their mischief.