2a. Introduction

I’m sure you have heard of the Nobel Peace Prize (NPP). It is one of six Nobel prizes given out annually since 1901 for internationally recognized accomplishment in a field. The Peace Prize stands apart from the rest since it is awarded to an individual or organization that promotes peace in the world – broadly defined – as opposed to achievement in a particular area of scholarly study.

In the entire history of the prize only one Canadian has won the NPP as an individual. Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968, won the prize in 1957 for his role in creating an emergency peacekeeping force that helped to avert an international conflict focused on the Suez Canal in Egypt. His proposal for that particular crisis led to United Nations Peacekeeping Forces that are active throughout the world today. Pearson was credited with “saving the world” at that moment in history.

Is the Prize Significant?

Well, one could argue that the Nobel Peace Prize makes the cause of peace more public at a global level than anything else. It has been described as the “most famous and sought after honour known to humanity.” It has a long, continual history and is not tied to a particular region or type of work, nor is it linked to a specific ideology. Each year, it highlights for the world an issue that is viewed as crucial to the advancement of global peace. The prize has elevated peace as a credible and respectable goal.

I, the course author, am a bit of a peace-nerd since I am excited about the NPP announcement that happens every year in October. It is an indicator of what the world, at a particular moment in history, considers to be a crucial conflict issue that requires attention. As such, it points to the nature of peace movements over time. Simply stated, the Nobel Peace Prize is a great tool for teaching peace history. Also, because impact and influence is one of the criteria for the award, it helps us to think about what kind of peace activism has led to positive change in recent history.

We may, or may not, agree with the decision of the NPP committee in a given year. And we will outline the debates later in the module.

History of the Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize was established in 1895 (first awarded in 1901) by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish scientist who invented dynamite and became very wealthy as a result. This may seem ironic, since dynamite certainly made wars more deadly and spurred the weapons industry. It is said that Nobel created the peace prize in part to compensate for his invention.

According to his will, Nobel wanted the prize to go to:

The person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promoting of peace congresses.²

About all the Nobel prizes, he indicated they should go to individuals who, "during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."³ The question of longevity and impact always come up in debates around the relative merits of prize decisions.

Because of Alfred Nobel’s nationality, the prize is awarded in Norway each year in December, after an official announcement in October. The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901 to Jean Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, and Frédéric Passy, a scientist and leader of the peace movement in Europe. 

We can see some trends over time in terms of the NPP’s area of focus. In the first decades, up to the 1950s, prizes were given mainly to individuals and organizations involved in the international peace movement and those who worked for diplomacy and stability amongst states. In the latter half of the 20th century, "arms control and disarmament, peace negotiation, democracy and human rights"⁴ were prominent. In recent years, the environment has appeared as an issue. We will examine other trends later on.

Selection Process

The Nomination Process⁵

© The Norwegian Nobel Institute
Description

1. Submission period: Nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize are accepted until January 31.
2. Limited nomination period: Nominations for next year’s candidates are welcome from September 1.
3. Committee hand-over: Nominations submitted by the January 31 deadline are handed over to the Nobel Committee in mid-February.
4. Short-list: The Nobel Committee reviews all valid nominations and prepares a short-list for further examination.
5. External analysis: Candidate reports are submitted by the Committee’s permanent advisers and other Norwegian or international experts.
6. Deliberations: The Committee meets regularly from mid-February through September to discuss and steadily narrow the field of candidates.
7. The Committee decides: The Norwegian Nobel Committee decides who will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
8. Announcement: The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is announced on the Friday of the first full week of October.

Initially, Alfred Nobel stipulated that the selection committee for the award would be five members of the Norwegian parliament. Later it was decided that sitting politicians were not eligible, but that parliament would elect a committee comprised of five Norwegians (Why Norway?). You can easily see that the group of people making decisions about this internationally recognized award is not diverse.

There is a broader group of people who can make an official nomination, but still within certain categories. For example, heads of state and members of national political assemblies can nominate, as can university professors. You can find a full list of who qualifies as a nominator here: Criteria for Nominators.

Over time, the number of nominations has increased dramatically. In 2016 there were close to 400. Some of the individuals nominated seem very far-fetched – U.S. President Donald Trump was nominated for the NPP in 2019 because of his efforts to reach out to North Korea; even Hitler was nominated! Although the nominees are often revealed through media and sometimes by the individual or organization that made the nomination, the NPP committee maintains complete secrecy around its process. The nomination list itself remains secret for 50 years. The monetary prize is about one million Canadian dollars; most prize-winners donate the money to the organization or issue they are associated with.

There are nineteen years when the prize was not awarded at all. For example, it may have been a deliberate choice of the selection committee to not award the prize for several years during both the First and Second World Wars. Giving out a prize for peace may have seemed inappropriate when the entire world was at war.