The Nobel Peace Prize, designated for a person “who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations,” was recently awarded to the European Union for its progress towards peace in Europe.
The Nobel Peace Prize is one out of five prizes named after the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who specifically made provisions for the prizes in his will. Born in Stockholm in 1833, Nobel’s greatest accomplishment was the invention of dynamite. Besides his keen interest in natural sciences, however, Nobel was equally passionate about literature and the promotion of peace. Shortly before his death in 1896, he finalised his will in which he requested that a large part of his fortune be allocated to honorary awards, which are since known as the Nobel Prizes. These prizes are awarded annually to laureates who have made particular achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace.
When it comes to the Nobel Peace Prize, the winner is selected by the so-called "Norwegian Nobel Committee". This Committee is composed of five individuals who are chosen by the Norwegian Parliament, the "Storting". Typically, the Committee evaluates between 150 and 200 different nominees per year, although with a total of 231 nominees evaluated in 2012, this year produced an above-average number of suggestions. Nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, in turn, can only be suggested by a select group of people. These include members of national assemblies or international courts as well as previous Nobel Peace Prize recipients. The list of nominees for the annual award is not released and made public until fifty years after the prize is awarded and this means that besides the Committee itself, nobody actually knows in advance who the finalists for the award may be.
The Nobel Prize has a long-standing history that dates back to 1901, when the Prize was first awarded. Ever since, Nobel Prizes have been awarded more than 500 times and the Nobel Peace Prize, specifically, has been awarded more than 90 times since its inception. Throughout the years, Nobel Peace Prize winners have grown in number to become a diverse and eclectic mix of individuals and organisations. This is said to be partly due to the fact that over the course of the past century, a number of historical events have shaped the ways in which peace is understood. As a result, the Nobel Committee is said to have interpreted efforts of peace promotion in different ways throughout the years, which in turn influenced its selection of laureates. Whilst in the early days the Nobel Peace Prizes were often awarded to individuals who actively promoted peace and conflict resolution through specific movements, the years between the two World Wars saw an increasing number of awards granted to laureates who made significant diplomatic or humanitarian efforts in order to restore peace. Following the Second World War, the Nobel Peace Prize has been granted to honour the efforts individuals or organisations have made in various fields, ranging from human rights to disarmament and even the fight against anthropogenic climate change.
However, the Nobel Peace Prize is not awarded unconditionally. In fact, in the past century, there have been nineteen occasions on which no award was given. This is due to the fact that Alfred Nobel stated in his will that an award does not have to be given if there are no deserving individuals or if there are times of turmoil. As a result, fewer Nobel Peace Prizes were awarded during times of war.
The Nobel Prize Committee most recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union for “six decades of work in advancing peace in Europe.” Whilst the president of the Nobel Committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, acknowledged that this award is granted in times of crisis and unrest, the Nobel Committee emphasized that the prize is given in recognition of the achievements that the European Union has made over the past sixty years, in which the EU has helped move the continent from one marked by war and unrest to one that is home to a unified community of nations. The Committee specifically mentioned the achievements of the European Union with regard to reconciliation between nations, as well as its efforts to foster democracy and human rights.
The award will be collected by Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, in Oslo on 10 December. As the acceptance of the award approaches, this will provide an opportunity for everybody to reflect on the accomplishments this Union has achieved, using them as an inspiration for what we can accomplish in the future.
David Casa is a Nationalist MEP