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Chaturanga

~ statecraft, strategy, society, and Σοφíα

Chaturanga

Tag Archives: Nobel Peace Prize

The European Union and the Nobel Peace Prize

13 Sat Oct 2012

Posted by Jaideep A. Prabhu in Opinion and Response

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

2012, EU, European Union, Nobel Peace Prize, peace

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 was announced a couple of hours ago in favour of the European Union and within seconds, twitter was engulfed in an ocean of snark.  Miriam Elder, Moscow correspondent for the Guardian tweeted, “Look forward to EU statement on Nobel peace prize. Following committee consultations and necessary translations, should have it in 4.5yrs.” Omar Waraich, who covers Pakistan for TIME magazine and the Independent, added, “Well, they couldn’t have given the EU the Nobel Prize for Economics, now could they?” Ben Fenton, at the Financial Times live news desk, chimed in with “Prize money for the Nobel Peace Prize is given in dollars, so it will at least be worth having.” In other digital media, Bruno Waterfield wrote in the Telegraph, “The prize, which is worth a million euros (£800,000) will do little to help the EU’s debt and banking crisis which has so far cost over €6 trillion,” while Tom Chivers joked in the same newspaper that the Nobel committee’s chief objective was to troll Right-wingers!

Containing an element of truth, these tweets and stories were also amusing. Others, such as Saeed Dehghan, who covers Iran for the Guardian, had more serious criticism of the decision: “Many Iranians are expressing anger over EU’s Nobel peace prize because of its sanctions targeting their economy, hospitals, universities.” Huma Yusuf, a Pakistani journalist, complained about the Islamophobia in the EU in a tweet that appears to have been later deleted (but whose remnants remained because of an exchange it had generated).

Nothing can be sliced to thin as to have only one side, goes the cliche. The EU also has its ardent defenders who battled the gigglers and snarks. Tom Gara, at the Wall Street Journal, declared, “Aside from being the supreme peace-building system of the 20th century, the EU did nothing to deserve that prize.” Christopher Cook, the Financial Times education correspondent wrote, “Sneer all you like about the cost and bureaucracy, our free trade bloc with a commitment to human rights has been a spectacular success,” which resonated with one of his followers, who responded, “The old ‘If you think the EU’s expensive try a European war every 25 years’ argument. I like this argument.” However, Tim Montgomerie, editor of Conservative Home, astutely pointed out, “The Nobel Peace Prize for keeping peace in Europe should go to the USA for stationing troops here, the Marshall Fund + the nuclear deterrent.”

I should confess that I do like the idea of the Nobel Prize; to the child in me, it is akin to NASA, revealing wonderful new worlds and ideas to the rest of us who do not function on the cutting edge of human endeavour or fortitude. Yet I have not always seen eye-to-eye with the Nobel Peace Prize committee and questioned its choices on occasion, the most recent being in 2009 when the prize was awarded to US President Barack Obama. Yet the winner for the year 2012, I believe is a sound choice. Could there have been a better candidate? Perhaps. But this is a highly subjective prize, and I do not believe that the Committee has erred beyond an acceptable CEP.

Critics are quick to point out that the EU has recently intervened militarily in Libya or Kosovo. Yet to equate peace with an absolute lack of military action is not only nonsense but also ahistorical. Notions of jus ad bellum and jus in bello go back at least to Aurelius Augustinus if not earlier. It must be remembered against whom the war was fought and in what manner – mercifully, Europe’s recent wars have been against tyrants and murders such as Muammar Qaddafi and Slobodan Milošević. Though there are ample reasons to be cynical about the Right to Protect (R2P) doctrine that was recently floated in lieu of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, one would be hard-pressed to find an entirely altruistic act. If one’s standards were genuinely that absolute and not simply based on envy, similar standards applied to previous winners or other luminaries would find many unfit. One need not argue too hard about the controversial choice of Henry Kissinger, Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat, Yasser Arafat, Jimmy Carter, or Barack Obama, but it is not too difficult to find faults even in Mohandas Gandhi (not a prize winner) or Agnes Bojaxhiu. By the implied exacting standards, Woodrow Wilson, Frank Kellogg, George Marshall and the United Nations might also be found wanting.

Some might argue that Europe has done little more than to exist: why should they be recognised for that? Such a view overlooks much of European history. Without going back to pre-history, just in the last century, Europe was home to two vicious wars at home and countless others across the globe. The nations of Europe were at each others’ throats as they had always been but with much deadlier modern technology. That is not the Europe of today. Undoubtedly, the EU is not a perfect entity; it is marred with xenophobia, racism, anti-semitism, and, perhaps, Islamophobia. Thankfully, these are small pockets which were much larger only 75 years ago.

For the horribly imperfect place Europe is supposed to be, it hosts the largest immigrant population in the world, at 72.1 million, surpassing even that great bastion of immigration, the Western hemisphere, at 57.5 million. A 2012 Gallup poll estimated that approximately 640 million people worldwide would like to migrate given the choice; out of these, the largest percentage, 24%, chose the EU (and another 2% chose other European states). Regardless of its deficiencies, the EU seems to still be the preferred destination of millions across the world wanting to make a better living.

Returning to Tim Montgomerie’s observation that it was the presence of US troops, the Marshall Plan, and a nuclear deterrent that really kept the peace in Europe, it must be conceded that there is some merit to that view. However, not all countries with such or equivalent attributes would make it to a list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, all have US military bases on their soil; barring Turkey, all are affluent countries (and didn’t need a Marshall Plan), and while only Turkey and South Korea come under nuclear umbrella, the others have no need of one (yet). Admittedly, this comparison simplifies much; yet so does giving all credit for peace in Europe to the US military. The roles of Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak, Alcide de Gasperi, and countless others are ignored, as is the not-so-easy and often bumpy road from a bombed out group of European states to a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (which was not, strictly speaking, a follower), a European Community (EC), and finally a European Union. It also ignores the myriad organisations such as the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), binding European states closer to each other.

In addition, the EU has participated in peacekeeping missions (including military support, legal assistance, border management operations, and maintaining law and order), 20 since 2003, and attempted to broker peace among warring parties. Of course, not all attempts are successful, but only the naive need to be explained why. The EU has also been a generous source of international aid – 60% of all aid in 2010. In 2011, despite the economic turmoil, Germany, France, and the UK were among the top five donors in the world, and most European countries maintained Official Development Assistance (ODA) figures above the United Nations target of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI). The spirit of Alfred Nobel’s will, which stated that a prize be given to the one who has “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses,” has undoubtedly been maintained.

The strongest point against the EU is the merit of other candidates. The names of other nominees is never revealed, but enterprising journalists have always produced a viable list of suspects. This year, rumours have it that among the contenders were Russian activists Lyudmila Alexeyeva and Svetlana Gannushkina, Byelorussian dissident Ales Bialiatski, Nigerian religious leaders John Onaiyekan and Mohamed Sa’ad Abubakar, Afghan women’s rights leader Sima Samar, US professor Gene Sharp, and Maggie Gobran, a Coptic Christian worker in Egypt. It must be borne in mind that these are mere speculations and overheard whispers, but most of these seem worthy candidates too. Personally, I would have preferred an individual over an institution, but that is one of two small, completely irrational biases I allow myself to have (the other is supporting the German national football team despite my being a creature of the Mediterranean). Nor do I have a fat dossier on any of these people (assuming some of them were on the shortlist) to allow me to offer a more informed opinion on the names above.

It ultimately comes down to an acceptable CEP. Were there better choices? Perhaps. Does the EU’s deeds qualify it for this prestigious award? Yes. Was Europe a good choice? Definitely. At the level of Nobel Prizes, all choices, be they in the sciences or the humanities, are subjective. Peace is no different, particularly among our wretched species; it has many nuances and shades, as Dehghan’s tweet reminds us. And if looked at closely, the winner every year since the year of inception in 1901 can be debated. The EU may not be the most satisfying choice of winner of all time, but it is most definitely quite far from the questionable ones.

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The Nobel Platitudes Prize

10 Sat Oct 2009

Posted by Jaideep A. Prabhu in United States

≈ Comments Off on The Nobel Platitudes Prize

Tags

Aung San Suu Kyi, Barack Obama, Kellogg-Briand Treaty, Lech Walesa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nobel Peace Prize

Barack Obama is the latest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. This announcement, made on October 09, was met in large part by disbelief and incredulity worldwide. The recipient himself was compelled to admit, “I do not deserve the the Nobel Peace Prize,” though that did not deter him from turning it down. However, the news has been met with approval in some circles who view the Prize as a reward for intent. As the BBC’s North America editor Mark Mardell explained this phenomenon, “Why did he win?… because he’s not President George W Bush and has steered American foreign policy, or at least its strategy if not its aims, in an opposite direction.” Naturally, the Nobel Committee defended its decision, saying, “only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.” As pundits of all colour descended upon the issue, it has become quite clear that the crux of the matter depends upon two factors: 1.) Prematurity, and 2.) Nature of the Prize.

Looking over the last 109 years in which the Prize has been given 109 times to 120 recipients (including thrice to the Red Cross in 1917, 1944, and 1963), it can safely be said that Obama has achieved another first: the first person to be rewarded with the Nobel Peace Prize (NPP) for intent. Obama stands alongside winners like John Hume, Wangari Maathai, Kim Dae-jung, Agnesë Bojaxhiu, Jody Williams, Martin Luther King, José Ramos-Horta, Anwar Sadat, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Lech Walesa, Dag Hammarskjöld, Philip Noel-Baker, Lester Pearson, George Marshall, Albert Schweitzer, and Gustav Stresemann. Each and every one of these winners had dedicated their lives to activities promoting the cause of peace before they were awarded the NPP – not one of these previous winners have won on intent as the Nobel Committee is all of a sudden falling over itself to say in defence of their latest trendy decision. Even questionable winners such as Henry Kissinger and Anwar Sadat had taken monumental steps to bring a vicious conflict to an end – Sadat’s treaty with Israel at Camp David was a remarkable breakthrough in Arab-Israeli relations and formed the basis of a similar treaty with Jordan in 1994. In the case of Kissinger, like Sadat, he finally achieved a withdrawal from Vietnam after nearly 30 years of bloodshed. It is frequently pointed out that Kissinger was also responsible for much of that bloodshed but by that token, Sadat’s domestic authoritarianism and consequent body count should have disqualified him as well. Another objection some people may raise is that Aung San Suu Kyi has not achieved much either – this is only partly true. While it is obvious that Burma remains a military dictatorship, not all awards are about success – it is essential to de-couple success from effort. Awards have been given in the past based not on achievement but effort. Nicholas Butler (1931), Frank Kellogg (1929), and Aristide Briand (1926) were awarded the NPP for their efforts in bringing to fruition the Kellogg-Briand Pact that banned all wars. Its failure is quite glaring and was so almost immediately. However, they set a foundation for future legal thought in conflict theory and one of the charges at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II was the violation of the Kellogg-Briand Treaty (along with the 1899 Hague Conventions, the Versailles Treaty, and other treaties of mutual guarantee, arbitration, and non-aggression). Similarly, Aung San Suu Kyi has, since 1988, kept the idea of democracy in Burma alive. Short of Burma specialists, it is unlikely that even the average Ivy League college student can name anyone outside of Aung San Suu Kyi in regard to Burma. She leads the pro-democracy movement as best as she can from under house arrest and has refused to leave the country despite being offered freedom in exile by the military government. Thus, it can be said without hesitation that the NPP being awarded as a call to action is an example of classic CYA (cover-your-ass) tactics by the Nobel Committee and Obama supporters.

The question of prematurity is directly linked to that of the nature of the Prize. If the Prize is for effort and achievement, what has Obama achieved? Even Ronald Reagan achieved the ban on all intermediate nuclear missiles in the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty. Tim Marshall, the foreign affairs editor at Sky News quipped, “There will be people who will say this is a marvellous, inspired award. But next year let’s give it to Miss World. Every year Miss World comes on and says ‘I want world peace and the world free of nuclear weapons’. It’s a hope, an aspiration.” Former Polish President Lech Walesa, who won the prize in 1983, questioned whether Obama deserved it now. “So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act,” Walesa said. Another vitally important consideration has been this: the deadline for nominations for the NPP is February 01. This means that Obama was in power for 11 days in which he allegedly achieved something to deserve what used to be a much-respected award. It is unllikely he did anything before January 20, 2009, for one of the main issues he had to defuse during the US Democratic Primaries and the Presidential Elections was his lack of foreign policy experience – Joe Biden was supposed to be the man to guide him through the murky waters of international diplomacy. So if credit has to be given for a new vision that inspired the world in the pre-20.01.2009 period, it should be to Joe Biden and not Obama.

[DIVERSION 1: On a side note, it should also be mentioned that Mohandas K. Gandhi, the author of non-violent struggle, has not received a Nobel Peace Prize (nominated in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and 1948). The Nobel Foundation, cognisant of this glaring omission, has put up a web page with their explanation as to why he did not receive an award. Jacob Worm-Müller wrote of Gandhi during the 1937 selection process, “He is, undoubtedly, a good, noble and ascetic person – a prominent man who is deservedly honoured and loved by the masses of India … There are sharp turns in his policies, which can hardly be satisfactorily explained by his followers. (…) He is a freedom fighter and a dictator, an idealist and a nationalist. He is frequently a Christ, but then, suddenly, an ordinary politician.” In October 1947, Gunnar Jahn wrote, “While it is true that he (Gandhi) is the greatest personality among the nominees – plenty of good things could be said about him – we should remember that he is not only an apostle for peace; he is first and foremost a patriot. (…) Moreover, we have to bear in mind that Gandhi is not naive. He is an excellent jurist and a lawyer.” The irony cannot be escaped here. Finally, it has been said that the Prize cannot be awarded posthumously as per the stipulations of Alfred Nobel himself. This was not true in 1948. In fact, Hammarskjöld was awarded the prize posthumously in 1961. It was only in 1974 that the rule was introduced to disallow posthumous awards.]

Obama seems to be a decent human being, and I wish him well. He is in an ugly profession and he will need all the help he can get to navigate its tricky shoals. That does not entitle him or make him worthy of the Nobel peace Prize just yet. Had Obama refused the award, he would have only raised his stature, but a politician knowing his own worth is a rarity – Obama has shown himself to be only, as Worm-Müller wrote of Gandhi, an ordinary politician. This award not only makes a mockery of the NPP but also devalues the work of most of its previous winners and the toil of many peace activists today, Morgan Tsvangirai and Hu Jia coming to mind most. By this single gesture, perhaps in the desire to appear relevant to a younger generation not fully aware of the problems of the world, the Nobel Committee has taken away the prestige and honour of the Prize.

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