Nobel War Prize

Last week, a member of the Norweigian Parliament announced that the committee charged with selecting the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize has decided to award President Obama with this honour. Within 24 hours, the blogosphere received a flood of comments that showed a polarised response to this news.

Past Nobel laureates include: Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King, Jr., Amnesty International, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela, Kim Dae Jung, Jimmy Carter, the Grameen Bank, and Al Gore. These figures and organisations have all contributed something significant to the global community.

The biggest argument made in favour of Obama is that the Nobel Peace Prize, even in the past, has sometimes been awarded to those who intend on working towards a more peaceful society and may not represent accomplishments toward the goal of peace.

It is difficult to see how Obama's policies resemble even an intent to achieve peace. The Commander-in-Chief continues to preside over the War on Terrorism, which is one of the largest expenditures in our budget and the largest contributor to our exponentially-growing public debt. Instead of closing Guantanamo, he is proposing transferring prisoners to Iraq. He also has not shown significant departure from Bush Administration policies regarding civil liberties. There are even rumblings about attacking Iran and Pakistan. Obama has not spoken out about the crimes against humanity that the Israeli government committed against the citizens of Palestine.

Supporters also argue that there are also examples in the past that show the Nobel Peace Prize encouraging someone to walk down the road of peace, namely, Gorbachev receiving the Nobel Peace Prize as facilitating the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Perhaps, Norway just does not understand, because there are no American military bases in Norway. Is the hope of the Norwegian Parliament that Obama will abandon American imperialism for the sake of world peace? If this is their endgame, they should focus more intellectual resources towards debunking the theory of hegemonic stability. I believe this theory may be one explanation out of many varying factors that lead to security internationally, but there are also many other ways to maintain international order. However, the defence industry in the United States will never allow a reduction in American imperialism. It may be more effective to award Lockheed Martin the Nobel Peace Prize.

The two main arguments in favour of Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize seems to not stand its own ground. The only other reason that he would be given this honour is because after 8 years of George W. Bush, even the international community is clinging on to the hope on which Obama campaigned. His powerfully inspiring rhetoric during the extensive campaign season affected not only people of the United States, but also other countries (like Norway). The danger of words without corresponding action can be dangerous as it may lead to demagoguery. Many Democrats have snapped out of the Obama-trance while Republicans insist on perpetuating the lie that Obama is a socialist. It is about time that everybody looks past the facade and see Obama for whom he is really.