October 15, 2007
On the Norwegian Nobel Committee Posted by Alexander Burns at 01:00 PM EST For readers interested in this weekend’s exchange about the Nobel Peace Prize, I recommend this article from yesterday’s New York Times for further reading. It provides a good snapshot of Nobel Committee members wrestling with the question of what, exactly, “peace” is supposed to mean, and also with the political consequences of awarding such a prize. On the latter question, the key comment seems to be from Francis Sejersted, the former chairman of the committee, who tells the Times: “Awarding a peace prize is, to put it bluntly, a political act.” On the former question—the changing meaning of “peace”—the Times cites Ole Danbolt Mjos, who chaired the committee that awarded Wangari Maathai in 2004. Mjos said the prize is really “about how we live together, share resources, preserving the earth.” I find this a compelling, if not 100 percent satisfying, explanation of what the committee now looks for in a laureate. Check out the article and see what you think.
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