Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

In October, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. In announcing its decision, the Norwegian Nobel Committee cited Obama's "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," and emphasized in particular "Obama's vision of a work for a world without nuclear weapons."


PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SPEAKS
ON BEING AWARDED THE 2009 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
© 2009 Getty Images, Inc.

The announcement, which apparently surprised Obama, provoked a wide array of reactions across the globe, ranging from the congratulatory to the derisive:

"In less than a year in office, he [Obama] has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself." (Mohamed al-Baradei, director general of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency)

"The Nobel committee was fairly explicit that Obama's hope of achieving peace was all that was required, presumably making countless Miss Universe contestants equally eligible. . . . As with all things Obama, it's far better to bet on a hopeful vision than to wait around for what are inevitably becoming disappointing results." (Tony Fratto, deputy assistant to George W. Bush)

Commentators also disagreed as to how the prize would affect the Obama presidency, with some hoping its prestige would boost Obama's peacemaking credentials, others seeing it as burdensome and hard to live up to, and still others characterizing it as an overtly political attempt to sway U.S. policy:

"The hope has to be that the president's enhanced image will make it easier to negotiate constructive settlements to ongoing conflicts as well as to begin to put in place a process to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict." (Doublas E. Schoen, Democratic pollster and author)

"The high expectations that come with the prize will in no way make easier the difficult negotiations, such as with Iran or Russia, or the decisions with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan." (Eckart von Klaeden, foreign policy spokesman for German chancellor Merkel's government)

"One hopes our president understands that the award is a bribe to continue apologizing for America, going soft on rogue nations and despots with nuclear goals, and backing away from the non-peaceful challenges of Afghanistan and Islamic extremism." (Lisa Schiffren, speechwriter to Dan Quayle and contributor to National Review Online)

Do you think President Obama deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize? How do you think the prize will affect his dealings with today's world conflicts? Would you have awarded Obama the prize?

In order to answer these questions, pretend you are on the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The committee has five members (appointed by the Norwegian parliament), who are directed by a statement in Alfred Nobel's will that instructs the Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded "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 promotion of peace congresses."

Break into groups of five and assign each committee member a conflict that involves the United States from World Conflicts Today: Afghanistan; Darfur; Iraq; Korean Peninsula; and the Palestinian Territories.

For background, read the Overview section of your assigned conflict. Then carefully study the Obstacles and Global Implications sections with an aim to answering these essential questions for critical thinking:

• How might U.S.-led diplomacy and multilateralism help overcome the obstacles to resolving this conflict?
• When (if ever) might the use of force be necessary to do so?
• How would the resolution of this conflict, or progress toward such a resolution, positively affect prospects for world peace?

You might also review relevant History sections, especially Recent Events, to see how the United States has dealt with your assigned conflict.

Come together as a committee and discuss your findings. Based on your answers to the above questions, do you think that Obama's commitment to multilateralism and diplomatic engagement outweigh the relative lack of progress he has made so far in resolving conflicts from Afghanistan to the Palestinian Territories?

After everyone has had a chance to share their views, take a committee vote on whether to award Obama the prize. If you vote against Obama, propose a recipient who you think deserves the prize in his place.

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