Nobel expert: "Trump is like a little boy in a candy store being told no"
It's completely out of the question that the Nobel Committee will allow itself to be pressured into giving the Peace Prize to Donald Trump, says Nobel historian Asle Sveen.
Nobel historian Asle Sveen says it's absurd to even discuss whether Donald Trump will receive the Peace Prize.(Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB)
NTB .NTB.NTB .Norwegian News Agency
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The US president has made it very clear that he wants this year's Peace Prize.
And Trump is used to getting what he wants.
But that will not happen this time, predicts Asle Sveen.
"I consider that completely out of the question," he tells the Norwegian news agency NTB.
Backfires
Annonse
He believes instead that Trump's repeated hints that he should be honoured with the prize will have the opposite effect.
"No other candidates have ever behaved like Donald Trump, practically demanding the Peace Prize. It's completely unprecedented. He's like a little boy in a candy store being told no. And throws a tantrum. It's completely absurd," he says.
Trump is nevertheless among the top ten on the bookmakers' lists of the most likely candidates.
But Øivind Stenersen, historian and managing director of the association Nobeliana, also doubts the American president's chances, especially since the Nobel Peace Prize is meant to reward work for international cooperation, free trade, disarmament, and fraternity between nations.
"Trump has rejected nearly all of these ideals," Stenersen recently told NTB.
Standing firm against pressure
Some wonder whether Trump might retaliate against Norway if he doesn't win – perhaps with his favourite weapon: higher tariffs.
Sveen, however, points out that the Nobel Committee has proven it does not take such considerations into account, referring to when the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo received the Peace Prize in 2010.
At that time, China warned that such a decision would have consequences. While the Norwegian government took note, the Nobel Committee – then led by Thorbjørn Jagland – went its own way.
"This story shows that the committee stands firm against external pressure," says Sveen.
A lot of speculation
Leaving the prize unawarded is not an option.
"They stopped doing that in 1972," says the Nobel historian.
As always, there has been much speculation beforehand about who will receive the prize this year.
Annonse
Many have mentioned the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Sveen also has CPJ and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) high on his list. However, it's only been four years since journalists Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov from Russia received the Peace Prize.
"But like many others, I still think a prize for journalism is possible. Because so many journalists have been killed," he says.
Sveen points to Alfred Nobel's will and its reference to fraternity between nations.
"You can't have genuine fraternity if you don't know what's going on. That would certainly be the committee's reasoning," he says.
"Absurd to even discuss Trump"
But the list of possible candidates is long, according to Sveen.
"The UN, for example, turns 80 years old, so they could honour it as an organisation. Or, if they're very bold, they could award it to the UN organisation for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Or UNICEF, or the international courts," he says.
"If Trump manages to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians, could he perhaps win the prize next year?"
"No. And do you know why? Trump has attacked a rules-based world order. That’s been a guiding principle in the Nobel Committee’s selections since 1901. It’s absurd that the idea of him receiving the Peace Prize is even being discussed," says Sveen.
He recalls when the former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger received the prize in 1973.
"That was scandalous and triggered a major crisis. The Nobel Committee split apart, and two members resigned in protest. I'm absolutely certain they won't repeat anything like that," says Sveen.
