How does the Nobel Peace Prize work? - Adeline Cuvelier and Toril Rokseth

2,553,202 views ・ 2016-10-06

TED-Ed


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What do a seventeen-year-old Pakistani,
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a Norwegian explorer,
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a Tibetan monk,
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and an American pastor have in common?
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They were all awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Among the top prestigious awards in the world,
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this prize has honored some of the most celebrated
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and revered international figures and organizations in history.
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To understand how it all got started, we have to go back to the 1800s.
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Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel
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was then mostly known for the invention of dynamite,
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a breakthrough which launched his career as a successful inventor
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and businessman.
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30 years later, he had become extremely wealthy,
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but never married,
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and had no children.
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When his will was opened after his death,
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it came as a surprise that his fortune was to be used for five prizes
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in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace.
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These prizes illustrated his lifelong commitment to sciences
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and his passion for literature.
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But what about peace?
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Because Nobel's name was tied to inventions used in the war industry,
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many have assumed that he created the peace prize out of regret.
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However, this is all speculation as he never expressed any such sentiments,
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and his inventions were also used for constructive purposes.
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Instead, many historians connect Alfred Nobel's interest for the peace cause
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to his decade-long friendship and correspondence
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with an Austrian pacifist named Bertha Von Suttner.
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Von Suttner was one of the leaders of the international peace movement,
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and in 1905, after Nobel's death,
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she became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Nobel's will outlined three criteria for the Peace Prize,
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which unlike the other Sweden-based prizes,
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would be administered in Norway.
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Disarmament, peace congresses, and brotherhood between nations.
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These standards have since been expanded
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to include other ways of promoting peace,
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such as human rights and negotiations.
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And the prize doesn't just have to go to one person.
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About a third of Noble Peace Prizes have been shared
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by two or three laureates.
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So how do nominations for the prize work?
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According to the Nobel Foundation,
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a valid nomination can come from a member of a national assembly,
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state government,
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or an international court.
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Eligible nominators also include university rectors,
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professors of the social sciences, history, philosophy, law, and theology,
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and previous recipients of the Peace Prize.
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But if you want to know more about who was recently nominated,
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you'll have to be patient.
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All information about nominations remains secret for 50 years.
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Take Martin Luther King Jr.
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We didn't actually know who nominated him until 2014.
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His nominators turned out to be the Quakers,
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who had won the prize previously,
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and eight members of the Swedish Parliament.
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There's no limit to the number of times a person or organization can be nominated.
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In fact, Jane Addams,
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recognized as the founder of social work in the United States,
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was nominated 91 times before finally being awarded the prize.
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The absence of a laureate can also be symbolic.
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The 1948 decision not to award the prize following the death of Mahatma Gandhi
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has been interpreted as an attempt to respectfully honor
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the so-called missing laureate.
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As with the other Nobel Prizes,
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the Peace Prize can't be awarded posthumously.
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The secret selection process takes almost a year,
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and is carried out by the five appointed members
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of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
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who are forbidden from having any official political function in Norway.
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Starting with a large pool of nominations,
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exceeding 300 in recent years,
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they access each candidate's work and create a short list.
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Finally, the chairman of the Nobel Committee
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publicly announces the laureate in October.
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The awards ceremony takes place on December 10th,
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the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
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The prize itself includes a gold medal
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inscribed with the Latin words, "Pro pace et fraternitate gentium,"
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or "For the peace and brotherhood of men,"
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as well as a diploma and a large cash prize.
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Recently, it's been 8 million Swedish kronor,
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or roughly a million US dollars,
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which is split in the case of multiple laureates.
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And while laureates can use the prize money as they choose,
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in recent years, many have donated it to humanitarian or social causes.
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For many years, the Nobel Peace Prize was predominately awarded
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to European and North American men.
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But in recent years, significant changes have been taking place,
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making the prize more global than ever.
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23 organizations and 103 individuals,
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that's 87 men and 16 women,
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have made up the 126 Nobel Peace Prize laureates in history.
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They include Desmond Tutu for his nonviolent campaign against apartheid
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in South Africa,
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Jody Williams for her campaign to ban and clear anti-personnel mines,
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Rigoberta Menchú Tum for her work for social justice and reconciliation
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based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples,
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Martti Ahtisaari for his efforts to resolve international conflicts
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in Namibia, Kosovo, and Indonesia,
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and Aung San Suu Kyi for her nonviolent struggle for democracy
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and human rights in Myanmar.
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They're just a few examples of the people who have inspired us,
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challenged us,
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and demonstrated through their actions
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that there are many paths to peace.
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