REAL Nobel Peace Prize

➡️ ️The Real Nobel Peace Prize - Fredrik S. Heffermehl

Guide to the Real Nobel Peace Prize founded by the late Fredrik S. Heffermehl, a Norwegian lawyer and author, who long championed a critical examination of the Nobel Peace Prize and its alignment with Alfred Nobel's original vision.

Summerised in his book, "The Nobel Peace Prize: What Nobel Really Wanted" Heffermehl argued that the prize has frequently deviated from Nobel's original criteria to reward those dedicated to disarmament, demilitarisation, peace negotiations, mediation, peace journalism, and conflict resolution.

With only 36 out of 134 recipients qualifying according to Nobel’s founding principles, Heffermehl set out to spread awareness of this so-called Nobel Peace Prize fraud.

Below we list some of the most controversial Nobel Peace Prize laureates:

• Henry Kissinger (1973) - The former U.S. Secretary of State was awarded the prize for his negotiations in ending the Vietnam War. Kissinger was also accused of several war crimes during the Cold War including bombings in Cambodia.

• Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres (1994) - The Palestinian leader, Israeli Prime Minister, and Israeli Foreign Minister were all awarded the prize for their work on the Oslo Peace Accords. Arafat received enormous criticism for acts of terrorism carried out by Fatah while he was in leadership.

• Barak Obama (2009) - Obama received the award during his first year of presidency which many critics deemed way too early. Obama’s administration was responsible for U.S. involvement in wars in Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Yemen. 

• Abiy Ahmed (2019) - Ethiopia's Prime Minister won the prize for ending the 20-year conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia with the creation of a peace agreement. This agreement was however broken just a year later in 2020 as conflict erupted again in Northern Ethiopia. Forces acting under Ahmed have been accused of human rights violations and war crimes.

The award's prestige has been lost the further it has drifted from supporting peace. Other criticisms include political influence, increasing Eurocentricity, and sexism. By the year 2022, of all the 960 Nobel Prizes awarded (plus 30 organisations) only 61 were women.

Fredrik S. Heffermehl

Heffermehl's advocacy for a return to Nobel's original criteria has sparked international debate. His work questioned whether political and commercial interests have skewed the selection process. By bringing greater transparency to the criteria and selection process, Heffermehl sought to ensure that the Nobel Peace Prize upholds both its founder's legacy and continues to serve as a meaningful catalyst for global peace.

Heffermehl established an alternative prize, the REAL Nobel Peace Prize in order to honour those who align with the original will of Alfred Nobel. The first-ever recipient in 2024 was David Swanson, the founding director of World Beyond War, the global anti-war movement.

If the Nobel Prize is losing its credibility, it also loses the impact that the prize can have on world peace. We must ensure that, first and foremost, this remains the primary goal.

In the words of Fredrik Heffermehl -

“The main obstacle to global peace is the common belief that it is impossible.”

Author: Rachael Mellor, 29.11.24 licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0

For further reading on the Real Nobel Peace Prize see below ⬇️