The Nobel Peace Prize: Luminosity Or Obscurity

Improved Essays
The Nobel Peace Prize: Luminosity or Obscurity

Peace is more than just the absence of war, people all over the world desire peace, the right to voice their own opinions, and live free within their own country. There are many people throughout the world that continue to advocate for peace in one way or another. Albeit, the world is far from a peaceful place yet, they still try. The compassion and commitment shown for these causes is outstanding. When considering the Nobel Peace Prize, it maintains its value as evidenced by the many notable people and organizations to whom it is awarded. The Nobel Peace Prize is arguably the most prestigious prize awarded for the promotion of peace. The newspaper article ‘Losing its Lustre’ by The Economist,
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If anything the global fame and prestige has only added to its worth over the last hundred years. Mainly because of the broad use of the term ‘peace’ it is, in itself the essence of the prize. Of course, whenever the prize was first envisioned no one could have anticipated the vast change in the dynamic of what makes a peacemaker (Dungen 510). The Nobel Prize is the standard to which all other peace prizes are compared. Not to mention, that the Nobel Peace Prize is the only one who hands out a prize annually, and is also the one with the highest amount of monetary value too. Which enables the winners to further their quest for peace. Since there is never a guarantee that that money can buy prestige, even in the long term, it seems unlikely that there will ever be a serious challenger to the respected distinction reserved by the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Prize has contributed so much to the gradual understanding, and the acceptance that peace is a desired and attainable goal. On the same token, the historical value is a characteristic that is not shared with by any other prize (Dungen 513-18). The attention bestowed upon some winner’s is often times, an advantage in itself by providing an opportunity to bring people together to help raise awareness for a variety of good …show more content…
Her writings about the impending arms race would eventually become key to the decision to add a provision of a prize for peace in his will (Ringertz). In the beginning the prize was only awarded to larger organizations or individuals with some type of ties to the Inter-Parliamentary Committee. Throughout the evolution of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee continuously displays a vast understanding of how the meaning of peace has changed therefore, they adjust their decisions accordingly (Lundestad). According to Dungen, he asserts that the Nobel Peace Prize, is the most general award given for peace, and is not limited to any particular kind of work, person, or region which makes the prize even more noteworthy

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