My dear friend Anthony Arend is one of the great international law experts, so I take his
comments on Obama's Nobel Peace Prize seriously:
We will never fully know what was in the mind of the Nobel Committee, but it seems to me that a main motive for their decision to award the Prize to Obama is the hope for the world that his election inspired: “Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.” To much of the world, Obama’s election signaled a fundamental new approach to American diplomacy– one that would be less unilateral and more inclusive, one in which human rights would play a more prominent role than it seemed to during much of the previous Administration. Indeed, the Committee’s points to indications that even in the early days of his Administration, Obama is moving in this direction- citing his “vision” on nonproliferation and quoting from his recent United Nations address- “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”
At the end of the day, what the Committee seems to be saying is that even though Obama has not yet had enough time to achieve his goals, his vision (a word used twice in the announcement) is what the world needs. It is a vision that, if implemented, will enhance world peace.
Of course now the challenge is squarely placed at Obama’s door. I am reminded of the last scenes of Saving Private Ryan. Captain John H. Miller, played by Tom Hanks, and his team have just “saved” Private James Francis Ryan. As Miller is dying, he says to Ryan, “James… earn this. Earn it.” No doubt, Obama will hear a similar call as he travels to Oslo to accept the Prize.
Fair enough. Personally, however, I still think the Norwegians gave him the prize as a reward for not being George Bush. It's basically the third time since 2002 that the Committee seemed to make its decision solely as a way of giving Bush the finger.