It was announced on Friday that the Nobel Peace Prize would go to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet “for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.” The world’s first immediate reaction seemed to be, “Who?”
Historians and bookies alike were placing their bets on big names like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Pope Francis, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. privacy activist Edward Snowden. A peace-making coalition in Tunisia certainly didn’t appear to cross many minds.
“It was a big surprise, but a wise and safe choice,” Øivind Stenersen, a Nobel historian and editor of Nobeliana, said over email. “We believed that the committee would have chosen other candidates like ICAN, Novaya Gazeta or the Pope.”
Tunisian mediators of the so-called National Dialogue Quartet (Tunisian General Labour Union UGTT, Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts UTICA, Tunisian Human Rights League LTDH and Tunisian Order of Lawyers) won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Commitee announced on October 9, 2015. Photo credit: FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images
Unexpected, perhaps, but absolutely brilliant. At a time when the world has watched helplessly as Syria has plunged into brutal chaos, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize directs our attention to a group of people who have contended with — and largely triumphed over — very similar troubles.
Like many others reading about this news, I do not know a great deal about the Tunisian Quartet beyond the basics: The coalition, which is composed of four organized groups representing laborers, lawyers, human rights activists and employers, has been working since 2013 to re-establish democratization in a war-torn country. As The New York Times puts it: “Among the disappointments of what has become known as the Arab Spring — collapsed states in Libya, Syria and Yemen; the return of rule by a military strongman in Egypt; and the rise of the Islamic State in the sectarian caldron of Syria and Iraq — the relative success of Tunisia’s transition to democracy has been a wisp of hope.”
In the past, the Nobel Peace Prize has sometimes been awarded as a way to make a political statement. For instance, neither the European Union nor Barack Obama had proved themselves as peacemakers when they received their awards. Often, though, the award has been given to a person who stands for a movement, a symbolic individual who draws attention to a cause, like former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai or the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso).
In fact, the Nobel Peace Prize would have received widespread acclaim this year if the award committee had chosen someone like Pope Francis. If you look at the list of the most popular peace prize laureates, they tend to have been already famous at the time of nomination: Martin Luther King Jr., Yousafzai, Mother Teresa, Jane Addams, Nelson Mandela and Elie Wiesel.
These popular choices are all magnificent; each of them has inspired millions of people. But this year’s “unobvious” choice is especially gratifying as an example of concerted effort and cooperative leadership.
“Historically the decision fits into the category of prizes intended to strengthen peace process like the 1993 prize to Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk [for their work against apartheid] and the 1998 award to John Hume and David Trimble [for their efforts in Northern Ireland],” Stenersen said in his email. “This year the committee undoubtedly believes that the prize will make the Tunisians more committed in their struggle for democracy. A very ambitious wish, indeed. Hopefully it will turn out positively.”
The news from the Middle East has been devastating for so long that the world has nearly abandoned hope for peace in that region. Awarding this year’s prize to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet draws attention to the truth that if people are determined to cooperate — even in the Middle East — they can create waves of change that can regenerate a nation.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee hopes that this year’s prize will contribute towards safeguarding democracy in Tunisia and be an inspiration to all those who seek to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of the world,” Kaci Kullmann Five, chairwoman of the committee, said in a statement. “More than anything, the prize is intended as an encouragement to the Tunisian people, who despite major challenges have laid the groundwork for a national fraternity which the committee hopes will serve as an example to be followed by other countries.”
For those of us who are leaders on a smaller stage, this is a spectacular example of what can be achieved through vigorous and resolute group leadership.
Christopher B. Nelson is the president of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.
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