Nobel Prize in Peace, Economy & Literature

1.

Enlist Nobel prize winners for 2024 in Peace, Economy & Literature?

• The Nobel Prize 2024 announcements are being made from October 7 to 14, celebrating exceptional achievements across various fields.

Stream	Winner	Contribution
Literature	Author Han Kang	The Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to 53-year-old South Korean novelist Han Kang for her “intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life”
Peace	Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo	The Nobel Peace Prize 2024 has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, an organization of survivors of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings. In doing so, the Nobel Committee has highlighted the power of their testimonies and the need for disarmament.
Economics	Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson.	US-based academics Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson won the 2024 Nobel economics prize "for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity"

2.

What is Nihon Hidankyo?

• The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
• The members of Nihon Hidankyo are survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in 1945 and are so-called “Hibakusha” or “bomb-affected people” who spearheaded the global movement to end nuclear weapons.
• The Nihon Hidankyo organization was formed in 1956 and is the largest and most influential organization of atomic bomb survivors in Japan.
• Its mission has been to raise global awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.
• By sharing their personal stories of the devastation they experienced in August 1945 they have helped shape the international “nuclear taboo,” a powerful norm stigmatizing the use of nuclear arms as morally unacceptable.
• One of the reasons behind the Nobel Committee’s decision this year is that this taboo is now “under pressure”.

3.

How 2024 Nobel follows other prizes for disarmament?

• The 2024 Nobel Peace prize recipients are the latest in a list of Nobel awardees who have worked for disarmament.
• At least 10 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded for the cause since 1901.
• Former Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato was one of the two prize winners in 1974, credited with Japan sticking to its policy of not acquiring nuclear weapons.

• Most recently, the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.

• Incidentally, ICAN has worked with Nihon Hidanyo to document the impact of nuclear weapons.
• Recognition given to the disarmament movement likely stems from the man behind the prize, Alfred Nobel.
• In his will, Alfred Nobel asked that his money be used to award excellence in the sciences, literature and peace.
• For the award in peace category, the criteria was a person “who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses.”

4.

Why is the Nobel Peace Prize awarded in Norway?

• Since 1901, when Nobel Prizes were first given, the Peace Prize has been awarded by a committee of five members, appointed by the Norwegian Parliament Storting in Oslo and not in the Swedish capital in accordance with Alfred Nobel's will.
• Sir Alfred Nobel never disclosed why he didn't give the task of awarding the Peace Prize to a Swedish body.
• The reasons are speculative:
• One argument is that Nobel admired Norwegian patriot and leading author Bjornstjerne Bjornson while another is that the Storting was the first national legislature to vote in support for the international peace movement.
• Some speculate that Nobel may have thought Norway would be a better location for the prize because it didn't have the same militaristic traditions as Sweden.
• At the end of the 19th century, the Norwegian parliament was involved in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's efforts to resolve conflicts through mediation and arbitration.

5.

What is the contribution of economists who are awarded the Nobel prize in Economics?

• Three US-based economists Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A Robinson have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity”.
• The Nobel citation states the three economists have helped us understand differences in prosperity between nations.
• They have highlighted the significance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity.
• They have highlighted the significance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity.
• The laureates define institutions as the comprehensive set of rules that govern the behavior of individuals within a society or nation.
• Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A Robinson have distinguished between inclusive and extractive institutions.
• Inclusive institutions: An inclusive institutional framework refers to the existence of democracy, law and order, protection of property rights, etc.
• Extractive institutions: An extractive institutional framework typically refers to a lack of rule of law, of power being concentrated in the hands of a few (autocracy or dictatorship), and the associated risks of expropriation.
• They found that one important explanation for the current differences in prosperity is the political and economic systems that the colonists introduced, or chose to retain, from the 16th century onward.

6.

What is the history of the Nobel prize?

• The Nobel Prize was set up when businessman and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel died and left the majority of his fortune to the establishment of prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.
• Alfred Nobel was an inventor, entrepreneur, scientist and businessman who also wrote poetry and drama.
• His varied interests are reflected in the Nobel Prizes which he laid the foundation for in 1895 in his last will and testament.
• His will stated that the prizes should be awarded to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” 
• The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901 and they have been awarded annually since then. 
• There have been years in that time when the Nobel Prizes have not been awarded - mostly during World War I (1914–1918) and II (1939–1945).

7.

What are the Nobel Prize categories?

• The Nobel Prize is awarded for outstanding efforts in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Economics, and Peace.
• As per the will of Alfred Nobel the Nobel Prize categories are physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.
• In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
• The Swedish Academy gives the prize for literature, the Karolinska Institute for Physiology or Medicine, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for Physics, Chemistry, and Economics.
• The Nobel Peace Prize has been given out by the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee.
• The prize money for the awards comes from a will made by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish scientist who founded the award.

8.

How many people can share the same Nobel Prize?

• A Nobel Prize can be shared by up to three individuals, or in the case of the peace prize, it can also be awarded to an organization.
• The rule that a prize can only be awarded to three people comes from the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, which is responsible for fulfilling the intentions of Nobel’s will.
• It specifically states that in no case may a prize amount be divided between more than three persons.

9.

Can a Nobel prize be awarded posthumously?

• No, a Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously.
• However, since 1974, if the recipient dies after the prize has been announced they can still be awarded it.
• Previously, a person could be awarded a prize posthumously if they had already been nominated before 1 February of the same year.
• Following the 2011 announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, it was discovered that one of the medicine laureates, Ralph Steinman, had passed away three days earlier.
• The Board of the Nobel Foundation examined the statutes, and came to the conclusion that Ralph Steinman should continue to remain a Nobel Prize laureate, as the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet had announced the 2011 Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine without knowing of his death.

10.

Who selects the Nobel Prize laureates?

• In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established.
• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry
• Karolinska Institutet (now The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet) is responsible for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• The Swedish Academy is responsible for the Nobel Prize in Literature
• A committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) for selecting the candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize
• The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was instituted in 1968, on the tercentenary of the bank and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was given the task of selecting the economic sciences laureates.

11.

What does the Nobel Prize consist of?

• The awardee of the Nobel Prize is conferred with three things- a medal, a diploma and award money.
• The Nobel Prize insignia are made of 24 karat gold plated with green gold.
• They are about 65 millimeters in diameter and weigh about 175 grams.
• The medals are awarded to the laureates at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
• The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901 and carried a cash award of SEK 150,782, equivalent to SEK 8.8 million in 2022, which was roughly $900,000. The 2023 Nobel Prizes were worth SEK 11 million, which is about the same amount as 1901, adjusted for inflation.

12.

Enlist the first Nobel prize winners?

13.

How are Nobel Laureates selected?

• A nomination for the Nobel Prize may be submitted by any person who meets the nominating criteria.
• The nominees' names and other information about the nominations cannot be revealed until 50 years later.

Procedure	Analysis
Who can nominate?	Nominations to most of the Nobel prizes are by invitation only. However, anyone who meets the nominating criteria can nominate the candidate. Each year, thousands of University professors, members of academies, and previous Nobel Laureates, and members of parliamentary assemblies are asked to submit candidates for the Nobel Prize for the coming year. After receiving the nominations, respective institutions of different fields are responsible for the selection of candidates.
Process of selection	September: The Nobel committee invites qualified personnel to nominate extraordinary work. January: January 31 is the deadline for submitting nominations February: The Nobel committee screens the nominations and selects preliminary candidates. March-May: In spring, the committee meets and consults with experts. June-August: The Nobel committee puts together the report with the expert recommendations. September: The Nobel committee submits the final recommendation report to the respective academies. October: The Nobel Laureates are chosen through a majority of votes. The names of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates are then announced. December: The Nobel Laureates receive their prizes.

14.

What are the criteria for becoming a nominator?

• Only people who fulfill the criteria set out by the prize awarding institutions are allowed to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize.

15.

Enlist the Nobel prize winners from India?

17.

Enlist a few controversies surrounding the Nobel prize?

Controversies	Analysis
Lack of diversity	The Nobel Prizes have been criticized for their lack of diversity, particularly among women and people from outside of Europe and the US. For example, in 2023, Carolyn Bertozzi was the only woman to win a science prize. So far, 109 individuals have won the peace award but only 18 were women, including Mother Teresa in 1979 and Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991.
Political bias	The peace and literature awards have been accused of being politicized, with some questioning whether winners are selected based on their work or their political views. For example, President Barack Obama won the peace prize in 2009, less than a year after taking office.
Premature understanding of peace	The award has been criticized for its premature or faulty understanding of peace or for being politically motivated. For example, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the prize in 2019 for ending the 20-year conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia by establishing a peace agreement. However, a conflict started in northern Ethiopia in November 2020, and Abiy has been criticized for human rights violations and war crimes committed by his forces in the Tigray region.
Controversial winners	Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his negotiations to end the Vietnam War. But Kissinger was also accused of several war crimes during the Cold War, including bombings in Cambodia in 1969 and 1970.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell	Burnell discovered pulsars in 1967, but only Antony Hewish and Martin Ryle were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974.
Adolph Hitler	Hitler barred Germans from accepting Nobel Prizes and created the German National Prize for Art and Science.
The European Union, Nobel Peace Prize:2012	The Nobel peace prize in 2012 was given to the EU for over six decades contribution to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. However many complained about the choice, as the European Union was dealing with several pressing economic problems, including the Greek debt crisis, and because several European countries make and sell weapons.
Mahatma Gandhi (by omission)	In 2006, the former director of the Nobel Institute, Geir Lundestad, said the greatest omission in the prize’s history was never awarding the peace prize to the Indian political activist Mahatma Gandhi. According to Lundestad, Gandhi was shortlisted five times (twice before World War II, then in 1946, 1947 and 1948), but the committee’s Euro-centric viewpoint and its failure to appreciate the struggle for freedom in colonies kept Gandhi from receiving the award. “Gandhi could do without the Nobel Peace Prize. Whether the Nobel committee can do without Gandhi, is the question,” said Lundestad.
1994 Nobel peace prize	Nobel peace prize in 1994 was given to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for their work on the Oslo Peace Accords. The decision received criticism, not only because the awards are generally seen to have failed at ending the Israel-Palestine conflict but because of Arafat himself. Many critics noted that while Arafat was head of Fatah, the PLO(The Palestine Liberation Organization) group engaged in acts of terrorism. A member of the committee, Kare Kristiansen, resigned over Arafat’s nomination, and in an article for the Times of Israel in 2012, American columnist Jay Nordlinger called Arafat “the worst man ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.”

What is the relevance of the topic for UPSC CSE?

For Prelims: Nobel Prize, Computational Protein Design, Machine Learning with Artificial Neural Networks,

For Mains:Discovery of microRNA and its role in posttranscriptional gene regulation.

Some Previous Years Prelims Questions