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By Mihar Dias and Tan Sri Jawhar Hassan
“Do you still take the Nobel Peace Prize seriously?” I asked half-jokingly over coffee with a man who’d spent his career dissecting world politics — the former head of Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS).
He grinned. “Only as a comedy. It’s a not-so-noble Nobel, if you ask me.”
That set the tone.
Over a cup of long black, we traced the prize’s long, ironic journey from idealism to absurdity. “It was meant to celebrate peace,” he said, “yet it’s often given to men of war — or at best, men of war and peace.”
He rattled off examples faster than I could sip. Theodore Roosevelt, a champion of the “big stick” policy, honoured for negotiating peace while brandishing battleships.
Yitzhak Rabin, once head of an Israeli terrorist group before becoming Prime Minister. Jimmy Carter, awarded for diplomacy after decades in power politics.
Barack Obama — crowned peacemaker before he’d even earned his first foreign policy bruise. And yes, even Donald Trump got a nomination or two, for what — tweeting peace into existence?
“Sometimes,” he said with a wry smile, “the Nobel Committee seems to confuse good intentions with good outcomes.”
It’s a paradox Alfred Nobel himself might have appreciated — a good man who gave the world dynamite, then tried to buy redemption by funding peace. You couldn’t script irony better than that.
“But that’s exactly why we need a new kind of prize,” my companion continued. “Something that honours real peace — not political posturing. A Mandela Peace Prize.”
The idea instantly made sense.
Mandela, after all, was no armchair idealist. He was a man of infinite mercy — who forgave his people’s tormentors and shared freedom’s victory with their oppressors.
He didn’t just talk about peace; he lived it. And the world revered him because he showed that reconciliation, not revenge, is the highest form of strength.
We imagined the prize’s form — simple, dignified, unpretentious. An annual award, chaired by an eminent South African, perhaps, bestowed on those who embody forgiveness and moral courage. Not for speeches in Oslo, but for sacrifices in silence.
No PR fanfare. No backroom lobbying. Just recognition for those who turn pain into healing and conflict into coexistence.
As we got up to leave, the former ISIS chief chuckled softly. “Maybe one day,” he said, “peace will stop being an event — and start being a virtue again.”
And that’s the truth.
Until then, the Nobel Peace Prize remains what it’s become — a shiny badge pinned to powerful lapels, more about prestige than principle.
Maybe it’s time to retire the Nobel’s irony — and let Mandela’s legacy remind the world what peace really looks like.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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