Controversy surrounds Nobel Prize for Peace and Literature categories

Controversy stalks bel prizes for peace and literature in a way it rarely does for science. revamped panel at Swedish Acemy who will hand out bel literature prizes Thursday for both 2018 and 2019 would relish arguments about winners, rar than intrigue about #MeToo scandal that forced institution to suspend prize last year.  And U.S. President Donald Trump has done his part to kindle intrigue about 2019 Peace Prize winner, by simultaneously seeming to pitch himself for prize while also slamming rwegian panel that awards it.

“Controversy is a natural effect of literature prize,” says Mats Malm, Swedish Acemy’s new permanent secretary, appointed to he a reformed 18-person panel after two years of convulsions at prestigious institution. “We want to contribute to international discussion about literature and what it is supposed to be.”

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Doesn't includes members with conflicts of interest or criminal investigations

literary science professor is leing an overhaul of body, which was ripped apart in late 2017 and 2018 by sex assaults involving Jean-Claude Arnault, French husband of a former acemy member and a once-table figure on Sweden’s cultural scene.  Arnault was convicted last year of two rapes in 2011 but t before accusations of abuse h led to a mass exodus of acemy committee members, ouster of n-Permanent Secretary Sara Danius, and absence of a bel Literature Prize for first time since 1943 at height of World War II. With a threat hanging from bel Foundation — body behind bel Prizes — that Swedish Acemy could be stripped of its right to award prize, acemy brought in five external members to help judicate two literature awards this year. At same time, it ousted everyone involved in scandal and it “ longer includes any members who are subject to conflicts of interest or criminal investigations,” according to foundation.

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'Some members enjoy controversy that brings'

Across border, five-person rwegian bel Institute that oversees Peace Prize usually claims t to enjoy controversy that accompanies its choices. But Geir Lundest, n-voting secretary of committee from 1990 to 2014, says some members have tritionally thrived on controversies that high-profile prize inevitably brings. “I am t sure differences between two committees are so big. Literature and Peace prizes are more accessible to ordinary people than prizes for medicine, physics, and chemistry,” he says. “Some of members enjoy controversy that brings. It varies tremendously between members. But many recognize that some sort of controversy goes with territory.” bel committees never anunce names of candidates and minations are t revealed for 50 years. 

Trump reacts on Obama getting bel Peace Prize

Lundest was in charge when bel Peace Prize was awarded to former U.S. President Barak Obama within months of his inauguration in 2009 — a prize that has attracted ire of Trump, his successor. Obama was re “for about 15 seconds” before he was awarded prize, Trump told a press conference in February. Trump has been minated for peace prize by U.S congressmen for opening a dialogue with rth Korea. “I’ll probably never get it, but that’s OK,” Trump said. “y gave it to Obama. He didn’t even kw what he got it for.” Second-guessing thinking of secretive panel is rarely fruitful, but committee is t immune from charms of U.S. presidents. As well as Obama, Woodrow Wilson took prize in 1920 and Jimmy Carter won it in 2002.

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Greta Thunberg being considered by British

However, a better signal for this year’s award might be former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who won peace prize alongside International Panel on Climate Change in 2007. Gore at time was face of climate movement, a mantle w sitting on slender shoulders of 16-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden. teen activist bolstered her profile last month, stepping onto global st at U.N. to berate world leers. 
“How dare you?” she kept saying to some of world’s most powerful people, accusing m of igring science behind climate change. “You are failing us.” Last month, Thunberg won Right Livelihood Award, often called “alternative bel.” British bookmakers have Thunberg as hot peace prize favourite this year, with Trump listed as a rank outsider behind several or world leers, including two prime ministers, Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and Jacinda ern of New Zealand, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. panel could also choose to ackwledge joint leership of Greece’s Alexis Tsipras and rth Macedonia’s Zoran Zaev. two prime ministers put 30 years of acrimony between ir neighbouring countries behind m when y agreed that former Yugoslav republic should officially be renamed from Macedonia to rth Macedonia and Greece should drop its objections to its neighbour joining NATO.

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bel week begins on Monday

On literature side, British website Nicer Odds has solved dilemma of having two winners anunced this year by only taking bets on 2019 winner. Among favourites are Canian poet Anne Carson, velists Maryse Conde of Gueloupe and Can Xue of China and Canian writer Margaret Atwood, author of “ Handmaid’s Tale,” which has been me into a hit TV series. 

bel week begins Monday with awards for physiology or medicine. Physics Prize is handed out Tuesday, chemistry following day, this year’s double-heer Literature Prizes will be awarded Thursday and Peace Prize will be anunced on Friday. ecomics prize — officially kwn as Bank of Sweden Prize in Ecomic Sciences in Memory of Alfred bel, which is only prize t created by Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite — will be awarded on Oct. 14. 
bel’s reason for having an institution in rway hand out Peace Prize while ors are awarded in Sweden is unclear, but during his lifetime two Scandinavian countries were joined in a union, which was dissolved in 1905.  bel fame this year comes with a 9-million kror ($918,000) cash award, a gold medal and a diploma. laureates get m at elegant ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo on Dec. 10 — anniversary of bel’s death in 1896.