Many similarities can be drawn between Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama or Mandela captured the world’s attention and given their people hope for a better future. When it was announced that Obama was to receive the 2009 Nobel Peace prize, he had been in the White house little under 10 months, it was no wonder that the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision was met with murmurs around the room.
The will of Nobel states that the prize should be given to “the person or persons who in the preceding year have contributed the most for the benefit of peace.” It can be said that Obama has not yet achieved anything concrete, but it is the conviction of the committee that his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples is extraordinary, attaching special importance to Obama's work towards a world without nuclear weapons are worthy of the honour.
Should the committee, then, have waited to award the prize until a definitive breakthrough? Some would say so. By awarding the prize the committee aim to enhance and support what Obama is trying to achieve and to send a clear signal to the world that they wish to advocate his efforts thus far.
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