Jeff Foust’s Space Politics blog has reported on an interesting proposal being advanced by Alan Ladwig, the new deputy associate administrator for communications for public outreach at NASA. Alan Ladwig is proposing that the International Space Station (ISS) be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
“He then added, ‘One of the things my office is going to try and promote this year is to try and get the International Space Station nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. It’s been going on now for ten years. It’s the largest technological international endeavor ever undertaken, and it seems to be going pretty well… I think it’s a pretty good testament to what can be done when we collaborate together.’”
Two things come to mind upon reading this suggestion.
First, the ISS certainly is an example of international cooperation, being a joint project between the United States, Russia, the European Union, Canada, and Japan, among others. While some might argue that the practical benefits of ISS have not yet justified the costs, certainly from a diplomatic standpoint it would seem worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. ISS is certainly more worthy than some recent actual recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. Yassir Arafat, Al Gore, and Barack Obama come to mind.
Second, one wonders whether such campaigns actually work? Mind, the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the prize, is chosen by the Norwegian Parliament and is thus, in theory, subject to some political persuasion. But is the Committee subject to that in actuality?
Foust also raises the question as to who of what would actually get the Nobel Peace Prize for the ISS, since there is no one entity or person running the space station. President Reagan, who first proposed it, is no longer alive and Nobel Peace Prizes are generally not awarded posthumously. In any case, no conservative statesman is every going to get a Nobel Peace Prize, even the winner of the Cold War.
One idea would be to award the Nobel Peace Prize jointly to the space agencies involved in the ISS project; NASA, the European Space Agency, the Russian Space Agency, and so on. The money which goes with the Nobel Peace Prize could go to an education fund or a research grant by prior arrangement.
ISS would not be the first space related Nobel nominee. Law professor and Instapundit blogger Glenn Reynolds nominated Arthur C. Clarke, the famous SF writer, for his idea of the communications satellite. Sadly, the Nobel Committee, with its recent unerring tendency to pass over the deserving for the undeserving, declined to name Clarke while he was alive.
Comments
:)
Third culture kids examiner
Seattle stay-at-home moms examiner
>>Alan Ladwig is proposing that the International Space Station (ISS) be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
He then added, ‘One of the things my office is going to try and promote this year is to try and get the International Space Station nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.<<
Promote? Try? Why is Ladwig unaware of the fact that anyone can make nominations for the Nobel Prizes, absolutely anyone. If he really believes in this then he should, because he certainly can, sit down and write the Nobel Committee and make the nomination. Voila, done. Mark is right though, objects are not really eligible for the prize but organizations, such as the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, have won in the past.
Uh, you guys need some tough-love face-slapping to regain your senses. Singing a few rounds of kum-ba-yah is for sitting around the campfire, not orbiting around the earth.
This noble idea reflects the astronomically-scaled egomania of many members of NASA officialdom and the astronaut corps who see themselves as ending the Cold War with the Apollo-Soyuz handshake and Shuttle-Mir, purely through force of symbolism overcoming harsh earthside reality. This dangerous delusion has the world completely bass-ackwards. Cooperative space projects reflect, rather than instigate, changes in diplomatic relations, and reward those changes once they have occurred – rather than bribing, cajoling, or shaming national leaders into going against their perceptions of self-interest. To claim otherwise, to invert the causal chain, is like the robin imagining her singing brings the spring, or the rooster on his dungpile fantasizing that HE brings the dawn. And it can only lead to bad national choices th
[continued]
... And it can only lead to bad national choices that will only end in shock, dismay, and tears
And I’m a realism-founded fan of the space station, and of the international partnership – but for objective reasons derived from feet on the ground rather than head in (or above) the clouds. There ARE good reasons for making such arrangements, but hollow (and deceptive) symbolism isn’t one of them.
"...and is thus, in theory, subject to some political persuasion."
In theory? The Peace Prize is purely political, who are you trying to kid here? Obama, Carter, Gore, Arafat? Only a certain type of person wins, and they have to have the correct (leftwing) politics.
"President Reagan, who first proposed it, is no longer alive and Nobel Peace Prizes are generally not awarded posthumously. In any case, no conservative statesman is every going to get a Nobel Peace Prize, even the winner of the Cold War."
You're forgetting the history of the ISS. Under Presidents Reagan and Bush, it was going to be Space Station Freedom, a purely American effort. It only became the International Space Station under President Clinton, as announced by Vice President Gore. Both gentlemen have the "correct" politics for the Nobel committee. As Vice President Gore already has his prize, no doubt President Clinton would be the honoree.
Martin, that is incorrect. Europe, Japan, and Canada were partners in the space station effort from the beginning. Clinton did add Russia, though. Mind, I would not put it past the Nobel Committee to give Clinton a peace prize on this flimsy basis.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!