A Nobel Peace Prize for John Kerry? It could happen.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif might just have a shot at the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for reaching a historic nuclear deal on Tuesday. If that sounds a tad premature, welcome to the wild world of Nobel Prize forecasting.
The Swedish and Norwegian Nobel committee seems to favor nuclear non-proliferation activists in years ending in fives, Reuters notes: Soviet nuclear scientist and human rights reformer Andrei Sakharov won in '75; the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War were honored in '85; physicist and disarmament promoter Joseph Rotblat received the award in '95; and the International Atomic Energy Agency took the Nobel in 2005. Reuters chalks up the 10-year intervals as the committee's way of memorializing the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.
If that's not convincing enough, Kerry and Zarif have already locked up an important endorsement in Sweden, where Tariq Rauf, the director of the Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), has already called for the pair to be honored with the Peace Prize.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Kerry and Zarif are far from locks. Asle Sveen, a Norwegian expert on the Nobel Prize, told Reuters the committee would likely also be considering peace efforts between Colombia's government and Marxist guerrillas. Pope Francis and a Russian newspaper critical of Vladimir Putin are also rumored to be among the 276 candidates in the running for the 2015 prize.
Here's another catch: Kerry and Zarif are only eligible for the award if they were added to the long list of candidates before the nomination period closed back in February. There won't be a conclusive answer either way until the award is announced in October.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
'His story should be here'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Not cross buns': the row over recipe revamps
Talking Point New versions of the Easter favourite have sparked controversy but sales are soaring
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
The England kit: a furore over the flag
Why everyone's talking about Nike's redesign of the St George's Cross on the collar of the English national team's shirt has caused controversy
By The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published