The winner of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize isn't Pope Francis or German Chancellor Angela Merkel or any of the other high-profile objects of speculation. On Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prestigious prize to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a civic group, "for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011." The Quartet formed in 2013, in the chaos unleashed during the Arab Spring, and the Nobel committee gave the prize to the group rather than its four main member organizations — the Tunisian General Labor Union; the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade, and Handicrafts; the Tunisian Human Rights League; and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers — because they "represent different sectors and values in Tunisian society" and thus could "advance peaceful democratic development in Tunisia with great moral authority."
The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet didn't turn Tunisia into a peaceful oasis, the Nobel committee noted: The country still "faces significant political, economic, and security challenges." But the Norwegians said awarding the group the Nobel Peace Prize would serve as "an inspiration to all those who seek to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East, North Africa, and the rest of the world" and, more directly, "as an encouragement to the Tunisian people, who despite major challenges have laid the groundwork for a national fraternity which the committee hopes will serve as an example to be followed by other countries." You can watch the announcement below. Peter Weber
The Week
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