“Prix Nobel de la paix 2012: Les trois faces de la polémique

This paper offers a typology of the criticisms that have been raised against the attribution of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union. I identify three main lines of contestation, and evaluate their pertinence. First, it has been argued that the attribution of the Peace Prize to the EU is contestable given its fragmented and hybrid nature. Second, observers have noted that the EU has failed (and still fails) in its attempts to bring about peace and justice – some critics even claim that the EU holds responsibility in the suffering of various populations. Third, the fact that the prize has been awarded in flagrant contradiction with A. Nobel’s principle of the past year has also been condemned. By exposing and reviewing these arguments, I show that none of them is fully acceptable given the history of the Nobel Peace Prize – which does not mean, however, that they are not pertinent.