The Norwegian Nobel Committee is closely monitoring shifts in an international order in turmoil as it prepares to announce the winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, according to committee secretary Kristian Berg Harpviken.
Speaking in an interview on Monday about the panel's deliberations, Harpviken said members are keeping a close watch on global transformations and efforts to establish new forms of international cooperation, Reuters reported. Harpviken serves as secretary to the five-member committee, where he prepares nomination dossiers and participates in discussions without holding voting rights.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for selecting the Peace Prize laureate each year. Unlike the other Nobel awards, which are decided and presented in Stockholm, Sweden, the Peace Prize is administered in Oslo, Norway, by a panel appointed by the Norwegian parliament.
Harpviken explained that while the committee understands the international framework being left behind, it remains uncertain how much of that order will survive or what form it will take in the future. He added that panel members take these developments very seriously during their discussions, noting that several international trends directly threaten principles defended by the Peace Prize throughout its history.
Criteria for the Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize was established in 1895 through the last will and testament of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel. Nobel, a chemist and engineer who invented dynamite, instructed that the award should honor those who have done the most or best work to foster fraternity between nations, reduce or abolish standing armies, and promote peace congresses.
When asked whether the panel might honor a candidate contributing to a new global framework, Harpviken noted that individuals capable of guiding transitions toward new institutions, initiatives, and cooperative models matching Nobel's vision could hold particular importance. He stated that evaluating such contributions aligns directly with the operating criteria of the committee.
Despite ongoing worldwide instability, Harpviken emphasized that there is no shortage of qualified nominees and that the Peace Prize maintains its fundamental relevance. He said that while he has no worries regarding the prize itself, he remains concerned about the broader direction in which the world is heading.
Physics Award and Nobel Schedule
The committee's update coincided with the announcement of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics, which was awarded on Monday to Belgian scientist Francis Halzen. Halzen was recognized for his discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos and his decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
Neutrinos are elementary subatomic particles with virtually no mass that travel across space at near light speed. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a high-tech cosmic particle detector constructed deep beneath the Antarctic ice sheet at the South Pole to record high-energy astrophysical phenomena.
The annual Nobel Prize announcements will continue on Wednesday with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, followed by the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize winner will be revealed on Friday, while the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is set to be announced on October 12.
