Nobel Peace Prize: the message behind Navi Pillay’s win
Por C. Uday Bhaskar — South China Morning Post – News feed
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Opinion C. Uday Bhaskar Nobel Peace Prize: the message behind Navi Pillay’s win
With global institutions under attack and Trump’s power politics on the rise, the award is a firm rejection of the ‘might is right’ doctrine
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C. Uday Bhaskar Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar is director of the Society for Policy Studies (SPS), an independent think tank based in New Delhi. Published: 8:30pm, 16 Oct 2026 The awarding of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay matters for reasons that go well beyond the laureate herself.
The award does three things at once. First, it restores credibility to the prize. Second, it rejects in unambiguous terms the Thrasymachian doctrine that might is right, which has become the operating philosophy of major powers. Third, it highlights a warning of what happens when a hegemon decides it is above the law.
The correction was overdue. Last year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee gave the Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado , in what was widely read as a political signal. Machado, however, then gave her prize to US President Donald Trump. Whatever one’s view of Venezuelan politics , that act made a mockery of an institution founded on Alfred Nobel’s will: that the prize go to the person who has done the most for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the promotion of peace congresses. A Nobel Prize cannot be re-gifted like a souvenir. As the organisers made clear, “a medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot”. Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice