Noble Peace-Making—With Benefits

This chapter investigates Norway’s strong self-image as a “peace nation”, with a perceived special responsibility for spreading peace throughout the world. Since 1901, Norway has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but its role as peace facilitator blossomed fully with the Palestine-Israel peace negotiations in the 1990s, known as the Oslo Accords. This was followed by multiple peacemaker engagements across the world in the subsequent decades. What have been the main motivational factors behind these efforts? While acknowledging the role of good intentions, the chapter concludes that peace-making was seen as a foreign-policy tool for promoting national interests. It was believed that it could open opportunities in other foreign-policy areas and increase Norway’s soft power. Furthermore, the chapter discusses why peace-making ambitions and efforts have declined over the last decade. One aspect is reduced confidence in the effect of Norwegian peace-making in light of the failure of previous peace processes. Another is that Norwegians seem to have put greater emphasis on more direct national interests.