What will happen if Donald Trump does not receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
8. 12. 2025 / Ivan Větvička
Will the American president without the Nobel Peace Prize impose a
500% tariff on Norwegian goods? Or will sanctions be imposed on all
countries associated with the European Economic Area (i.e., the EU +
Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, where the Nobel Peace Prize is
awarded)? Trump may also push for the withdrawal of American troops from
Europe, or he may "only" persistently kick us in the shins, for example
with a series of concessions to Russia.
Donald Trump is a capricious man. His moods are as changeable as April
weather, and his statements reflect his current mood. The only thing
that is certain is that he will be enraged if his current will is not
fulfilled. Democracy, with its checks and balances, is fundamentally
repugnant to him because it hinders his arbitrary power.
The most important pillar of democracy is not free elections, but the
limitation of the principle "might is right". Free elections sometimes
take place even in countries with a dictatorial tradition (for example,
after the death of an autocrat). However, the winner usually "takes
everything" and does not leave the opposition with a healthy share of
power, so it is not a democracy, but a continuous dictatorship that has
changed its face relatively freely.
It is clear that Donald Trump would like to live in such a world. He
has managed to weaken the regulatory mechanisms of power in the US
surprisingly quickly, and Europe should not take his aversion
personally–it is not us Europeans he dislikes, but democracy as such.
This makes the global situation all the more worrying. The patrons of
democracy are no longer the United States, but the European Union, which
is not prepared for such a role because, under the American nuclear
umbrella, it has been able to afford the luxury of wallowing in
trivialities for decades. Today, our strong confederation on paper has
great difficulty effectively resisting the expansion of a weaker
totalitarian Russia, and even such a trifle as whether the Norwegians
will award Trump a medal causes us great concern.
Note:
The accompanying ipicture has been created in Adobe Firefly.
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