As the world continues to react to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, both Americans and people around the world ought to look back to the last sitting president to receive that coveted distinction..
Woodrow Wilson, the only American president to have earned a PhD before or since his time in office (1913-21), was an unlikely candidate to receive an international reputation. After deciding to enter World War I on the side of the Allies on 2 April 1917, however, he would cement his legacy as the greatest crusader for justice and peace in the world.
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When awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919, Wilson was an international icon and something akin to a cult of personality in Europe. He had tipped the scales of war and secured an Allied victory after four years of brutal fighting. Rather than end the war and withdraw into relative isolationism, Wilson had a vision of a world based on human rights and international law. On 8 January 1918, several months prior to the end of the war, he delivered the Fourteen Points - a peace program for Europe and the entire international community.
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Although points 5-13 were time-specific to the geographical and political status of Europe, points 1-4 and 14 changed the scope of international relations in the twentieth century and inspired millions in the process.
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Wilson's Five Timeless Points
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1. Open covenants of peace...diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in public view
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Secret alliances between the nations of Europe were a significant factor in the march to war in 1914. In declaring war on a another country, a nation could never be sure how many other countries would come to the aid of its enemy. Due to the number of secret alliances in 1914, a dispute between two nations quickly deteriorated into a Continental war. Hence, Wilson wanted diplomatic transparency.
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2. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas...
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Neutral nations can rarely co-exist with belligerent nations in times of war. In order to protect their trade, neutral nations are often compelled to take sides. In 1812 and 1914, the United States saw its trade threatened and decided to engage militarily to protect its interests. While economics may not have been the primary factor for its interventions, it played a definite role.
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3. The Removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of equality of trade...
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Free trade has been the mantra of the US government since its creation in 1787. As economic disputes can lead to war, Wilson wanted to have a system of not only free trade but also fair trade to prevent future disruptions in the world order.
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4. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety...
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Arms makers in Europe and elsewhere raked in massive profits at the end the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century - especially Krupp - the giant German arms production maker. In Wilson's time, most intellectuals and politicians believed that the overproduction of weapons was a direct cause of war. A nation awash in superior weaponry would be tempted to use its might for unjust conquest. Wilson's open call for all nations to regulate their weapons stock was revolutionary and anticipated later aspirations to reduce nuclear stockpiles a half a century later.
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14. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike...
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Wilson would succeed in his noble aspiration to create the League of Nations, which ultimately became the United Nations, yet the United States Senate blocked US entry into the new international body due to concerns over losing its sovereignty.
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The last sitting president to receive the Nobel Peace Prize was truly deserving. He saw the tragedy of WWI as a pivotal moment in history to remake the world along more rational lines with a logical set of international rules and a renewed emphasis on open dialogue and diplomacy over military saber-rattling.
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President Obama has been following Wilson's lead since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Congratulations, Mr. President. Well done.
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(Photo: Scholar-President Woodrow Wilson at his desk)
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J Roquen