A Noble Peace

Today, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank for innovative efforts to reduce poverty in Bangladesh. Typically, the award is given to political leaders, negotiators, arms control advocates or human rights activists, but this represents the second time in three years that a promoter of international development has been a recipient of the peace prize. In this case, Yunus and the Grameen Bank were rewarded for their efforts to create economic development through micro-credit lending, especially empowering women by letting them borrow small amounts of money to start businesses. The lending began in 1976 with $30 divided among 42 people to help them buy weaving stools. By 2006, the Bank claims to have 6.6 million borrowers, 97% of which are women, and has lent almost $6 billion. The long-term vision of Muhammad Yunus’ and his work is “to eliminate poverty in the world.”

While political leaders and negotiators are easier to identify as creating peace in a given year, and thus are usually the front-runners for the award, the principles behind Yunus and the Grameen Bank should be rewarded as advancing peace. It has been articulately discussed in multiple forums (Becker-Posner, New Republic, and National Bureau of Economic Research) that there is no identifiable nexus between poverty and terrorism (one of the biggest topic of international development over the last few years). However, there is an undisputable link between poverty and conflict. Thus, by helping to advance international development and reduce abject poverty, Yunus and the Grameen Bank are helping to curb civil wars and the characteristics that make states prone to violence. This is a true advancement of peace and worthy of the 2006 award.