As the world awaits the announcement of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Friday, October 10th, a compelling question emerges from the list of 338 contenders: Could the recipient be, for the first time in history, an entire nation? South Africa finds itself at the heart of this speculative conversation, championed for its audacious foreign policy and its enduring legacy as a beacon of peaceful transition.
The campaign was initiated by FOR – Fred og rettferdighet (Peace and Justice) – a small left-wing Norwegian political party. In February, FOR made a public case for South Africa to become the first country ever to win the prestigious prize. Their nomination rested on a dual foundation: the nation’s historic internal journey and its contemporary global advocacy.
A Legacy of Peace, A Stance for Justice
FOR’s argument highlighted South Africa’s “peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy,” its voluntary “abandonment of nuclear weapons,” and its past diplomatic efforts, such as attempting to mediate the 2011 civil war in Libya. However, the central pillar of their modern case was South Africa’s decision to bring a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of committing genocide in Gaza.
The party stated that South Africa, “through its actions in the global community, has contributed to fulfilling the objectives that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will,” specifically citing the promotion of ‘fraternity among nations’ and the ‘reduction of military forces’.
A Nomination Shrouded in Secrecy
Despite its advocacy, FOR, as a newly founded party without parliamentary representation, lacks the formal right to submit a nomination. Instead, it publicly encouraged the Norwegian Nobel Committee to consider South Africa on its own initiative. Whether the committee heeded this call remains a mystery, in line with the Nobel tradition of strict confidentiality. The names of nominees are kept secret for 50 years, with the committee only revealing the total number of candidates—338 for this year, a significant increase from 2023.
This cloak of discretion has not stopped speculation. A Wikipedia list of rumoured candidates, compiled from public announcements, features South Africa as the only country, a direct result of FOR’s campaign.
A Global Stage of Contrasting Ambitions
The potential nomination places South Africa in a global field of high-profile individuals, most notably US President Donald Trump. President Trump has been nominated by five individuals and the governments of Israel, Pakistan, and Cambodia for his role in brokering the Abraham Accords and, more recently, a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. In a statement that seemed to bolster his case, Trump announced on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had both signed off on the “first Phase of our Peace Plan.”
This development was welcomed by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), which used the occasion to issue a sharp critique of its own government. The SAJBD applauded the “courageous world leaders” who chose “dialogue, negotiation and diplomacy,” while labelling the South African government’s stance “one-sided and performative,” and a “profound disappointment” for failing to contribute meaningfully to peace efforts.
The debate over the Peace Prize thus encapsulates a broader geopolitical divide. On one side is South Africa, hailed by some for using international legal institutions to challenge powerful nations in defence of human rights. On the other are figures like Trump, credited by others for achieving tangible, if fragile, diplomatic breakthroughs through traditional statecraft.
Whether the Norwegian Nobel Committee will make a historic choice to honour a nation for its collective conscience and controversial principles remains to be seen. Should South Africa win, it would join the ranks of its own peacemaking giants—Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and F.W. de Klerk—and cement its modern identity on the world stage not just as a nation that achieved peace, but as one that dares to fight for it.
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