Earlier this week, the NSA whisleblower was nominated for the Award

Jul 20, 2013 17:06 GMT  ·  By

Earlier this week, Edward Snowden was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by a Swedish sociology professor. However, the road from nominee to actual laureate is quite long.

Many have jumped at the occasion to say that Snowden should indeed get such an honor for the personal risk he took when he chose to reveal the highly spread surveillance programs run by the NSA.

And while this may sound good, the fact is the chances for him to get a Nobel Peace Prize are quite slim.

First and foremost, since the nomination was sent after February 1, which is the deadline for each year, Snowden could perhaps compete with next year’s nominees.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded for over 100 years, and during all this time the Norwegian Nobel Committee has followed the same procedures.

Every year, the Committee invites qualified people to submit nominations, from government members to university professors and former recipients.

This has caused an avalanche of nominations in recent years, reaching as many as 241 in 2011, while in 2013 the number has risen to 259.

Over the years, there has also been some controversy surrounding the prize, with many voicing out their belief that the award has been politicized and it is no longer awarded in accordance with Nobel’s will, but rather with that of greater powers of the world.

According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the recipient of such a prize “shall have done the most or the best work to fraternize between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

If taken literally, it would mean that Edward Snowden isn’t exactly the ideal candidate for the award, since the facts he has revealed have set countries against each other and have created numerous diplomatic tensions between the world’s leaders.

On the other hand, the criteria behind choosing the laureate is a tad more elaborate than the bit of Nobel’s will that was revealed, which could mean that Snowden still has some chance at winning, if the prize is truly awarded on merits.