Medal Fatigue

Although the gold medal of the Nobel Peace Prize bears the motto PRO PACE ET FRATERNITATE GENTIUM (For Peace and the Brotherhood of Nations), the selection of the recipient often triggers sniping from those who disagree with the choice. The fusillade is heaviest, however, when the committee chooses not to recognize an achieved peace but to promote ongoing negotiations. And as honored as the prize is, its clout does not always ensure success.

Take the 1973 prize, which was awarded to U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and North Viet Nam's Le Duc Tho for "negotiating an end to the war in Viet Nam." The pair had only signed a cease-fire, and a feeble one at that; word of the truce had ignited new fighting in Laos and Kampuchea. Tho refused to accept the award. Brotherhood did not even prevail on the Nobel Committee: two of its five members resigned in protest. Though the Kissinger- Tho pact removed American troops from combat, the war did not end until 1975.

The 1978 prize had a more ambiguous outcome. Awarded to President Anwar el- Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel, the medal recognized the two leaders for signing a preliminary "framework for peace" at Camp David that September. Though Sadat and Begin did sign a full-fledged treaty the following March, the pact failed to bring about a close relationship between Israel and Egypt. Even the harmony between Sadat and Begin was shaky. Just days before the laureates were named, Israel announced plans to increase Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. As a result, Sadat refused to attend the award ceremony in Oslo.

The medal is not always the kiss of death. The 1971 prize boosted West German Chancellor Willy Brandt and his policy of Ostpolitik, aimed at improving relations with Eastern Europe. Oscar Arias Sanchez can only hope that this year's award will have an equally beneficial effect.