The Nobel Peace Prize has a history of turning political moments into global milestones. For US presidents, the list is short: Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Woodrow Wilson in 1919, Jimmy Carter in 2002, and Barack Obama in 2009. Each recognition came with a sense that something tangible had shifted—either a war had ended, or a new framework for peace had been set in motion. The committee usually looks for results that feel bigger than the person being awarded.
