The Arab Revolutions will dominate this year's Nobel Peace prize, Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, told Bloomberg Tuesday. The Peace Research Institute Oslo ranks the nominees, but does not help choose the winners. Berg Harpviken said the top two picks are a joint nomination of Israa Abdel Fattah and the April 6 Youth Movement, and Wael Ghonim. Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni is the third pick. These nominees top a record 241 nominations, 53 of which were organizations. Berg Harpviken told Bloomberg by phone from Oslo that “The main direction to look in this year, is the Arab spring.” He said the committee wants to align the prize with current developments and even use the prize to affect current developments. Other picks include Russian Svetlana Gannushkina and her organization Memorial that uses historical documentation for reconciliation, and Ghazi bin Muhammad, a professor of philosophy who is also a member of the Jordanian Royal Family. The winner will be selected by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee on Oct. 7, and awarded on Dec. 10.
