Keeping Peace Alive

At a time when democracies across the world are eroding under the weight of populism, propaganda, and political intimidation, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize serves as a potent reminder that democracy’s survival depends not on institutions alone, but on individuals who refuse to bow to fear. The Nobel Committee’s decision to honour Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado reaffirms that peace and freedom are not passive states — they are daily acts of courage.

Machado’s journey from a defiant critic of Hugo Chavez to a relentless challenger of Nicolas Maduro’s autocratic regime is a testament to what it means to choose ballots over bullets. She has endured exile, intimidation, and relentless vilification — yet her voice has never faltered. Her fight is not merely political; it is moral. By awarding her the Peace Prize, the Committee has recognised that the defense of democracy is itself an act of peacebuilding — one that requires resilience against both tyranny and public indifference.

Machado’s recognition also reignites an essential truth: women have long been at the forefront of movements for justice, equality, and peace. From Aung San Suu Kyi’s early years of resistance in Myanmar to Malala Yousafzai’s advocacy for education, women have redefined leadership through moral conviction rather than brute force. They embody a form of power that challenges violence with reason, and oppression with endurance. In Machado’s voice echoes the strength of countless women who, despite persecution, continue to lead societies toward freedom and dignity.

Peace, as the Nobel Committee aptly noted, is not the absence of conflict but the presence of justice. It flourishes only when citizens are empowered to speak, to dissent, and to participate in shaping their nation’s destiny. The world today faces an epidemic of cynicism — people numbed by corruption, misinformation, and the slow decay of democratic values. It is precisely against this apathy that leaders like Machado rise, reminding us that silence is complicity.

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is thus more than an individual honour; it is a rallying cry. It calls upon all nations — and all citizens — to defend democracy not as an abstract ideal but as a lived practice. It urges the world to recognise that the struggle for peace begins with the courage to speak truth to power. And it reminds us, through the indomitable example of a woman leader, that freedom, once surrendered, is never easily regained.