The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is a clear endorsement of the process of peacemaking, not just its final product. In honoring María Corina Machado, the committee celebrated the difficult, patient, and collaborative methods she used, while overlooking Donald Trump, a candidate who emphasized the final product—the deal.
Machado was lauded as a “unifying figure,” a recognition of her process. Her method was to build consensus, find common ground, and create a coalition. The “how” of her achievement was central to the committee’s decision.
Donald Trump’s supporters, on the other hand, consistently pointed to the product of his work: the signed accords, the ceasefires, the treaties. They argued that the ends justified the means, and that the final result was all that mattered.
The White House statement continued this theme, listing the products Trump will “continue making”: peace deals, ended wars, saved lives.
The Nobel committee, however, has sent a message that the process is just as important. A peace that is achieved through unilateral force or divisive tactics may not be as sustainable or legitimate as one achieved through a collaborative and just process. This year, the journey was valued as much as the destination.