Edward Snowden Tapped for Nobel Peace Prize—Again

Edward Snowden has once again landed on the list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, this time thanks to two Norwegian politicians.

The former NSA contractor was re-upped for 2014 by Snorre Valen and Bård Vegar Solhjell, a parliamentary tag-team who wrote a joint letter to the Nobel Committee in their country justifying their choice. Here’s what they said, by way of Voice of America:

“There is no doubt that the actions of Edward Snowden may have damaged the security interests of several nations in the short term,” the two wrote in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. “We are, however, convinced that the public debate and change in policy that have followed in the wake of Snowden’s whistleblowing has contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order.”

The two added that the “level of sophistication and depth of surveillance that citizens all over the world are subject to have stunned us, and stirred debate,” adding that revelations of widespread surveillance “led to the reintroduction of trust and transparency as a leading principle in global security policies.”

Snowden is evidently popular in Scandinavia: Last year, he was nominated by a Swedish scholar, but the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons took the prize.

WikiLeaks was unimpressed by Snowden’s 2013 nomination, not to mention WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s own spot on that same list, tweeting last June: “The Nobel Peace prize however, is corrupt. Overseen by Norwegian and Swedish establishments, it has become an instrument of foreign policy.”

–Posted by Kasia Anderson