Nobel Peace Prize forgets its realist origins and goes full Woke

The Nobel Peace Prize is embracing a performative Wokeness that dilutes its credibility.

Today, the Nobel Peace Prize seems to have strayed far from those pragmatic roots, embracing a performative Wokeness that dilutes its credibility. The recent spectacle involving María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless efforts against authoritarianism in her homeland, has put the proverbial cat among the pigeons.

In a bold and symbolic gesture during a White House meeting on 15 January 2026, Machado presented her Nobel medal to President Donald Trump, acknowledging his ‘unique commitment’ to Venezuelan freedom.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Nobel Peace Prize forgets its realist origins and goes full Woke.

María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless efforts against authoritarianism in her homeland, has put the proverbial cat among the pigeons.

Article | https://t.co/umfYpaY818 pic.twitter.com/0KmkQeBjDC

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 17, 2026

Albanese’s hypocritical two-tier rush undermines our democracy

The Bondi massacre will define Mr Albanese’s prime ministership.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has long positioned himself as a champion of due process, transparency, and democratic norms. Kindness is not weakness, he tells us. Yet his government’s frantic push to ram through omnibus legislation aimed at curbing civil rights and liberties reveals a stark hypocrisy that threatens the very foundations of Australian democracy.

As scholars of politics and international law, we call for the government to withdraw this omnibus bill, subject it to genuine parliamentary inquiry, and consult widely, including with those it claims to protect. Australia’s democratic legacy deserves better than a rushed power grab. Albanese must decide whether he will live up to the principles he demands of others or continue down a path that diminishes our nation’s standing as a free and fair society.

My latest in The Spectator Australia with Professor Sascha Dov Bachmann, Albanese’s hypocritical two-tier rush undermines our democracy.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has long positioned himself as a champion of due process, transparency, and democratic norms.

Kindness is not weakness, he tells us.

Yet his government’s frantic push to ram through omnibus legislation aimed at curbing civil rights and liberties… pic.twitter.com/1IgmhneA9S

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 16, 2026

Hate speech is not Islamic terrorism, and where’s Pauline?

Pauline Hanson is the only political leader who has addressed the problem of Islamic extremism.

In the timeless wisdom of childhood playgrounds, we were taught that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me’. This simple adage points to a fundamental truth. Physical violence inflicts real harm, while mere words, no matter how offensive, do not equate to acts of brutality.

Yet, in the corridors of power in Canberra, the Albanese Labor government seems to have forgotten this distinction entirely.

Instead of confronting the deadly threat of Islamic terrorism head-on, they are diverting attention to nebulous concepts like ‘hate speech’, lumping in Islamophobia and homophobia as if they pose the same existential danger as the radical ideologies that have claimed innocent lives on Australian soil.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Hate speech is not Islamic terrorism, and where’s Pauline?

Hate speech, while distasteful and divisive, is not Islamic terrorism.

The former might wound feelings or spark debate, but the latter results in bloodshed and shattered families.

At the horrific Bondi massacre, Islamic terrorism led to the senseless deaths of 15 innocent… pic.twitter.com/CDURpcRVvo

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 16, 2026