A history of peace

“We gradually saw the peace process stall and the enemies of reconciliation win,’’ said Jan Egeland, a former diplomat and now director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. He said there were “strong anti-peace forces among Israelis and Palestinians alike.’’ But the Oslo Accords still remain a blueprint for future efforts.

Other peace-facilitating efforts have included Sudan, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, and the Caucasus. “We failed more often than we succeeded,’’ said Egeland. Still, he had the satisfaction of seeing a Guatemalan cease-fire agreement signed in Oslo’s town hall.

Not that Norwegians can’t be counted on in a fight. Norway is a NATO member. There is a Norwegian contingent in Kabul, and Norwegian war planes were involved over Libya. But peace-keeping efforts always trump going to war as far as the Norwegians are concerned.

How did this all come to pass? First, Norway used to be one of the poorest countries in Europe, until North Sea oil made it one of the richest. But an egalitarian spirit still prevails from the days when poverty enforced it. Today, a strong Labor movement and one of the highest tax rates in Europe, as well as an efficient welfare system, does the enforcing. Lutheran guilt about their recent good fortune inhibits any desire to show off wealth, Norwegians say.

Secondly, modern Norway never had an empire, and achieved its independence from Sweden only in 1905. Norwegian missionaries were to be found in all the world, and today, with the secularization of the missionary spirit, Norwegian zeal has been channeled more into saving bodies than souls. “Norwegians have always had sympathy for the downtrodden,’’ said Morten Wetland, Norway’s ambassador to the United Nations.