ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the institutions and argues that they wield ‘soft power’; that is, they attract other individuals and groups to share and act on the institutions’ goals. It examines the other windfall that the prominent group of celebrity activists receives. The chapter considers Nobel Peace Prize laureates as celebrity activists and examining their symbolic capital. It discusses the uses of their economic capital, particularly in establishing organisations to advance their interests, and explores the soft power wielded by these institutions, as well as the challenges and tensions that they face. The economic capital attached to the Nobel Peace Prize gives laureates a significant financial sum on top of the symbolic capital they receive. Nobel peace laureate-activists’ work also differentiates them from other celebrity activists. The Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress is another NGO created from Nobel Peace Prize winnings, specifically from the purse given to Oscar Arias Sanchez, the 1987 laureate.
