Maria Corina Machado knows what many world leaders don't. Never ever make the mistake of outshining the 'master'. From Kautilya to Machiavelli, the advice to princes and princelings has always been to the tune of: massage the ego of the more important guy in the yard and protect yourself. Confrontation can only come after capability. Machado, the opposition leader of Venezuela, got something that Donald Trump coveted, the Nobel Peace Prize. She has, however, dedicated it to the president of the United States. In a way, Trump has got his award.
It is perhaps fitting, in this age of irony and inversion, that the Nobel Peace Prize of 2025 has not gone to Trump, the self-proclaimed dealmaker of destiny. Machado has preempted Trump's reaction, the familiar thundering rhetoric - "rigged," "unfair," "the greatest peace deal ever ignored" and done the pragmatic thing of making him feel like the most important peacemaker in the world. Yet, beyond the absurdity, there lies something worth reflecting on: why did so many imagine that Trump, of all people, could be a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize? What does this say about our era's understanding of peace, fame, and the nature of history itself?
A Shakespearean Irony
The irony, of course, is Shakespearean. Trump has immense faith in his peacemaking, dealmaking skills. peacemaker. He has fashioned himself as the man who could get Israel and Palestine to something like a conditional ceasefire; who brought "historic" accords to the Middle East; who's promising to bring peace to Russia and Ukraine; who flirted with North Korea's autocrat; and who withdrew troops while waging wars of words. But peace, Hannah Arendt reminded us, is not the absence of war but the presence of justice.
Machado has called for greater enforcement of sanctions, exposure of alleged criminal networks tied to the Maduro regime, and broader international pressure. The US has already imposed sanctions on Venezuelan government officials. In what many lawyers say is a breach of international law, the US has recently been bombing boats, allegedly ferrying drug traffickers, in international waters. Reports suggest that the White House plans to continue deploying such wartime powers against alleged cartels under the justification that they pose a threat to the well-being of the US. The real motive could be to oust the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro after a show of military might in the region. Machado's entreaty bolsters this idea.
As Pakistan Does...
Machado is following the same playbook as Pakistan's military establishment. By not only being publicly obsequious towards Trump, but also giving the US access to the home resources, Pakistan has been able to reestablish rapport with the largest military and economic power in the world. While India stayed reticent about the US intervention in the recent military skirmish with Pakistan, the latter profusely thanked the personal efforts of Trump. This hasn't gone down well with someone who thrives on accolades. Trump's desire for the Nobel Prize - his hunger for that symbolic crown - is not unique. It is symptomatic of a civilisation addicted to applause, to the politics of recognition rather than responsibility.
Coming back to Machiavelli, he would have found Trump fascinating: a prince without prudence, a ruler whose cunning lies not in statecraft but in spectacle. Yet even Machiavelli, cynical as he was, believed in the necessity of virtu - a moral intelligence that balances power with prudence. Trump's political career, by contrast, has been an experiment in hubris as policy. His imagined Nobel would have been the final seal on a narrative of self-aggrandisement. The myth that chaos can masquerade as leadership.
Machado Knows The Drill
The Nobel Committee gave Machado the Peace Prize in part because of her "tireless work promoting democratic rights ... for a peaceful democratic transition." Her public declaration of support for the US by dedicating her Nobel Prize to "the suffering people of Venezuela and President Trump for his decisive support" is part strategic, part symbolic. Machado understands that opposition forces in Venezuela often lack resources, legal, organizational, safety, and so external alliances can help with intelligence, exposure, diplomatic protection, and sometimes security for dissidents. However, by depending on US action, Machado and her opposition colleagues may be vulnerable to shifts in the priority, politics, or policy of the White House, which changes with Trump's moods.
As of now, Machado may be looking towards Trump to overcome inertia, suppression, or authoritarian formidability. When domestic struggle looks very difficult, turning to external backing is sometimes seen as necessary. However, we have Syria, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iraq, Libya and many other examples that suggest that external pressure is a double edged sword.
Trump has his triumph, though muted, but whither democracy?
(Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based author and academic)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
