From a reader:
If you didn't know off hand, Norman Angell wrote a book called "The Great Illusion." Basically, he argues that increased trade relations among European powers make future wars impossible.
There are people who make the same argument today including noted atheist writer Michael Shermer. He gets all science-y and talks about oxytocin and whatnot.
Anyway, Angell's book came out right before World War I.
Not to be dissuaded from awarding their prize to Angell, the Nobel Committee gave him the prize in 1933, because, after all, THIS TIME IT WILL WORK. You know what happened after that.
So, 2009 is not, by any stretch, the first time that the Nobel Committee gave their prize for wishful thinking...