If there is anything Donald Trump covets more than anything else, it’s the Nobel Peace Prize.
The president has repeatedly spoken of how much he deserved it, and raged in public and private at the country of Norway, which he believes is responsible for not giving it to him.
At the centre of his claim for the prize is the boast that he has ended eight wars in a year.
But has he?
“The short answer is no. And in fact, the short answer is not even close,” Monash University senior lecturer in international relations Ben Zala told nine.com.au.
“Two and a half, or, let’s be generous and say three, are factually correct.”
Israel and Hamas
This claim is at least partially true.
The United States did help to broker a ceasefire which has seen a reduction of violence in Gaza.
But the United Nations estimates that since the ceasefire was agreed upon, 300 people have been killed.
“That’s hardly a war that’s ended,” Zala said.
“That kind of feels like the war is still going on, but that still doesn’t take away the fact that the US chose to go out of its way to help to broker a ceasefire.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan
The two former Soviet countries have been in a territorial dispute for decades which turned violent.
At the centre of the conflict is a province that Armenia considers part of its territory but is entirely within Azerbaijani borders.
But on August 8 last year, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a peace agreement in the White House.
“The US hosted a signing ceremony, but the peace had already been agreed almost six months earlier,” Zala said.
“So I don’t really think that one counts.”
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo
These two countries in central Africa have been in an armed conflict for several years that has resulted in thousands of deaths.
The US did officially broker a peace agreement between the two countries last year.
But it’s a fragile agreement, Zala said.
“The claim that he’s ended the war – well, not really,” he said.
“People are literally dying still.”
Cambodia and Thailand
This claim is the most solid of the eight.
Several dozen soldiers had been killed in the border dispute between the south-east Asian countries.
“It does seem like the president himself was the key actor there by getting on the phone, and effectively he threatened to end trade talks with both of them,” Zala said.
“So it was a pretty smart use of US economic power.”
But Zala noted the conflict was “probably edging towards a conclusion”.
Israel and Iran
Israel and Iran have been in a cold war for years, which led to both sides exchanging missiles on June 13 last year.
But the claim that Trump ended a war between Israel and Iran is “absurd”, Zala said.
“The US didn’t broker a peace agreement because there is no peace agreement.
“Both sides just ran out of steam.
“And the US actually joined the war. The US bombed Iran.”
India and Pakistan
Tensions have existed between the two countries for as long as both of them have existed.
But when a ceasefire was agreed to last year, Pakistan credited Trump, and India didn’t.
“The talks regarding cessation of military action were held directly between India and Pakistan under the existing channels established between both militaries,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
Trump’s involvement seemed like an exaggeration from the White House, Australian National University’s Wesley Widmaier said.
“What India and Pakistan do has much more to do with India and Pakistan than the US,” he told nine.com.au.
“That is not to slight the US – it’s just that they are major powers and reach their own conclusions.”
Egypt and Ethiopia
The president’s claim to have ended a war between Egypt and Ethiopia is a bizarre one.
These two African countries were not at war.
There were tensions between the two over an Ethiopian dam that inhibited water flow into the Nile.
“There was no war. Conflict hadn’t broken out. And so to say that he’s brought a war to an end is just sort of absurd,” Zala said.
Serbia and Kosovo
The same goes between these two Balkan nations.
Despite a long history of violence, Kosovo and Serbia have not been in an armed conflict.
“There have been tensions, but there hasn’t been war,” Zala said.
“Actually, the EU is a much, much more important player in that dispute than the US is.”