New Delhi, Aug. 3 -- A craving for international prestige, a decade-long Obama rivalry and perhaps a dash of provocation: a mercurial melange of factors is at play in Donald Trump's obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize.

"It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on July 31, prompting reactions of disbelief and sarcasm from the Republican leader's opponents.

Since his January 20 return to power, the US president "has brokered, on average, one peace deal or ceasefire per month," Leavitt said, citing as examples his mediations between India and Pakistan; Cambodia and Thailand; Egypt and Ethiopia; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC);...