Dylan got the nobel price in litterature, which is awarded for a work of litterature, not for political influence. (Infamously Peter Handke won the litterature price despite his support for Milošević.)
You are probably thinking of the peace price, but that is a different thing.
> The Nobel Prize in Literature […] is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction"
> Alfred Nobel's guidelines for the prize, stating that the candidate should have bestowed "the greatest benefit on mankind" and written "in an idealistic direction," have sparked much discussion. In the early history of the prize, Nobel's "idealism" was read as "a lofty and sound idealism." The set of criteria, characterised by its conservative idealism, holding church, state, and family sacred, resulted in prizes for Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Rudyard Kipling, and Paul Heyse. During World War I, there was a policy of neutrality, which partly explains the number of awards to Scandinavian writers. In the 1920s, "idealistic direction" was interpreted more generously as "wide-hearted humanity," leading to awards for writers like Anatole France, George Bernard Shaw, and Thomas Mann. In the 1930s, "the greatest benefit on mankind" was interpreted as writers within everybody's reach, with authors like Sinclair Lewis and Pearl Buck receiving recognition. From 1946, a renewed Academy changed focus and began to award literary pioneers like Hermann Hesse, André Gide, T. S. Eliot, and William Faulkner. During this era, "the greatest benefit on mankind" was interpreted in a more exclusive and generous way than before. Since the 1970s, the Academy has often given attention to important but internationally unnoticed writers, awarding writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer, Odysseus Elytis, Elias Canetti, and Jaroslav Seifert.
This is a good point.
But his award is most definitely political both in how it was awarded and in the positions Dylan took in various events, songs and lyrics.
Jon Fosse was the 2023 winner and to my knowledge his work isn't considered especially political. I can't say confidently if Bill is a deserving candidate, but as others have suggested, political perspective or activism isn't a requirement.
Obviously Dylan is political but this does not mean the price was political. The Handke debacle seems a pretty clear indication they evaluate the litterary merit without regard to the politics of the author.
You are probably thinking of the peace price, but that is a different thing.