«Boyd van Dijk has done an invaluable job. He presents in detail the diverse controversies and opposing opinions amongst different states, whether in or outside the Western, Eastern, or 'Third World' blocs, that arose during the discussion and writing of the fourth Convention and rewriting the first, second and third. In doing so he made his book a priceless contribution to the history of humanitarianism, the laws of warfare, the Red Cross, and international relations.»

Leo van Bergen, Medicine, Conflict and Survival

«Preparing for War. The Making of the Geneva Conventions offers us a thick historical contextualization of pressing issues.»

Silvia Steininger, Helga Molbæk-Steensig, European Journal of International Law

«In sum, van Dijk's reverse-weaving provides us a much more nuanced picture of not only what was included but also of what was excluded from the fabric of the 1949 Conventions. It offers, I suggest, an illustrative template of what contemporary international legal history should look like as it brings together the lessons learned from more than two decades of rich scholarship on the relationship between comparative legal history, on the one hand, and politics, the theory and history of international law, and imperialism, on the other.»

DANIEL R. QUIROGA VILLAMARÍN, Doctoral Candidate and Researcher based at the Graduate Institute of I

«The best legal history illuminates outcomes while resisting celebratory or cynical determinism. Dr van Dijk's new history of the Geneva Conventions and humanitarianism in war is a masterpiece of methodological and conceptual sophistication. Through meticulous archival research and critical analysis, van Dijk recovers a multitude of voices and possibilities in the making of the law of war we have, and the ways we might imagine its unrealized potential.»

Prof. Naz K. Modirzadeh, Harvard University

«In Preparing for War, Boyd van Dijk provides a most welcome update to the history of international humanitarian law. The hallmark of this deeply researched analysis of the 1949 Geneva Conventions is its simultaneous attention to politics and history. In exposing the constant tension between politics and humanitarianism, van Dijk reminds us of the perpetually unfinished nature of the project of humanizing war.»

Prof. Tanisha M. Fazal, University of Minnesota

«Van Dijk's riveting book is the culmination of a decade of new histories of international law, marking the arrival of professional research methods and independent critical analysis to the study of international law's most hallowed texts: the Geneva Conventions. Van Dijk's account of the drafting of the Conventions reveals them to be the products not merely of humanitarian ideals inspired by the horrors of war, but also of fierce Cold War contests and colonial rivalries. Highly recommended.»

Prof. John Fabian Witt, Yale University

«Nothing was inevitable in the drafting of the Geneva Conventions, Boyd van Dijk argues in this important and exciting revisionist work. The author's expansive multi-lingual archival research enables him to reconceive this history by tracing the genealogy of the drafting, revealing the Articles' contingency. Drafters had directly experienced the brutality of total war, and this informed their efforts to protect civilians. Women, like French resistance fighter Andrée Jacob, played crucial roles. Cold War politics mattered, but adversaries nevertheless collaborated on matters that served their common interests. This outstanding work will influence the next generation of writing on the Geneva Conventions.»

Prof. Mary Dudziak, Emory University

«Boyd van Dijk has written a superb political and legal history of the making of the four Geneva Conventions.»

Dr. Hugo Slim, University of Oxford

«Preparing for War is a fascinating read. Dr Boyd van Dijk takes us to the heart of the negotiations and lets us see into the minds of the key players.»

Professor Andrew Clapham, Geneva Graduate Institute

«Van Dijk's book is excellent for exposing this dynamic in relation to the geneva conventions and for unearthing some of the politics behind those crucial treaties. Preparing for War is a compelling read. It is powerfully written and offers us the richest and most nuanced account of the negotiations leading to adoption of the Geneva Conventions currently on offer.»

Professor Larissa van den Herik, The American Journal of International Law

«Preparing for War - The Making of the Geneva Conventions is a book no international humanitarian law scholar should miss. It is a truly interdisciplinary piece of scholarship, which masterfully handles history, political science and international law in telling the story of the drafting and negotiation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.»

Dr Bianca Maganza, Geneva Graduate Institute

«Boyd van Dijk's Preparing for War offers a rich historical account of the drafting process of the 1949 Geneva Conventions which goes beyond the usual triumphalist rhetoric and uncovers the behind the scenes strategies, struggles and coincidences.»

Professor Eyal Benvenisti, University of Cambridge