Boyd van Dijk

Dr. Boyd van Dijk is a Research Fellow at Nuffield College, the Faculty of History, and the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on global history, international legal order, and the historical entanglements of empire, sovereignty, and rights. He is currently working on a global history of the Geneva Conventions during the Cold War and decolonisation era as part of the Changing Global Orders programme. His monograph Preparing for War: The Making of the Geneva Conventions (2022) won the 2023 Certificate of Merit from the American Society of International Law.

Education:

• PhD in History, European University Institute (EUI)
• Studies at Columbia University and the University of Amsterdam

Research Interests: Dr. van Dijk examines the history of humanitarianism, decolonization, and international law. His current project analyzes how Global South actors reinterpreted the Geneva Conventions to challenge colonial oppression and assert liberation rights. He critiques conventional narratives that frame the Conventions as purely liberal humanitarian efforts, revealing their contested political origins and global power dynamics.