March 29, 2024

Pre-publication reviews of Fighting for Darfur

“Rebecca Hamilton has catalogued – realistically, soberingly, and most impressively – the successes and shortcomings of the Darfur advocacy movement from its inception to the present. Her work highlights the challenges for citizens and policymakers alike of adapting their actions to mass atrocities less overtly clear than a Holocaust or Rwanda. But above all Hamilton is the model of an ‘upstander,’ one whom raises her voice and acts when people – whether near or far, Western or African – are most in need of help.”

–LGen. the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, (Ret’d), Senator

“A masterful feat of original research and reporting, Fighting for Darfur is an authoritative account of the impact of the first sustained citizens’ movement against genocide. With Hamilton’s fierce determination to get beyond self-congratulatory slogans and taken-for-granted assumptions about what is required to save lives at risk, she provides insights that will be invaluable for concerned citizens, human rights advocates and policymakers alike for years and years to come. Essential reading for anyone who wants to help build a better world.”

— Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines

“The lack of political will to act is the bottleneck where the best intentions of the international community to stop genocide get stuck.  Political will is never there spontaneously; it has to be created, nurtured and transformed into action by the concerted and committed efforts of citizens confronting their governments with their own stated values and ideals.  Rebecca Hamilton’s brilliant case study of the efforts to stop the carnage in Darfur and of its limitations combines passion and intelligence to offer a valuable blueprint for a “movement of conscience” to protect the next population at risk of genocide.”

— Juan Méndez, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide (2004-2007)

“Rebecca Hamilton offers a compelling and sober assessment of advocacy networks’ efforts to stop genocide in Sudan. This highly readable birds-eye account should be required reading for students and practitioners of public policy.”

— Graham Allison, author of Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis

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