Not All Human Rights Have Norms

Abstract

This chapter builds on the insight of the international anti-hunger advocacy that does not fit the expectations of dominant models. It explains how it is possible that the behavior of international anti-hunger advocacy varies from the expectations of the human rights and advocacy literatures. It also evaluates the normative environment in which international anti-hunger advocates work. The chapter argues that there is no norm around hunger or the right to food among top international anti-hunger organizations and theorizes an advocacy in issue areas that lack a norm. It provides additional conceptual tools to make sense of the social and moral environments in which activists are working, articulating the distinction between norms, moral principles, and supererogatory standards.