This book argues that the pursuit of universal norms remains a worthwhile endeavour for the international legal discipline. It does this while also engaging with the very active imperialist critique of such norms. The study has 4 aims; firstly to illustrate the role that the idea and debate around norms have in developing international law, and secondly to address the philosophical concerns around identifying such norms. It moves on to explore whether a legal/practical instantiation of the universal can be done without taking a particular position/perspective. And finally, it turns to the impact the universal has on the development of international human rights law. Public international law, human rights and legal philosophy scholars will welcome this original theoretical-philosophical perspective on an enduring debate in the field of international law.