THE ADVOCACY: EXPLANATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the study of a process of defense, guarantee and implementation of human rights that has become increasingly known: the advocacy. Thus, what we seek with the article is to understand what this process consists of. And that understanding is not given through some simple answer. In this way, we aim to achieve our objective by following two paths. The first is the most traditional way in the Brazilian context and it is a negative definition of the term: we explain what the term does not consist of, and we differentiate it from other concepts such as lobbying, social movements, non governmental organizations. The second path, more original, presents attributes and characteristics that make up advocacy, such as communication, technical knowledge and the defense of a cause. Finally, we also present what can be called the predecessors of the current advocacy, tracing a journey in the world and another one in Brazil. At the end, we conclude our objective and present a definition of advocacy, aiming to help future studies and contribute to the dissemination of this term and this activity.