Vlado Benko's sociological approach towards the ontology or the existence of international community allows for the appropriate understanding and exploration of (international) norms, assuming in particular the social nature of international actors and the international community as a whole. Since the international norms are the constitutive elements structuring the current international community - thus the historical and social results produced by states and other subjects of international relations - they cannot be reduced simply to the national interests of particular states. Therefore, the first part of the article presents and contextualizes Benko's understanding of norms within the broader debate on the meaning and development of international norms, and the second one is focusing on the development of norms of pre-emptive use of force within international relations after the World War II.
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