The proposed paper examines the prospects and problems of combing analytical and normative elements of theorising. It argues that the distinction between normative and analytical IR theory is useful only up to a point and cannot be viewed as a hard line. Using the example of the concept of jus cogens, according to which certain international norms possess authoritative qualities, it seeks to illustrate how an integrated structural-normative approach can advance our thinking about international norms and institutions in important respects. To do so, the paper proceeds in a three-step process: First, it looks at the nature of both analytical and normative IR theory, in particular its meta-theoretical foundations. Second, it introduces the concept of jus cogens as a tool for thinking about normative hierarchies within international society. Third, it disintegrates jus cogens into a normative and a social-structural component and, subsequently, explores how IR theory can reconcile the two.
