The objective of this research is to understand the construction of international law as a structuring process through the study of the redefinition of web of norms related to the behavior of private forms of violence. To achieve this goal, constructivism has been chosen as a theoretical framework. This choice is based on having a theory that facilitates a multilevel analysis of legal regimes and whose ontology is strongly ideational to offer an alternative reading of the historical process in which the rules and behavior of the agents are co-constituted (structured). As preponderant units of analysis, legitimacy actors have been chosen, individuals whose acts of language preform the behavior of legal / political units and interact with the norms to reaffirm, redefine or contravene them. The structuring process that results there gives rise to the formation of interdependent regulatory networks. In the specific case, the normative networks of two forms of violence whose legitimization process has been intensely claimed as resisted will be studied: the mercenaries and the Private Security Military Companies. By reconstructing the normative networks of each of these two forms and contrasting them, we seek to contribute to the debate on the role of the State and violence in society. The methodology to be used for this purpose is based on a qualitative-interpretative analysis that combines genealogy and content analysis as techniques.
