Political Science and International Relations Syllabus UPSC Mains
Political Science and International Relations Optional Paper – I
Political Theory and Indian Politics
- Political Theory → meaning and approaches.
- Theories of the State → Liberal, Neoliberal, Marxist, Pluralist, Post-colonial and feminist.
- Justice → Conceptions of justice with special reference to Rawl’s theory of justice and its communitarian critiques.
- Equality → Social, political and economic; relationship between equality and freedom; Affirmative action.
- Rights → Meaning and theories; different kinds of rights; concept of Human Rights.
- Democracy → Classical and contemporary theories; different models of democracy – representative, participatory and deliberative.
- Concept of power, hegemony, ideology and legitimacy.
- Political Ideologies → Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Feminism.
- Indian Political Thought → Dharamshastra, Arthashastra and Buddhist traditions; Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Sri Aurobindo, M.K. Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, M.N. Roy.
- Western Political Thought → Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, John S. Mill, Marx, Gramsci, Hannah Arendt
Indian Government and Politics
- Indian Nationalism
- Political Strategies of India’s Freedom Struggle → Constitutionalism to mass Satyagraha, Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience; Militant and revolutionary movements, Peasant and workers’ movements.
- Perspectives on Indian National Movement → Liberal, Socialist and Marxist; Radical humanist and Dalit.
- Making of the Indian Constitution → Legacies of the British rule; different social and political perspectives.
- Salient Features of the Indian Constitution → The Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Duties, Directive Principles; Parliamentary System and Amendment Procedures; Judicial Review and Basic Structure doctrine.
- Principal Organs of the Union Government → Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and Supreme Court.
- Principal Organs of the State Government → Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and High Courts.
- Grassroots Democracy → Panchayati Raj and Municipal Government; significance of 73rd and 74th Amendments; Grassroot movements.
- Statutory Institutions/Commissions → Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, Finance Commission, Union Public Service Commission, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Women; National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Minorities, National Backward Classes Commission.
- Federalism → Constitutional provisions; changing nature of centre-state relations; integrationist tendencies and regional aspirations; inter-state disputes.
- Planning and Economic Development → Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives; role of planning and public sector; Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations; liberalilzation and economic reforms.
- Caste, Religion and Ethnicity in Indian Politics.
- Party System → National and regional political parties, ideological and social bases of parties; patterns of coalition politics; Pressure groups, trends in electoral behaviour; changing socio- economic profile of Legislators.
- Social Movements → Civil liberties and human rights movements; women’s movements; environmentalist movements.
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Political Science and International Relations Optional Paper – II
Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics
- Comparative Politics → Nature and major approaches; political economy and political sociology perspectives; limitations of the comparative method.
- State in comparative perspective → Characteristics and changing nature of the State in capitalist and socialist economies, and, advanced industrial and developing societies.
- Politics of Representation and Participation → Political parties, pressure groups and social movements in advanced industrial and developing societies.
- Globalisation → Responses from developed and developing societies.
- Approaches to the Study of International Relations → Idealist, Realist, Marxist, Functionalist and Systems theory.
- Key concepts in International Relations → National interest, Security and power; Balance of power and deterrence; Transnational actors and collective security; World capitalist economy and globalisation.
- Changing International Political Order
- Rise of super powers; strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and Cold War; nuclear threat;
- Non-aligned movement → Aims and achievements;
- Collapse of the Soviet Union; Unipolarity and American hegemony; relevance of non-alignment in the contemporary world.
- Evolution of the International Economic System → From Brettonwoods to WTO; Socialist economies and the CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance); Third World demand for new international economic order; Globalisation of the world economy.
- United Nations → Envisaged role and actual record; specialized UN agencies-aims and functioning; need for UN reforms.
- Regionalisation of World Politics → EU, ASEAN, APEC, SAARC, NAFTA.
- Contemporary Global Concerns → Democracy, human rights, environment, gender justice, terrorism, nuclear proliferation.
India and the World
- Indian Foreign Policy → Determinants of foreign policy; institutions of policy-making; continuity and change.
- India’s Contribution to the Non-Alignment Movement → Different phases; current role.
- India and South Asia
- Regional Co-operation → SAARC – past performance and future prospects.
- South Asia as a Free Trade Area.
- India’s “Look East” policy.
- Impediments to regional co-operation → river water disputes; illegal cross-border migration; ethnic conflicts and insurgencies; border disputes.
- India and the Global South → Relations with Africa and Latin America; leadership role in the demand for NIEO and WTO negotiations.
- India and the Global Centres of Power → USA, EU, Japan, China and Russia.
- India and the UN System → Role in UN Peace-keeping; demand for Permanent Seat in the Security Council.
- India and the Nuclear Question → Changing perceptions and policy.
- Recent developments in Indian Foreign policy → India’s position on the recent crisis in Afghanistan, Iraq and West Asia, growing relations with US and Israel; vision of a new world order.
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