Optional Subjects

Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) Optional

Table of Content

In this post; you will get Official Syllabus, Previous Year Question Papers (PYQs), Booklist, Toppers Strategy and some popular notes.

Optional Syllabus

Download PSIR Optional Syllabus

Paper 1 :

Political Theory and Indian Politics:

  1. Political Theory: meaning and approaches.
  2. Theories of state: Liberal, Neo-liberal, Marxist, Pluralist, post-colonial and Feminist.
  3. Justice: Conceptions of justice with special reference to Rawl’s theory of justice and its communitarian critiques.
  4. Equality: Social, political and economic; relationship between equality and freedom; Affirmative action.
  5. Rights: Meaning and theories; different kinds of rights; Concept of Human Rights.
  6. Democracy: Classical and contemporary theories; different models of democracy—representative, participatory and deliberative.
  7. Concept of power: hegemony, ideology and legitimacy.
  8. Political Ideologies: Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Feminism.
  9. Indian Political Thought: Dharmashastra, Arthashastra and Buddhist Traditions; Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Sri Aurobindo, M. K. Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, M. N. Roy.
  10. Western Political Thought: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, John S. Mill, Marx, Gramsci, Hannah Arendt.

Indian Government and Politics

  1. Indian Nationalism:
    1. Political Strategies of India’s Freedom Struggle: Constitutionalism to mass Satyagraha, Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience; Militant and Revolutionary Movements, Peasant and Workers  Movements.
    2. Perspectives on Indian National Movement; Liberal, Socialist and Marxist; Radical Humanist and Dalit.
  2. Making of the Indian Constitution: Legacies of British rule; different social and political perspectives.
  3. 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.
    1. Principal Organs of the Union Government: Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and Supreme Court.
    2. Principal Organs of the State Government: Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and High Courts.
  5. Grassroots Democracy: Panchayati Raj and Municipal Government; Significance of 73rd and 74th Amendments; Grassroot movements.
  6. 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.
  7. Federalism: Constitutional provisions; changing nature of centre-state relations; integrationist tendencies and regional aspirations; inter-state disputes.
  8. Planning and Economic development: Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives; Role of planning and public sector; Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations; liberalisation and economic reforms.
  9. Caste, Religion and Ethnicity in Indian Politics.
  10. 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.
  11. Social Movement: Civil liberties and human rights movements; women’s movements; environmentalist movements.

Paper 2 : Comparative Politics and International Relations

Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics:

  1. Comparative Politics : Nature and major approaches; Political economy and political sociology perspectives; Limitations of the comparative method.
  2. State in Comparative Perspective: Characteristics and changing nature of the State in capitalist and socialist economies, and advanced industrial and developing societies.
  3. Politics of Representation and Participation: Political parties, pressure groups and social movements in advanced industrial and developing societies.
  4. Globalisation: Responses from developed and developing societies.
  5. Approaches to the Study of International Relations: Idealist, Realist, Marxist, Functionalist and Systems theory.
  6. 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.
  7. Changing International Political Order:
    1. Rise of superpowers; Strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and cold war; Nuclear threat;
    2. Non-aligned Movement: Aims and achievements.
    3. Collapse of the Soviet Union; Unipolarity and American hegemony; Relevance of non-alignment in the contemporary world.
  8. 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.
  9. United Nations: Envisaged role and actual record; Specialized UN agencies—aims and functioning; need for UN reforms.
  10. Regionalisation of World Politics: EU, ASEAN, APEC, AARC, NAFTA.
  11. Contemporary Global Concerns: Democracy, human rights, environment,gender justice terrorism, nuclear proliferation.

India and the World

  1. Indian Foreign Policy: Determinants of foreign policy; the institutions of policy-making; Continuity and change.
  2. India’s Contribution to the Non-Alignment Movement Different phases; Current role.
  3. India and South Asia:
    1. Regional Cooperation: SAARC-past performance and future prospects.
    2. South Asia as a Free Trade Area.
    3. India’s “Look East” policy.
    4. Impediments to regional cooperation: River water disputes; illegal cross border migration; Ethnic conflicts and insurgencies; Border disputes.
  4. India and the Global South: Relations with Africa and Latin America; Leadership role in the demand for NIEO and WTO negotiations.
  5. India and the Global Centres of Power: USA,  EU,  Japan, China and Russia.
  6. India and the UN System: Role in UN Peace-keeping; Demand for Permanent Seat in the Security Council.
  7. India and the Nuclear Question: Changing perceptions and policy.
  8. Recent developments in Indian Foreign Policy: India’s position on the recent crises in Afghanistan, Iraq and West Asia, growing relations with US and Israel; Vision of a new world order.

Download Previous Year Question (PYQs) Papers

Download Yearwise PYQs

2023

2022

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Download Paper Compilation(2014-2023)

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Download [] Paper-2 Compilation

Booklist

Paper 1 Booklist

Paper 2 Booklist

Additional Material, if any

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