Political Science and International Realtions

PSIR OPTIONAL SUBJECT ONLINE COURSE BY CHAHAL ACADEMY

This course has been specially designed for those who are,

• Interested in opting for Political Science as optional with or without an academic background in PSIR.
• Facing problems in correlating and connecting theories and concepts.
• Studied the subject on their own and faced problems in writing standard answers.
• Facing challenges in unfolding their knowledge to clear basic notions and theories.

ANSWER WRITING IN PSIR

• While writing PSIR optional paper, candidates must keep in mind that their answers for political science should look different from the GS answers.
• Scholar views, facts & technical words can be added to the optional subject to score well in political science.
• Supreme Court and High Court judgments can be cited in the answer wherever necessary.
• Type of questions based on thinkers; start with books and quotations written by them. A brief life history of the thinker can also be added.
• Usually, type of questions asked in Paper I are of static type and that of Paper II are of dynamic type. For optional Paper II, try to interlink your answer with current events.

SYLLABUS:

PAPER – I

Section A

POLITICAL THEORY AND INDIAN POLITICS

POLITICAL THEORY

1. Political Theory: Meaning and approaches 
2. Theories of the state:
   • Liberal
   • Neo-liberal
   • Marxist
   • Pluralist
   • Post-colonial
   • 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

Section B

INDIAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS:

NATIONALISM AND CONSTITUTION:

POLITICAL THEORY AND INDIAN POLITICS

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;
• Grass root 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.

VARIOUS DIVERSE TOPICS

Planning and Economic Development:

• Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives;
• Role of planning and public sector;
• Green Revolution,
• Land reforms and agrarian relations;
• Liberalization 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 behavior;
• Changing sociology- economic profile of Legislators.

Social Movements:

• Civil liberties and human rights movements;
• Women’s movements;
• Environmentalist movements.

PAPER – II

Section A

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.

THEORIES AND CONCEPTS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:

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:

(a) Rise of superpowers; strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and Cold War; nuclear threat;

(b) Non-aligned movement: Aims and achievements;

(c) Collapse of the Soviet Union; Unipolarity and American hegemony; relevance of non-alignment in the contemporary world.

GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS AND GROUPS:

Evolution of the International Economic System:

• From Bretton woods 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:

1. Indian Foreign Policy:

• Determinants of foreign policy;
• 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:

(a) Regional Co-operation: SAARC – past performance and future prospects.

(b) South Asia as a Free Trade Area.

(c) India’s “Look East” policy.

(d) Impediments to regional co-operation: -river water disputes;

POLITICAL SCIENCE OPTIONAL SUBJECT RECOMMENDED BOOKLIST

• POLITICAL THOUGHT IN MODERN INDIA: PANTHAM & DEUTCH (SAGE PUBLICATION)
• INDIAN GOVT. AND POLITICS: FADIA & FADIA (SAHITYA BHAWAN)
• COMPARATIVE POLITICS: J.C. JOHARI
• A HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT- PLATO TO MARX (MUKHERJEE & RAMASWAMY)
• AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THEORY: O.P. GAUBA
• THE GLOBALIZATION OF WORLD POLITICS: BAYLIS, SMITH & OWENS (OXFORD)