Political Science & International Relations (PSIR) Optional For UPSC CSE 2022 By Piyush Sir & Raj Sharma Sir

POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

It deals with political and foreign affairs around the world.

In UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination, Political Science Optional consists of 2 papers (Paper I and Paper II).

Each paper is of 250 marks with a total of 500 marks

Why Choose PSIR as Optional?

• It overlaps with almost the entire GENERAL STUDIES 2 syllabus.

• Relevant Study Material and Guidance available.

• Political Science integrates your prelims and mains preparation. Thus, saving time for other topics.

Trend of Scores in Political Science and International Relations

NOTE: YOP- Year of Passing, PI- PaperI(250 marks), PII- PaperII(250 marks), Total- Total Marks(500)

Why Join PSIR Optional Course at UPSC GUIDE?

1. Course fee at very affordable price with excellent Quality

2. Detailed coverage of both political science paper I & II for UPSC mains exam

3. Complete Coverage of Static + Dynamic Content

4. Online Coaching with access to Live and recorded lectures

5. Additional Answer Writing Tests with periodic guidance

6. Lecture Notes in PDF Format

7. Faculty : Mr. Arvind Singh Rajpurohit

About Faculty:

•  6+ Years of Teaching Experience in Various UPSC CSE Top Institutes at Pune and Delhi

•  UPSC Prelims score in 2019 [143.34]

•  Groomed and Mentored 10,000+ Civil Services Aspirants.

•  Listed in Top 30 Faculty at Unacademy.

•  Core Subjects- Polity , International Relations , Current Affairs and Optional - PSIR

SYLLABUS

PAPER – I

Section A

POLITICAL THEORY AND INDIAN POLITICS

POLITICAL THEORY

• Political Theory: Meaning and approaches 

• Theories of the state:

  1. Liberal

  2. Neo-liberal

  3. Marxist

  4. Pluralist

  5. Post-colonial

  6. Feminist

• Justice: Conceptions of justice with special reference to Rawl’s theory of justice and its communitarian critiques. 

• Equality:

  1. Social, political and economic;

  2. Relationship between equality and freedom;

  3. Affirmative action.

• Rights:

  1. Meaning and theories

  2. Different kinds of rights;

  3. Concept of Human Rights.

• Democracy:

  1. Classical and contemporary theories;

  2. Different models of democracy – representative, participatory and deliberative.

• Concept of :

  1. Power,

  2. Hegemony,

  3. Ideology and

POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

• Liberalism,

• Socialism,

• Marxism,

• Fascism,

• Gandhism and

• Feminism.

INDIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

• Dharamshastra,

• Arthashastra,

• Buddhist traditions;

• Sir Syed Ahmed Khan,

• Sri Aurobindo,

• M.K. Gandhi,

• B.R. Ambedkar, M.N. Roy.

POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

• Plato,

• Aristotle

• Machiavelli,

• Hobbes,

• Locke,

• John S. Mill,

• Marx.

Section B

INDIAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

NATIONALISM AND CONSTITUTION

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.

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 super powers; 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 POLTICAL THEORY: O.P. GAUBA

• THE GLOBALIZATION OF WORLD POLITICS: BAYLIS, SMITH & OWENS (OXFORD)