Political Science Syllabus for Main Examination

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UPSC Political Science Syllabus PDF [Download]

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PART I

Political Theory and Indian Politics

1.Political theory meaning and approaches
2.Theories of the state: Liberal, Neoliberal, 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:Dharamshastra, Arthashastra and Buddhist traditions ; Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, S r i 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 the 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.
4.

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 Inst i tut ions/Commissions: Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, Finance Commission, Union Public Service Commission, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Comission 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; liberalilzation 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 Movements: Civil liberties and human rights movements; women's movements; environmentalist movements

PART II

Comparative Politics and International Relations

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 super powers; strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and Cold War; nuclear threat;
2. Non-al igned 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, SAARC, 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; 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 Co-operation: SAARC – past performance and future prospects.
2. South Asia as a Free Trade Area.
3. India's "Look East" policy.
4. Impediments to regional co-operation: 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.
h1opments 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.