PSIR (Political Science and International Relations) Optional Syllabus

Paper I: Political Theory and Indian Politics

Section A: Political Theory and Thought

• Political Theory: Meaning and approaches.

• Theories of the State: Liberal, Neo-liberal, Marxist, Pluralist, Post-colonial, and Feminist.

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

• Equality: Social, political, and economic; the 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: Dharmashastra, 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.

Section B: Indian Government and Politics

• Indian National Movement:

  • (a) Political Strategies of India’s Freedom Struggle: Constitutionalism to mass Satyagraha, Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience; Militant and Revolutionary Movements, Peasant and Workers Movements.

  • (b) 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 Government:

  • (a) Union Government: Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature, and Supreme Court.

  • (b) 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 center-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; 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 socio-economic profile of Legislators.

• Social Movements: Civil liberties and human rights movements; women’s movements; environmentalist movements.

Paper II: Comparative Politics and International Relations

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.

• 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.

• 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 a new international economic order; Globalisation of the world economy.

• United Nations: Envisaged role and actual record; Specialized UN agencies—aims and functioning; the 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.

Section B: India and the World

• Indian Foreign Policy: Determinants of foreign policy; the institutions of policy-making; continuity and change.

• India’s Contribution to the Non-Alignment Movement: Different phases; current role.

• 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; 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 crises in Afghanistan, Iraq, and West Asia, growing relations with US and Israel; Vision of a new world order.