PSIR Optional Syllabus

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Political Science and International Relations

PAPER- I

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:Dharamshastra, 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 Government and Politics:

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.

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

b) 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; liberalization 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- II

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:

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.

8. 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.

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

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.

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.