GS Paper II — Q10
"With the waning of globalization, post-Cold War world is becoming a site of sovereign nationalism." Elucidate. (Answer in 150…
"With the waning of globalization, post-Cold War world is becoming a site of sovereign nationalism." Elucidate. (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks
हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें
"वैश्वीकरण के क्षीण होने के साथ, शीत युद्ध के बाद की दुनिया संप्रभु राष्ट्रवाद का स्थल बनती जा रही है।" स्पष्ट कीजिए। (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में दीजिए)
Model answer
Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.
The post-Cold War era of 1990s liberal triumphalism (Fukuyama) and multilateral expansion has yielded to sovereign nationalism as globalization wanes. This retreat is marked by declining global trade-to-GDP ratios, reshoring trends, and a WTO Appellate Body paralysed since 2019.
Drivers and State Assertions Hyper-interdependence created strategic vulnerabilities—accentuated by pandemic supply-chain disruptions and geopolitical shocks—prompting states to subordinate market efficiency to national security. Sovereign nationalism manifests through reasserted borders, stricter immigration controls, unilateral protectionism, and resistance to supranational arbitration.
Regional Manifestations Universal multilateralism has fragmented into competitive blocs and minilateralism, seen in US-China decoupling, the sweeping US tariffs of 2025, Brexit, the Russia-Ukraine war, AUKUS, and an assertive expanded BRICS. India reflects this pivot by pursuing strategic autonomy and domestic resilience through Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Ultimately, this shift signifies not absolute autarky, but a structural transition toward selective strategic autonomy, where the sovereign nation-state re-emerges as the primary anchor in a fragmented, multipolar world order.
How this answer will be evaluated
Framework: GS2 International Relations
What earns full marks: Clear link between globalization's decline and specific nationalist policies with examples.
Evaluation rubric
Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.
- The answer Elucidate how the retreat of globalization has made the post-Cold War world a site of sovereign nationalism, with examples and limits. 10 marks · 150 words
explain— definition/context → points in order → small example → short close
Must cover
- Explain the waning of globalization (protectionism, reshoring, slower trade growth, WTO paralysis)
- Drivers: US–China rivalry, pandemic supply shocks, wars and sanctions, domestic inequality
- Explain sovereign nationalism (economic self-reliance, border and migration control, rejection of supranational rules)
- Specific examples (e.g., Brexit, US tariffs, EU strategic autonomy, India's Atmanirbhar Bharat)
Loses marks
- Reciting Cold War history without linking to current trends
- Vague generalities without specific policy examples
- Ignoring the post-Cold War context
Earns more
- Terms like deglobalization, slowbalization, friend-shoring
- Trade wars and sanctions (US–China, Russia after 2022)
- Rise of multipolarity and minilateralism (Quad, AUKUS, expanded BRICS)
- Limits: continued interdependence in services, data and finance
Extra mark
- A recent trade policy event (e.g., sweeping US tariffs of 2025)
- A specific data point (e.g., WTO Appellate Body non-functional since December 2019)
What "Elucidate" is asking you to do
Make a stated proposition plain and then prove it with instances. Elucidate stems almost always carry a claim or a named concept, and very often the words “with examples” or “with suitable diagrams” — the illustration is part of the directive, not decoration.
Structure that answers it
Plain-language statement of what the proposition means → the part that is obscure, resolved → first illustration → second illustration → why the proposition holds
Where marks are lost
Adding terminology; elucidate rewards removing it. The commoner loss is a clean explanation with no example, when the stem asked for examples.
Practice this exact question
Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.
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