UPSC Political Science & IR 2024 — Paper I

Framework: Concept > Theory and theorist > Application > Critique. (a) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance | (b) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance | (c) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance | (d) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance | (e) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance Full marks: Precise definitions, named theorists, clear distinctions, and specific examples within 150 words.

• Origins: Chicago School (Merriam), post-war revolution; Easton, Dahl, Almond
• Easton's intellectual foundation stones: regularities, verification, techniques, quantification, values, systematisation, pure science, integration
• Contributions: empirical, interdisciplinary, systems analysis, survey research
• Critiques (Strauss, Voegelin; irrelevance) and post-behaviouralism (Easton 1969)
• Critique of monistic (Austinian) sovereignty
• Maitland, Figgis, Laski, Cole, MacIver: associations with real personality; state as one association
• American group pluralism: Bentley, Truman, Dahl's polyarchy
• Critiques: elitists (Mills), Marxists, neo-pluralism (Lindblom); Indian relevance
• Government as trust based on consent to protect life, liberty, estate
• Right of resistance when trust breached; 'appeal to heaven'
• Dissolution of government vs society; long train of abuses; not frequent rebellion
• Influence: 1688, American Declaration; critique (vagueness, majority judgment)
• Classical liberalism: laissez-faire, negative liberty, minimal state
• Causes: Depression, inequality, rise of totalitarianism, socialist critique; Laski's analysis
• Transformation: new liberalism (Green, Hobhouse), welfare state, Keynes; neoliberal revival
• Contemporary crisis: populism, illiberal democracy, inequality; counter-view that liberalism adapts
• Power: capacity to influence/coerce (Weber, Dahl; faces of power)
• Hegemony: Gramsci – consent plus coercion, civil society, common sense
• IR: hegemonic stability (Kindleberger, Gilpin), Nye's soft power, Cox's neo-Gramscianism
• Illustrations (US post-1945 order; challenges from China/multipolarity) and link: hegemony as legitimised power

Framework: Concept > Theory and theorist > Application > Critique. (a) explain: definition/context > points in order > small example > short close | (b) comment: context > arguments both sides > judgment > close | (c) comment: context > arguments both sides > judgment > close Full marks: Directly engages with abstract theory, presents contending positions, and offers a balanced judgment with specific illustrations.

• Classical/public-realm meaning: Aristotle's zoon politikon and Arendt's politics as action and speech among equals in a shared public space
• Institutional-systemic meaning: Easton's authoritative allocation of values and Lasswell's who gets what, when, how, with a state/policy illustration
• Conflict and power meaning: Schmitt's friend–enemy distinction and Mouffe's agonism, contrasted with Crick's politics as conciliation of interests
• Expansive meaning: feminist 'the personal is political' and Foucault's diffuse power, illustrated through Indian examples such as caste or gender mobilisation
• Marxism as praxis: the eleventh Thesis on Feuerbach, where the point is to change the world
• The case for strict compliance: historical materialism, class struggle, and Lenin's vanguard party with democratic centralism
• The case against: Bernstein's revisionism, Lukács and Gramsci on consciousness and hegemony, and the Frankfurt School, showing Marxism as a plural, evolving tradition
• A balanced verdict with an illustration, e.g. CPI(M) working through parliamentary democracy in India, or Marx's own call for 'ruthless criticism of all that exists'
• T.H. Marshall's civil, political and social citizenship, where social rights make formal equality real
• The liberal tension: Nozick and Hayek see redistribution as a threat to liberty
• The egalitarian-liberal reconciliation: Rawls' difference principle and fair value of political liberties, Tawney's and Laski's view that liberty without equality is empty
• Indian illustration: Ambedkar's warning of 'life of contradictions' (political equality with socio-economic inequality), DPSP, the 73rd/74th Amendments and welfare schemes

Framework: Concept > Theory and theorist > Application > Critique. (a) comment: context > arguments both sides > judgment > close | (b) discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close | (c) comment: context > arguments both sides > judgment > close Full marks: Precise definitions, clear distinction between concepts, strong theoretical grounding, and a well-reasoned judgment.

• Universalism: Enlightenment natural-rights roots, UDHR 1948, and the critique of Eurocentrism and Western individualism
• Cultural relativism: rights as contingent on culture, the 'Asian values' debate and the Bangkok Declaration (1993), and its danger of shielding internal oppression
• Attempts to transcend the binary: Vienna Declaration 1993 ('universal, indivisible and interdependent'), Donnelly's relative universality, An-Na'im's internal cultural discourse
• Capability-based bridges (Sen, Nussbaum) and a reasoned conclusion on overlapping consensus rather than either extreme
• Shift from aggregative to deliberative democracy: legitimacy from free, equal, reasoned public discussion
• Theoretical foundations: Habermas' communicative rationality and ideal speech situation, Rawls' public reason
• Practice: Fishkin's deliberative polling, citizens' assemblies, and Indian forms such as Gram Sabhas and ward committees under the 73rd/74th Amendments, Kerala People's Plan Campaign (1996)
• Critiques: Iris Marion Young on exclusionary norms of argument, Mouffe's agonism, and problems of scale and elite capture
• Core texts and scheme: Manusmriti, Yajnavalkya Smriti; achara, vyavahara, prayashchitta
• Duty-centric structure: sadharana dharma (universal duties), varnashrama dharma (station- and stage-specific duties), dharma as regulator of artha and kama
• Rajadharma: the ruler's duty of protection and yogakshema (Arthashastra, Shanti Parva), showing duties bind rulers too
• Critique and contemporary relevance: Ambedkar's 'graded inequality', feminist critique, Gandhi's rights-from-duties view, and Fundamental Duties (Article 51A)

(a) discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close | (b) critique: the claim > its strengths > its weaknesses > your judgment | (c) discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close Full marks: Comprehensive, analytical, and well-structured answers with strong theoretical grounding and specific examples.

• Distinguish power, authority and legitimacy; legality (formal rules) versus legitimacy (moral justification)
• Weber's three types of legitimate domination (traditional, charismatic, legal-rational) and Beetham's three criteria (legal validity, shared beliefs, expressed consent)
• How legitimacy grounds political obligation: consent (Locke), fair play (Hart, Rawls), Green's 'will, not force, is the basis of the state'
• Critical view and Indian illustration: Habermas' legitimation crisis, anarchist (Wolff) and Marxist critiques; Indian legitimacy through elections, constitutionalism and the basic structure doctrine
• Two-world ontology: changing sensible world (doxa) versus eternal intelligible Forms (episteme); the Form of the Good as highest
• Illustrations: Allegory of the Cave, Divided Line, and the Sun analogy
• Political implication: knowledge of the Good justifies rule by the philosopher-king and the ideal state in the Republic
• Critique: Third Man regress (Parmenides, Aristotle), problem of participation and separation, Popper's charge of totalitarianism and closed society
• Roy's evolution: founder of the Mexican Communist Party (1919) and émigré CPI at Tashkent (1920), then break with the Comintern and move to Radical Humanism
• Second Comintern Congress (1920) supplementary theses: disagreement with Lenin on the role of the national bourgeoisie in colonial liberation
• Humanist reading: rejection of economic determinism, primacy of reason, freedom and the individual; Materialism and Reason, Romanticism and Revolution
• New Humanism: 22 theses (Dehradun, 1946), New Humanism: A Manifesto (1947), Radical Democracy with people's committees and party-less politics

Framework: Concept > Theory and theorist > Application > Critique. (a) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance | (b) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance | (c) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance | (d) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance | (e) write short notes: define > 3-4 key features > one example > one-line significance Full marks: Precise definitions, specific constitutional references, clear structure, and critical analysis.

• Meaning: adherence to the core values and spirit of the Constitution over popular or majoritarian morality
• Origin: Ambedkar's 4 November 1948 speech borrowing from George Grote; democracy as a 'top-dressing'
• Judicial use: Navtej Singh Johar (2018), Sabarimala (2018), Manoj Narula (2014), Govt of NCT of Delhi (2018)
• Critique: risk of judicial subjectivity and indeterminacy
• Moved by Nehru on 13 December 1946, adopted on 22 January 1947
• Content: independent sovereign republic, all power from the people, justice, equality, freedoms
• Safeguards for minorities, backward and tribal areas and depressed classes
• Significance: basis of the Preamble and the philosophy of the Constitution
• Article 32 as a fundamental right; Ambedkar's 'heart and soul'
• Five writs: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, quo warranto
• Article 226 wider High Court jurisdiction; PIL and relaxed locus standi (S.P. Gupta, Vishaka)
• Suspension under Article 359 and the 44th Amendment protection of Articles 20 and 21
• Article 169 procedure for creation or abolition
• Present states with councils (six) and composition under Article 171 (graduates, teachers, local bodies, nominated)
• Arguments for: revising chamber, representation of expertise and functional groups
• Arguments against: delaying power only, cost, backdoor for defeated candidates; examples of abolition and revival (Andhra Pradesh)
• Origin: Dubagunta village, Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, 1992, through literacy (Akshara Deepam) classes
• Issues: alcoholism, domestic violence, household poverty and the state's excise revenue
• Methods and outcome: blocking auctions and vends, arrack ban from October 1993, total prohibition 1995, lifted 1997
• Significance: grassroots women's political agency shaping state policy

(a) comment: context > arguments both sides > judgment > close | (b) explain: definition/context > points in order > small example > short close | (c) discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close Full marks: Precise legal/constitutional references, balanced analysis, clear structure, and specific examples.

• Nature of the two parts: Fundamental Rights as justiciable, largely negative limits; DPSPs as non-justiciable positive goals, yet 'fundamental in the governance of the country' (Article 37)
• DPSPs that carry socio-economic justice: Articles 38, 39(b)-(c), 41, 43, 46, with Preamble link
• Evolution of judicial view: Champakam Dorairajan (1951), Kerala Education Bill (1958) harmonious construction, Article 31C (25th and 42nd Amendments), Kesavananda Bharati, Minerva Mills (1980) balance as basic structure
• Reasoned position: complementarity, with DPSPs read into Article 21 (livelihood, health, education leading to Article 21A) rather than either being superior
• Statutory basis: National Commission for Women Act, 1990; constituted 31 January 1992
• Structure: Chairperson, five Members (at least one SC and one ST), Member-Secretary, all nominated by the Central Government
• Functions: investigate safeguards, review laws, take suo motu cognizance, inspect custodial homes, advise on planning; civil court powers
• Assessment: advisory nature, dependence on government for appointments and funds, and suggestions for reform
• Planning Commission (1950) and its replacement by NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015; end of Five-Year Plans after the Twelfth Plan (2017)
• Continuities: long-term visions (Viksit Bharat@2047), multi-year targets, Centrally Sponsored Schemes and conditional transfers
• Changes: resource allocation shifted to Finance Commission and ministries; NITI as think tank promoting cooperative and competitive federalism (Governing Council, Aspirational Districts, SDG index)
• Balanced assessment: the planning mindset and centralised scheme design persist, while transfer powers and rigid planning have gone

Framework: Concept > Theory and theorist > Application > Critique. (a) discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close | (b) discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close | (c) critically evaluate: positives > negatives/limits > conditions/safeguards > conclusion Full marks: Comprehensive, theoretically grounded, with specific examples and critical analysis.

• Early anti-caste foundations: Phule's Satyashodhak Samaj (1873), Ayyankali, Ad-Dharm (Mangoo Ram, 1926), Periyar's Self-Respect Movement
• Ambedkar's organisations and direct action: Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (1924), Mahad Satyagraha (1927), Kalaram temple entry (1930), Independent Labour Party (1936), Scheduled Castes Federation (1942)
• Engagement with the national movement: Round Table Conferences, Communal Award and Poona Pact (1932); Gandhi–Ambedkar debate on untouchability
• Contribution to egalitarianism: making social democracy part of the freedom agenda; legacy in Articles 14–17, reservations and the Constitution
• Gram Swaraj: self-sufficient, decentralised village republics, oceanic circles (Hind Swaraj and later writings)
• Economic components: khadi and village industries, bread labour, swadeshi, trusteeship, limiting wants
• Systematised versions: Gandhian Plan (1944) by Shriman Narayan Agarwal, Kumarappa's economy of permanence; contrast with Nehruvian heavy-industry planning
• Legacy and critique: Article 40, 73rd Amendment, district planning; Ambedkar's 'sink of localism', scalability and growth concerns
• Definition and types: business (FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM), agrarian (BKU), trade unions, professional, caste and issue-based groups
• Methods: lobbying, representation to committees, pre-budget consultations, protests, media and litigation
• Illustrations of influence: RTI Act 2005 (MKSS), MGNREGA (now succeeded by the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025), repeal of the farm laws (2021)
• Critical assessment: unequal access and elite capture, links to parties, lack of regulation of lobbying; value for plural democracy

Framework: Concept > Theory and theorist > Application > Critique. (a) discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close | (b) examine: intro > how/why with reasoning > evidence > conclusion | (c) comment: context > arguments both sides > judgment > close Full marks: Demonstrates deep theoretical understanding, precise application to Indian context, and critical analysis with specific examples and references.

• Key movements with dates: Chipko (1973), Silent Valley (national park 1984), Appiko (1983), Narmada Bachao Andolan, Niyamgiri
• Policy and legal outcomes: 1980 green-felling ban, Environment (Protection) Act 1986 after Bhopal, EIA Notification 1994 with public hearings (1997, 2006)
• Rights-based turn: Forest Rights Act 2006, PESA 1996, the 2013 Niyamgiri gram sabha verdict; NGT Act 2010 and PIL (M.C. Mehta)
• Limits: Sardar Sarovar (2000) verdict, dilution of EIA norms, uneven implementation and development–environment tension
• Concept: Ted Gurr (Why Men Rebel, 1970) and James Davies' J-curve; gap between expectations and attainment, not absolute poverty
• Horowitz's backward-versus-advanced groups and status anxiety as a mechanism of ethnic mobilisation
• Examples: Sri Lanka (Sinhala Only Act 1956, university standardisation 1971); India: Assam Movement (1979–85), Bodoland, Gorkhaland, Manipur (2023)
• Limits of the thesis: elite manipulation, resource competition, instrumentalist and constructivist explanations, role of institutions in accommodation
• Constitutional basis: Article 243A, 73rd Amendment (1992); PESA 1996 powers in Scheduled Areas; FRA 2006 role
• Functions: approving plans and beneficiaries, social audit, Gram Panchayat Development Plan, deliberation
• Promise realised: Niyamgiri (2013), social audits of rural employment schemes, Kerala People's Plan
• Practice falls short: low attendance, elite and caste capture, weak participation of women, SCs and STs, irregular meetings; reforms such as quorum, mahila sabhas, digital records