Political Science and International Relations

Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, the attempt at a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Write approximately 150 words on each one of the following:   (10*5 = 50M)   (a) Behavioural approach to Political Science (b) Pluralist theory of State (c) Locke's views on Revolution (d) Decline of Liberalism (e) Linkage between Power and Hegemony 2.  (20, 15, 15 = 50M) (a) Elucidate the meanings inherent in the term 'political' with appropriate illustrations. (b) Marxism is a political theory o...

According to Liberal individualism, individuals are free, rational, and capable of self-determination. They believe individual interests are better promoted by letting them choose for themselves what sort of life they want to lead. Michael Sandel in his Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982), developed a critique of the liberal individualist foundations of John Rawls's theory of Liberal justice. John Rawls's theory of justice as fairness is a contractarian theory that establishes moral principles for a just society. His theory of justice is based on the idea that free and rational people would agree to the principles of justice to establish an equal grounding for individuals. Michael Sandel criticizes Rawls's notion of disembodied or unencumbered self or subject in opposition to which he advances the notion of the situated self i.e., the self or subject, who is invariably a member of a community. While, for Rawls, the right is prior to good and justice is the first...

The idea of Democracy becomes a reality when people are involved in collective problem-solving. The type of system in which development projects are conceived, planned, executed, operated, and maintained by outsiders, people receive benefits with little or no participation in the actual process of development. The field investigations showed the 'top-down' approach as inefficient as outsourcing development projects needed to address social issues. The limitations were - Unequal distribution of development benefits among different sections of the population Increased dependency of people on external resources Indifference of people towards the facilities created Heavy spending by the government on the replacement, operation, and maintenance of facilities created Depletion of natural resources due to over-utilization Under-utilization of inputs, when unsuitable for use The studies demonstrated that the problems ...

 Ethnic groups - Establishing Political Identities In this essay we will learn, To define ethnicity Approaches to mainstream ethnic groups and their effects Factors that give rise to identity consciousness and Demands of ethnic groups  The term "ethnic group" is generally used to designate a population which is biologically self-perpetuating, shares fundamental cultural values, realized in overt unity in cultural forms, makes up a field of communication and interaction and has a membership which identifies itself, and is identified by others as constituting a category distinguishable from other categories of the same order.  Ethnic group is composed of "primordial affinities and attachments". In the given social context, groups consciously choose to emphasize their most meaningful primary, extra familial identity on the basis of religious, racial, cultural, linguistic, national characteristics, or a combination of any of them, are referred to as ethnic groups. ...

Approaches to the study of Nationalism - Gellner defines nationalism as primarily a political principle that holds that the political unit and the national unit should be congruent . Nationalist sentiment is a feeling of anger aroused by the violation of the principle, or the feeling of satisfaction aroused by its fulfillment. Nationalism has been approached from a wide variety of perspectives - 1. Liberal Humanitarian Approach to Nationalism - This approach laid stress on the humanitarian and cultural aspects of nationalism.  According to Herder, mankind is divided by nature and by reason into separate nationalities and it is through cultivation of particular genius of the nationality that both the individual and humanity as a whole make progress towards perfection. Herder emphasized the cultural part of Nationalism. Nationalism for him is apolitical . Fichte believed in economic nationalism . Unless a nation becomes economically self-sufficient, it could not survive as a...

 A pattern of interconnectedness has always existed since the rise of the modern state in the 15th Century, and is reflected in the writings of Grotius and Kant who argued that states existed within a 'society of states' and 'international law' is focussed upon cooperation and co-existence of states. Economic globalization diffused power in local and international spheres and states have lost their earlier authority and legitimacy. The international civil society and supra-state government will eventually replace the traditional nation-state as the primary political and economic unit of world society. The international elite or knowledge class is well equipped to accommodate 'consumerist-ideology' which creates a new global common identity. Globalisation is turning to 'a fundamental reconfiguration of human action'. The challenge from the new world economy - The internationalization of production and financial transactions had a major impact on st...

Autonomy, freedom and equality form the cornerstone of the democracy. Autonomy and Freedom suggests the importance of popular government. Equality suggests, every citizen starts off with an equal chance of influencing the outcome of the democracy. Justifications for Democracy: Intrinsic and Instrumental - When a democracy is valued as a good in itself and for itself, we assert the intrinsic value of democracy. It means democracy is valuable for its own sake. Intrinsic value of democracy is derived from its moral superiority. This is the only way human race has been able to devise that makes binding decisions on all. Democracy represents a fair moral compromise among people who live within the territory of the same state, but do not share a single conception of the good life. Instrumental democracy, values democracy as a means to some other end. For example, it may be argued that democracy is good because it fosters competition among political leaders and so gives us a better choi...

  Paper 2A - Comparative Political Analysis and International Relations Comparative Politics: Nature and Major Approaches Political Economy and Political Sociology Perspectives Limitations of the comparative method State in Comparative Perspective: Characteristics of changing nature of state in Capitalist and Socialist Economies Advanced industrial societies 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 of International Relations: National Interest and Security and Power Balance of power and deterrence Transnational actors and collective security World Capitalist economy and Globalisation Changing International Political Order: Cold war Rise of Super Power...

Political Theory - Paper 1A Political theory - meaning and approaches Theories of State Liberal Neo-Liberal Marxist Pluralist Post-colonial Feminist Justice   Conception of Justice with special reference to Rawl's theory of Justice and Its communitarian critique Equality Social Political and Economic Relationship between equality and freedom Affirmative action Rights Meaning and Theories Different kind of Rights Conception of Human Rights Democracy Classical and Contemporary theories Different models of Democracy Representative Participative and  Deliberative Concept of Power Hegemony Ideology Legitimacy Political Ideologies Liberalism Marxism Socialism Fascism Gandhism and  Feminism Indian Political Thought Dharmashastra Arthashastra Buddhist Traditions Sir Syed Ahmad 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 Indian Government and Politics - P...

           Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Answer the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)   (a) Party system in India is neither western nor indigenous. Explain. (b) In what respect is the new social movement new in nature? Discuss. (c) Do you agree that the U.N. has failed to contain transnational terrorism? Elaborate your answer with examples. (d) "The Feminist approach to international polit...

          Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Comment on the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)   (a) "... political theory is not an escape mechanism but an ardous calling." (John Plamanetz) (b) "All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility." (J. S. Mill) (c) "Nationalism is not a mere political programme but a way of life like religion." (d) "India has thrown up a form of judicial de...

         Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Answer the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)   (a) Which are the major approaches of comparative politics? Explain in brief, the political economy approach to the study of comparative inquiry. (b) Do you subscribe to the view that the modern constructs of the State and politics are pre-eminently Eurocentric and not indigenous and appropriate for the analysi...

         Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Comment on the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)  (a) Idea of Natural Rights (b) Aristotle's Conception of Equality (c) 'Difference Principle' in Rawls' Theory of Justice (d) Difference between Participatory and Deliberative Democracy (e) Gandhi's views on State  2.  (20, 15, 15 = 50M) (a) Examine the challenges to sovereignty of the State in the conte...

         Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Comment on the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)  (a) Critically examine the Marxist aspect of political economy approach to the study of comparative politics. (b) Comment on the decline of political parties and examine whether new social movements shall be alternative strategy fro establishing link between government and society. (c) Discuss the impact of globa...

        Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Comment on the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)  (a) "How would I and my fellow human beings behave if we were to find ourselves in a state of nature, and what does this behaviour tell us about our innate predispositions?" (Thomas Hobbes) (b) The Post-Behavioural Approach  (c) Affirmative Action (d) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's idea of state socialism (e) Gramsci's conc...

       Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Answer the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)  (a) Explain the Political-Sociological Approach in the field of comparative politics and discuss its limitations. (b) Critically examine the Globalisation in the past 25 years from the perspectives of the Western world. (c) Examine the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) movement in developed societies and how it ...

        Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Comment on the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)  (a) According to Sri Aurobindo, Swaraj is a necessary condition for India to accomplish its destined goal. (b) Neo-liberal perspective of State (c) Post-modernism (d) Eco-feminism (e) Hobbesian notion of Political Obligation 2.  (20, 15, 15 = 50M) (a) Rawls' theory of justice is both contractual and distributive. ...

       Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Answer the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)  (a) Describe the changing nature of Comparative Politics. Briefly explain the Political Economy approach to the study of Comparative Politics. (b) Describe the changing nature of the State in the developing societies in the context of inclusive growth in the 21st Century. (c) How big a role does identity play in determining...

      Instructions - Questions no. 1 and 5 are compulsory and out of the remaining, any THREE are to be attempted choosing at least ONE question from each section. Attempts of questions shall be counted in sequential order. Unless struck off, attempt of a question shall be counted even if attempted partly. Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.                                   PAPER 1 - Section A   1. Answer the following in about 150 words each:   (10*5 = 50M)  (a) John Stuart Mill is a 'reluctant democrat'. - C. L. Wayper  (b) Decline of Political Theory (c) Distributive Justice  (d) Substantive Democracy (e) "Nothing against the State, nothing over it, nothing beyond it." - Mussolini 2.  (20, 15, 15 = 50M) (a) Critically examine the neo-liberal theory of State. (b) Anal...