HCS mains political science and IR optional syllabus

HCS mains political science and IR optional syllabus

HCS Syllabus: Political Science and International Relations HCS Mains Optional Syllabus

HPSC HCS mains optional subject syllabus

Part-I

Political Theory

1. General characteristics of Western political thought.Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Bentham, J.S. Mill, T.H. Green, Hegel, Marx, Lenin , Mao-se Tung.

2. Nature and scope of political science. Significance of political theory. Elite and theories of Elite. Growth of political science as a discipline. Traditional vs. contemporary approaches. Behaviouralism and post behavioural developments. System theory and other recent approaches to political analysis. Marxist approach to political analysis. Power, authority and legitimacy. Different dimension of power. Theories of power in society.

3. The emergence and nature of the modern state. Sovereignty. Monistic and pluralistic analysis of sovereignty. Dominant perspectives of modern state : alternate perspectives. Political culture and political socialization. Political
participation and political communication. Modernisation and political development. Alienation and theory of Alienation. National building and national integration. Social conflict and revolution.

4. Political obligation. Resistance and revolution. The concepts of freedom, liberty, equality, rights, property, justice, Human rights and gender issues. Theories of distributive justice. Notions of common good. Consumer protection with special reference to India.

5. Democracy and political participation. Dominant theories of democracy. Political process and social change. Theories of social change–revolutionary change. Concepts of development, socialist, liberal, Gandhian and others. Critics of development modal, the debate on welfare state. Development and environment–the contemporary debates.

6. Liberalism, evolutionary socialism (democratic and fabian). Marxian socialism, Fascism.

Government and politics with special Reference to India

1. Approaches to the study of comparative politics. Study of Western and non-western perspectives.

2. Political institutions. The legislature, executive and judiciary. Parties and pressure groups. Theories of party system (Lenin, Michels and Duverger). Electoral system. Bureaucracy–Weber‘s view and modern critiques of Weber.

3. Indian Political System:

(a) The Roots, colonialism and nationalism in India. A general study of modern Indian social and political thought of Raja Rammohan Roy, Dadabhai Nauroji, Gokhale, Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Iqbal, Jinnah, Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, M.N. Roy, Nehru, Vinobha Bhave and Jai Parkash Narain.

(b) The structure – Basic features of Indian Constitution, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles, Union Government, Parliament, Cabinet, Supreme Court and Judicial Review, Indian Federalism, Centre-state relations, State Government, Role of the Governor, Panchayati Raj institutions.

(c) The Functioning – class and caste in Indian politics. Politics of regionalism, linguism and communalism. Problem of secularization of the policy and national integration. Political elites, the changing composition. Political
parties and political participation. Pressure groups. Public opinion. Voting behaviour and electoral process. Ethnicity.
Planning and developmental administration. Socio-economic changes and its impact on Indian democracy.

Part-II

1. Nature and concepts of international politics. Functioning of the sovereignation state system; cold war and neo-cold war–its origin, end and impact on global politics. Power. National interest. Balance of power. Power vacuum.

2. Theories of international politics : The realist theory, System theory, Critical theories etc.

3. Foreign policy determinants and choices. National interest. Ideology. Elements of national power (including nature of domestic social-political institution). Imperialism. Balance of power. Allegiances. Isolationalism. Nationalistic universalism (Pax Britiannica, Pax Americana, Pax Sovietica), The Middle Kingdom complex of China, Non-alignment.

4. Non-alignment movement. Its meaning and basis. Its role in international relations. De-colonization and expansion of the international community. Neo-colonialism and facialism, their impact on international relations.

5. International economic order : Aid, trade and economic development. The struggle for the new international economic order. Sovereignty over natural resources. The crisis in energy resources. Global politics of environment. Role of IMF, World Bank, WTO, ADB and North South Dialogue.

6. Origin and development of international organisations. The United Nations and specialized agencies and their role in international relations.

7. Role of Regional organizations: OAS, OAU, the Arab League, the ASEAN. EU, APEC, SAARC, NAFTA etc.

8. Arms race, disarmament and arms control. Conventional and nuclear arms. Proxy wars and problem of terrorism. The Arms trade, its impact on Third world and its role in international relations. The uses and mis-uses of nuclear energy. The impact of nuclear weapons on international relations. The Partial Test ban Treaty. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Peaceful Nuclear Explosions (PNE) and CTBT.

9. Theory and practice of diplomacy. External intervention: Ideological, political and economic. Cultural imperialism. Covert intervention by the major power.

10. The problems and prospects of the Indian Ocean being made a peace-zone and emerging cooperation under IOR–ARC and the conflict situation in West Asia.

11. The post-war foreign policies of the major powers viz., United States, Soviet Union, China. India and the World

1. Determinants and making of India‘s foreign policy.

2. India‘s policy of non-alignment and its contribution through NAM.

3. India‘s relations with major powers: USA, USSR, Russia, Japan, EU.

4. India and its neighbors: China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lank and Nepal.

5. Conflict and cooperation in South and Southeast Asia: Major conflicts, SAARC, ASEAN, ARF, IOR-ARC.

6. India‘s foreign economic policy, globalization and changing world order; India and people of Indian origin.

7. India‘s concerns for nuclear proliferation and peace. PTBT, NPT, PNE, CTBT, UN Peace-Keeping and global disarmament.

8. Changing global environment and assessment of India‘s foreign policy.