APSC Mains 2020-21 Exam – Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) Syllabus, Book Lists & Study Materials

APSC Mains Exam - Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) Syllabus & Book Lists, Test Series & Notes

Full Syllabus & Reference Books

POLITICAL SCIENCE PAPER – I

Political Theory and Indian Politics
  • Political theory: meaning and approaches.
  • Theories of the state: Liberal, Neo-liberal, Marxist, Pluralist, Post-colonial and feminist.
  • Justice: Conceptions of justice with special reference to Rawl’s theory of justice and its communitarian critiques.
  • Equality: Social, political and economic; the relationship between equality and freedom; Affirmative action.
  • Rights: Meaning and theories; different kinds of rights; the concept of Human Rights.
  • Democracy: Classical and contemporary theories; different models of democracy-representative, participatory and deliberative.
  • Concept of power: hegemony, ideology and legitimacy.
  • Political Ideologies: Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Feminism.
  • Indian Political Thought: Dharmashastra, Arthashastra and Buddhist traditions; Sir Syed Ahmed 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 Arend
Indian Government and Politics
  • Indian Nationalism:
  1. Political Strategies of India’s Freedom struggle: constitutionalism to mass Satyagraha, Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience; militant and revolutionary movements, Peasant and workers’ movements.
  2. Perspectives on Indian National Movement: Liberal, Socialist and Marxist; Radical humanist and Dalit.
  • Making of the Indian Constitution: Legacies of the British rule; different social and political perspectives.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Grassroots Democracy: Panchayati Raj and Municipal Government; the significance of 73rd and 74th Amendments; Grassroot movements.
  • 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.
  • Federalism: Constitutional provisions; changing nature of centre-state relations; integrationist tendencies and regional aspirations; inter-state disputes.
  • Planning and Economic Development: Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives; the role of planning and public sector; Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations; liberalization and economic reforms.
  • Caste, Religion and Ethnicity in Indian Politics.
  • 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.
  • Social Movements: Civil liberties and human rights movements; women’s movements; environmentalist movements

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

  1. A History Of Political Thought: Plato To Marx – Mukherjee and Susheela Ramaswamy
  2. Introduction to Political Theory – O P Gauba
  3. Politial Theory – Rajeev Bhargava
  4. Internet/Wikipedia – for concept clarification/ further details

POLITICAL SCIENCE 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:
    1. (a) Rise of superpowers; strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and Cold War; nuclear threat;
    2. (b) Non-aligned movement: Aims and achievements;
    3. (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, SAARC, 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; 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:
    1. Regional Co-operation: SAARC-past performance and future prospects.
    2. South Asia as a Free Trade Area.
    3. India’s “Look East” policy.
    4. 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 crisis in Afghanistan, Iraq and West Asia, growing relations with US and Israel; the vision of new world order.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

  1. Indian Polity – Laxmikant (must for basic coverage)
  2. Our Constitution – Subhash Kashyap
  3. Politics in India – Rajni Kothari
  4. Wikipedia.org -for International Organisations

Political Science Resources

Download NCERT Books – Political Science (Study Material for APSC Civil Services Exam)