Complete Political Science Optional Notes for UPSC 2024- PSIR Notes with Pdf

Political Science Optional Notes ( PSIR Notes )

Complete Political Science Optional Notes or PSIR Notes for UPSC are provided here with pdf. Our PSIR Optional notes are designed to cover PSIR optional syllabus for UPSC. Our Mentors create these notes in a comprehensive language so that you understand the concept and score high marks in your PSIR optional for UPSC mains exam.

Here we provide Political Science and International Relation notes for both Paper 1 and Paper 2. You can also download Political Science Optional Notes pdf for offline study.

Political Science Optional Notes

1] Political Theory: meaning and approaches

  1. Political Theory: meaning and approaches

2] Theories of state : Liberal, Neo-liberal, Marxist, Pluralist, post-colonial and Feminist

  1. Theories of State: Introduction
  2. Liberal theory of State
  3. Neo-liberal theory of State
  4. Marxist theory of State
  5. Pluralist theory of State
  6. Postcolonial theory of State
  7. Feminist theory of State

3] Justice : Conceptions of justice with special reference to Rawl’s theory of justice and its communitarian critiques

  1. Rawls’ theory of justice and its communitarian critique

4] Equality : Social, political and economic; relationship between equality and freedom; Affirmative action

  1. Equality, Freedom and Affirmative Action

5] Rights : Meaning and theories; different kinds of rights; Concept of Human Rights

  1. Theories of Rights & Human Rights
  2. Responsibility to Protect

6] Democracy : Classical and contemporary theories; different models of democracy—representative, participatory and deliberative

  • Theories and Models of Democracy

7] Concept of power : hegemony, ideology and legitimacy

  1. Theories of Power

8] Political Ideologies : Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism and Feminism

  1. Ideology
  2. Liberalism
  3. Socialism
  4. Marxism
  5. Fascism
  6. Feminism
  7. Postmodernism
  8. Gandhism
  9. End of Ideology

9] Indian Political Thought: Dharamshastra, Arthashastra and Buddhist Traditions; Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Sri Aurobindo, M. K. Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, M. N. Roy

  1. Dharmashastra tradition
  2. Arthashastra (Kautilya’s political thought)
  3. Buddhist thought
  4. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
  5. Sri Aurobindo
  6. M.K. Gandhi
  7. B.R. Ambedkar
  8. M.N. Roy

10] Western Political Thought : Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, John S. Mill, Marx, Gramsci, Hannah Arendt

  1. Socrates
  2. Plato
  3. Aristotle
  4. Machiavelli
  5. Thomas Hobbes
  6. John Locke
  7. Rousseau
  8. J.S. Mill
  9. Karl Marx
  10. Gramsci
  11. Hannah Arendt

1] Indian Government and Politics
(a) Political Strategies of India’s Freedom Struggle:

  • Constitutionalism to mass Satyagraha, Noncooperation, Civil Disobedience; Militant and Revolutionary Movements, Peasant and Workers Movements.

(b) Perspectives on Indian National Movement:

  • Liberal, Socialist, and Marxist; Radical Humanist and Dalit.

2] Making of the Indian Constitution:

  • Legacies of the British rule; different social and political perspectives. 

3] 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.

4 A] Principal Organs of the Union Government:

  • Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature, and Supreme Court.

4 B] Principal Organs of the State Government:

  • Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature, and High Courts. 

5] Grassroots Democracy:

  • Panchayati Raj and Municipal Government; Significance of 73rd and 74th Amendments; Grassroot movements.

6] 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.

7] Federalism:

  • Constitutional provisions; changing nature of center-state relations; integrationist tendencies and regional aspirations; inter-state disputes.

8] Planning and Economic Development:

  • Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives; Role of planning and public sector; Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations; liberalization and economic reforms.

9] Caste, Religion, and Ethnicity in Indian Politics.

10] Party System:

  • National and regional political parties, ideological and social bases of parties; Patterns of coalition politics; Pressure groups, trends in electoral behavior; changing socio-economic profile of Legislators. 

11] Social Movement:

  • Civil liberties and human rights movements; women’s movements; environmentalist movements.

Comparative Politics: Nature and major approaches; Political economy and political sociology perspectives; Limitations of the comparative method.

State in Comparative Perspective: Characteristics and changing nature of the State in capitalist and socialist economies, and advanced industrial 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 in International Relations: National interest, security and power; Balance of power and deterrence; Transational actors and collective security; World capitalist economy and globalisation.

Changing International Political Order:
(a) Rise of superpowers; Strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms race and cold war; Nuclear threat;
(b) Non-aligned movement: Aims and achievements.
(c) Collapse of the Soviet Union; Unipolarity and American hegemony; Relevance of non-alignment in the contemporary world. 

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.

United Nations: Envisaged role and actual record; Specialized UN agencies—aims and functioning; the need for UN reforms.

Regionalisation of World Politics: EU, ASEAN, APEC, AARC, NAFTA.

Contemporary Global Concerns: Democracy, human rights, environment, gender justice terrorism, nuclear proliferation.

Indian Foreign Policy: Determinants of foreign policy; the institutions of policy-making; continuity and change. 

India’s Contribution to the Non-Alignment Movement Different phases; current role. 

India and South Asia:
(a) Regional Co-operation: SAARC-past performance and future prospects.
(b) South Asia as a Free Trade Area.
(c) India’s “Look East” policy.
(d) Impediments to regional co-operation: River water disputes; illegal cross-border migration; Ethnic conflicts and insurgencies; Border disputes.

India and the Global South: Relations with Africa and Latin America; Leadership role in the demand for NIEO and WTO negotiations. 

India and the Global Centres of Power: USA, EU, Japan, China and Russia.

India and the UN System: Role in UN Peace-keeping; Demand for Permanent Seat in the Security Council.

India and the Nuclear Question: Changing perceptions and policy.

Recent developments in Indian Foreign Policy: India’s position on the recent crises in Afghanistan, Iraq, and West Asia, growing relations with US and Israel; Vision of a new world order.

FAQ for PSIR Notes

  1. Is Shubhra Ranjan notes enough for PSIR Optional?

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  2. What is the success rate of PSIR optional?

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Political Science Optional Notes