UPSC Political Science Optional is divided into two papers, Paper-1 and Paper-2. We’ve listed the entire UPSC Political Science Optional Syllabus for both Paper 1 and Paper-2 below:
UPSC Political Science Optional Syllabus for Paper-1
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 Nationalism:
Political Strategies of India's Freedom struggle: constitutionalism to mass Satyagraha, Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience; militant and revolutionary movements, Peasant and workers' movements.
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.
Principal Organs of the Union Government: Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and Supreme Court.
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
UPSC Political Science Optional Syllabus for Paper-2
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; Transnational 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, SAARC, NAFTA.
Contemporary Global Concerns: Democracy, human rights, environment, gender justice, terrorism, nuclear proliferation.
Indian Foreign Policy: Determinants of foreign policy; 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 crisis in Afghanistan, Iraq and West Asia, growing relations with US and Israel; the vision of new world order.
