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; relationship between equality
and freedom; Affirmative action.
Rights: Meaning and theories; different kinds of rights; 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 : Dharamshastra, 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 Arendt.
Indian Government and Politics:
Indian Nationalism:
(a) Political Strategies of India’s Freedom Struggle: Constitutionalism
to mass Satyagraha, Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience; Militant and
revolutionary movements, Peasant and workers’ movements.
(b) 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; 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;
role of planning and public sector; Green Revolution, land reforms and
agrarian relations; liberalilzation 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.
PAPER – II
Comparative Politics and International Relations
Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics:
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 super powers; strategic and ideological Bipolarity, arms
race and Cold War; nuclear threat;
(b) Nonaligned 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 Brettonwoods
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; 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.
India and the World:
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 crises in Afghanistan, Iraq and West Asia, growing relations
with US and Israel; vision of a new world order.
