Here is the last year question paper of IAS Mains Political Science Exam

Political Science Paper 1 Section A

Q.1 Comment on the following in approximately 150 words each, 10 marks each

“Personal is political”
“Original position”
“Covenants without swords are but words, and of no strength to secure a man at all.”
Sri Aurobindo’s “idea of freedom”
Sri Ahmed Khan as modernizer

Q.2

Discuss the communitarian critique of liberalism. 20
Examine Ambedkar’s critique of Marxism. 15
Explain, as per Gramsci, the distinction between hegemony and domination. 15

Q.3

Analyze the relationship between natural rights and human rights. 20
Examine the significance of Dharma in Ancient Indian political thought. 15
Discuss in what sense Max’s understanding of state can be considered as materialistic. 15

Q.4

Explain Berlin’s notion of value pluralism. 20
Analyse,as per Kautilya,the Saptanga theory of the state. 15
Comment on the Assertion of Laslett that Filmer and not Hobbes was the main antagonist of Locke. 15

Political Science Paper I Section B

Q.5 Comment on the following in approximately 150 words each, 10 marks each

Marxist understanding of India’s freedom movement
Significance of the Preamble
Decline of Indian Parliament
Gandhian perspective of development and its contemporary relevance.
Compare and contrast Chipko Movement with Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Q.6

Explain the phenomenon of ethnic politics in India in recent times.
Analyse the significance of Article 32 of the Indian Constitution.
Examine the role of Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the Indian Constitution.

Q.7

“Cooperative federalism produces a strong central, or general government, yet it does not necessarily result in weak provincial governments that are largely administrative agencies for central policies. Indian federation has demonstrated this.”(Granville Austin) Examine the uniqueness of Indian federalism in the light of the above statement. 20m
Explain to what extent the concept of “one-party dominance”(W.H.Morris-Jones)model is relevant in Indian policy today. 20m
Analyze the position of the Prime Minister of India in a coalition regime. 20m

Q.8

Examine the significance of the verdicts of the Supreme Court in the Golaknath and Keshavananda Bharati cases for an understanding of the scope of Article 368 in regard to Fundamental Rights.
Point out and comment on the historic importance of the document “Towards Equality(1974),for women’s movement in India.”
Examine the changing structure of Panchayati Raj instituions with special reference to the 73rd Constituiton Amendment Act.

Political Science Paper II: Section-A

Q1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each x 10 mark each

Identify the elements of change in India’s foreign policy.
Sketch the leadership role of India in WTO negotiations.
Examine the recent developments in India-Japan relationship.
Bring out the objectives of India seeking permanent seat in Security Council
Is India’s Nuclear doctrine a viable one?

Q2 Answer the following questions in about 200 words each (20+15+15=50m)

Compare and contrast social movements in advanced industrial and developing societies.
Give reasons for Regionalism of world politics.
Compare and Contrast Sin-India approaches to global Environmental concerns.

Q3 Answer the following questions in about 200 words each (20+15+15=50m)

What roles do norms, taboos and epistemic play in the context of nuclear proliferation?
Substitantiate APEC as a regional economic and trade arrangement.
Identify the major changes in the International Political economy in post Cold War period.

Q4 Answer the following questions in about 200 words each (20+15+15=50m)

Is the rise of social movement a sign of opening up of popular space in political process or decline of representative politics?Examine.
Highlight the major features of Non-alignment 2.0 document
Identify the role and place of Gender in the global economy.

Political Science Paper 2: Section-B

Q5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each x 10 marks each

Identify the challenges to American hegemony in post Soviet world.
What does the pace of nuclear proliferation in post Cold War suggest?
State the place of Gender Justice in global agenda.
“Global commons belong to global society and requires global attention”.Comment.
Sketch the journey of global political economy from Washington consensus to the present.

Q6. Answer the following questions in about 200 words each (20+15+15=50m)

Examine major principles of State centric world views.
How does Marxist approcah explain contemporary International Relations?
‘National Interests are Dynamic’. Identify the dynamic nature of National Interests in the contemporary world polities with suitable examples.

Q7. Answer the following questions in about 200 words each (20+15+15=50m)

‘The economic content of India’s foreign trade is increasingly growing’. Substantiate the statement with economic diplomatic engagements of India in the last decade.
Write a note on Intellectual precursors of Realism.
‘Building ‘peace by pieces’ is the basis of functionalism’. Elaborate.

Q8 Answer the following questions in about 250 words each (20+15+15=50m)

‘Transnational actors have become driving forces of global politics’. Elaborate.
‘A minimal State ensures maximum of Individual Liberty’. Examine the concept of Minimal State.
‘Collective Security and Collective Defense are the institutional and State mechanism to sustain the domination of powers that be in International politics’. Elaborate.

Dear Subho,1) The reason why senicce subjects are usually not opted in Civil Services Exam is because of their high difficulty level. But, you should certainly opt for Zoology since you are an M.Sc in the area (and therefore will be able to handle Zoology paper easily). If you are equivalently good at Botany, then you may opt for it as your second optional. However, if you are not, and will have to spend a lot of time picking up the subject, then there are alternatives available (Public Ad, Geography) which are scoring, successful and also help in General Studies.2) No, UPSC has no preference for any stream and does not discriminate against any subject. By the way, senicce subjects are as old and traditional as any other Humanities subjects (Computer Science which is one of the latest addition to the senicce arena is not part of the UPSC's list of subjects. If you feel that your level of competence is high and enough to handle the higher difficulty level of your senicce subjects according to UPSC's pattern (try to solve Civil Services 10 years question papers in your subject to check your comfort level), then go for it!! All the best,Rau's IAS