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International Relations Optional Books and Syllabus for UPSC

The Civil Services Examination is an exam in India which is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. This exam is held annually and it is known as one of the toughest exams in the country. But an aspirant with a good understanding about the subjects can easily pass it. Aspirants can become officers in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) after passing this International Relations Books and Syllabus for UPSC exam.

Among the 48 optional subjects where aspirants can choose their subject Political Science and International Relations is popular. UPSC optional subject consists of 2 papers. Each paper is of 250 marks, making a total of 500 marks. So aspirants need to study the subject well and try their best to score a good mark. A good preparation strategy will help in such an occasion.

Books to Refer for International Relations Books and Syllabus for UPSC Exam

It would be hard for students to appear for this optional exam without referring to proper books. International relations upsc books are helpful to get a grip over this subject. There are a lot of International relations books for upsc that you can study before appearing the exams. Some of the best international relations upsc books to refer are :

  • Challenge and Strategy: Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri
  • International Relations & Organisations for UPSC and State Civil Services Main Examination
  • International Relations: The Key Concepts (Routledge Key Guides)by Terry O’Callaghan, Martin Griffiths, Steven C. Roach
  • International Relations (4th Rev. & Enl. Edn.)by Vinay Kumar Malhotra
  • International Relations in the 21st Century by Pant
  • The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations” by John Baylis, Steve Smith and Patricia Owens
  • Theories of Comparative Politics: The Search for a Paradigm Reconsidered” by Ronald H. Chilcote.
  • The Oxford Handbook of Indian Foreign Policy” by David M. Malone, C Raja Mohan and Srinath Raghvan
  • “Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches” by Georg Sorenson and Robert Jackson
  • International Relations- Mcgraw Hill education

International Relations Optional Syllabus Paper-I

Political Theory and Indian Politics

  1. Political Theory: meaning and approaches.
  2. Theories of the State: Liberal, Neoliberal, Marxist, Pluralist, Post-colonial, and feminist.
  3. Justice: Conceptions of justice with special reference to Rawl’s theory of justice and its communitarian critiques.
  4. Equality: Social, political, and economic; the relationship between equality and freedom; Affirmative action.
  5. Rights: Meaning and theories; different kinds of rights; the concept of Human Rights.
  6. Democracy: Classical and contemporary theories; different models of democracy – representative, participatory, and deliberative.
  7. Concept of power, hegemony, ideology, and legitimacy.
  8. Political Ideologies: Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Gandhism, and Feminism.
  9. Indian Political Thought: Dharmashastra, Arthashastra, and Buddhist traditions; Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Sri Aurobindo, M.K. Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, M.N. Roy.
  10. Western Political Thought: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, John S. Mill, Marx, Gramsci and Hannah Arendt.

Indian Government and Politics

  1. 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.

  1. Making of the Indian Constitution: Legacies of the British rule; different social and political perspectives.
  1. 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.
  1. (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.

  1. Grassroots Democracy: Panchayati Raj and Municipal Government; the significance of 73rd and 74th Amendments; Grassroot movements.
  1. 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.
  1. Federalism: Constitutional provisions; changing nature of center-state relations; integrationist tendencies and regional aspirations; inter-state disputes.
  1. 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.
  1. Caste, Religion, and Ethnicity in Indian Politics.
  1. 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.
  1. Social Movements: Civil liberties and human rights movements; women’s movements; environmentalist movements.

International Relations Optional Syllabus 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. Globalization: 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 globalization.
  7. 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.

  1. 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; Globalization of the world economy.
  2. United Nations: Envisaged role and actual record; specialized UN agencies-aims and functioning; the need for UN reforms.
  3. Regionalization of World Politics: EU, ASEAN, APEC, SAARC, NAFTA.
  4. 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:

(a) Regional Cooperation: SAARC – past performance and future prospects.

(b) South Asia as a Free Trade Area.

(c) India’s “Look East” policy.

(d) Impediments to regional cooperation: river water disputes; illegal cross-border migration; ethnic, conflicts and insurgencies; border disputes.

  1. India and the Global South: Relations with Africa and Latin America; leadership role in the demand for NIEO and WTO negotiations.
  2. India and the Global Centers of Power: USA, EU, Japan, China, and Russia.
  3. India and the UN System: Role in UN Peace-keeping; demand for Permanent Seat in the Security Council.
  4. India and the Nuclear Question: Changing perceptions and policy.
  5. 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; a vision of a new world order.

Bottom Line Paying attention to those topics is a must if someone is willing to write the International Relations optional subject for the UPSC Exam. Going through each and every topic separately and understanding those points will help the aspirants to keep them in their memory. However as mentioned previously, a good preparation strategy is the best path to successfully pass the exam.

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