PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · India & the UN System

‘Uniting for Consensus’ also known as ‘Coffee Club’

How the answer moves

The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.

Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes

Route 1 locate group: mid-1990s, Italy-led “Coffee Club”, ~50 states → line: objections blend principle (no new permanent privilege) + regional rivalry

Route 2 1945 Council frozen → G4 seeks permanent seats → UfC forms as the counter-coalition → its objections now define the reform deadlock

Body flow

Objection 1: new permanent seats “freeze privilege” → widen small-elite-vs-membership divide → expand an existing oligarchy → Objection 2: veto untouched → deepens democratic deficit, no cure for paralysis → UfC alternative (March 2024): enlarge only elected tier, longer/re-electable seats → rotation + accountability + geographic balance → Objection 3: Article 108 → two-thirds GA + all five ratify → reform must rest on widest consensus → underlying motive: regional rivalry (Pakistan v India, Italy v Germany) → think-tank reading

Counter-view

India rejects the model → Kamboj (2024): ignores Africa / Global South, “just vetoes the process” → calls for “UN 2.0” → yet UfC numbers block the two-thirds majority → reform stuck without an agreed text

Conclusion routes

Route 1 objections coherent in principle yet selective in effect → democratic language + regional rivalry + Charter rigidity → entrenches the order it claims to reform

Route 2 objections are real constraints, not mere obstruction → but deadlock persists → any breakthrough needs the consensus UfC’s veto-on-privilege denies

Model answer

Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2017, India & the UN System