PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Contemporary Global Concerns — II

Discuss the Trump-Kim Singapore Summit on the prospects of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

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 Korean denuclearisation sits at intersection of security model + deterrence + nuclear norms summit must be judged against these logics

Route 2 NK nuclear-armed, outside NPT Singapore opens a channel delivery hinges on why Pyongyang holds its arsenal

Body flow

security model (Morgenthau/Waltz): weapons = survival, so no denuclearisation via one meeting deterrence (Schelling/Brodie): credible retaliation lowers incentive to relinquish identity/status (Wendt): arsenal signals standing + regime security, more than a bargaining chip verification = central obstacle + peaceful-use loophole (civilian military route) diplomacy (Keohane/Nye): dialogue valuable but needs enforceable mutual guarantees

Counter-view

liberal engagement case (dialogue + confidence-building can move behaviour) vs realist-structural case (survival, deterrence, unverifiable commitments make summitry alone insufficient)

Conclusion routes

Route 1 summit a beginning, not a settlement durable denuclearisation needs verification + enforceable guarantees

Route 2 Tannenwald: sustained stigma beats one-off deals Sagan: coercive diplomacy + arms control + norm-building together summitry can start, not complete

Model answer

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

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2018, Contemporary Global Concerns — II