PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Changing International Political Order

Discuss the ways to strengthen the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to enable it to address the challenges faced by the developing countries.

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 Cold War rationale gone developing-world vulnerabilities remain (unequal trade, coercion, UN system they cannot shape) machinery weak, founding idea intact rebuild the surviving framework

Route 2 strengthening presupposes worth critics (“coma”, “dying organisation”) vs defenders (soft balancing) framework still functions reshape and re-energise, not reinvent

Body flow

Repair 1, structural: Köchler — no charter / statute / secretariat 120-odd members, declarations never become decisions consensus diffuse agenda fix: permanent secretariat + coordination mechanisms + specialised functionaries + frequent deliberation / Track-II Repair 2, method: Jaishankar — loose grouping results-oriented organisation agenda already exists (17th Summit, Margarita Island 2016: UNSC reform, climate justice, unilateral coercive measures, financial architecture) delivery is the gap Khanna — economic turn, North–South bridge, inequality binds members Repair 3, political: Paul — soft balancing, naming and shaming, Bandung spirit revivable multilateral partnerships + forward-looking agenda + South–South cooperation + India’s natural leadership

Counter-view

Pant — dying organisation, drop old shibboleths members now depend on the US no reform buys hard power

Conclusion routes

Route 1 order drifting towards rival blocs (Sino-American rivalry) Global South platform = leverage weaker states lack alone rebuilt body + strategic autonomy serves developing countries

Route 2 never a third pole of power but a repaired platform: structure, delivery, South–South economics autonomy preserved in a bloc-forming order

Model answer

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

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2020, Changing International Political Order