{"id":241,"date":"2026-02-18T16:32:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T11:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/?p=241"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T05:57:24","slug":"upsc-psir-optional-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/upsc-psir-optional-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"UPSC PSIR Optional 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

PAPEPR \u2013 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q1. Comment on the following in 150 words: (50 marks)<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Post Colonial theory of the state (10 marks)<\/li>\n
  2. Equality of opportunity (10 marks)<\/li>\n
  3. Liberalism as a revolutionary idea (10 marks)<\/li>\n
  4. Ambedkar\u2019s view on constitutionalism (10 marks)<\/li>\n
  5. Machiavelli\u2019s secularism (10 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Q2.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Make a comparative assessment of Greek perspective of Justice with the Rawlsian concept of justice. (20 marks)<\/li>\n
    2. Representative democracy\u2026..means the people as a body must be able to control the general direction of government policy. (J.S.MILL). Comment (15 marks)<\/li>\n
    3. Assess the significance of right to property in political theory. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Q3.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Explicate the ideological components of Gandhism (20 marks)<\/li>\n
      2. Examine the nature and meaning of power (15 marks)<\/li>\n
      3. Explain the sources of ancient Indian political thought. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Q4.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Trace the evolution of western political thought from ancient to contemporary period. (20 marks)<\/li>\n
        2. Discuss the significance of a normative approach to political theory. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
        3. Discuss Karl Marx\u2019s concept of class. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Q5. Answer the following in 150 words: (50 marks)<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Role of Socialists in Indian national movement. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
          2. Indian constitution maker\u2019s concern on social inequality. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
          3. Right to constitutional remedies in India (10 marks)<\/li>\n
          4. Judicial overreach in India (10 marks)<\/li>\n
          5. Mechanism for settling inter-state disputes (10 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Q6<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Examine the role and functioning of the election commission of India and the comptroller and Auditor General in last two decades. (20 marks)<\/li>\n
            2. Trace the role of militant and revolutionary movements in Indian national movement. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
            3. To what extent has 73rd<\/sup> and 74th<\/sup> amendments of the Indian constitution enhanced women\u2019s empowerment? (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Q7.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Does the functioning of the federalism in India tend to make it appear as a unitary state in practice. (20 marks)<\/li>\n
              2. Has the thrust of government tilted towards executive in contemporary Indian politics? Give your arguments. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
              3. \u2018liberalisation of Indian economy has not been accompanied with adequate reforms\u2019 comment. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Q8.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. To what extent has the inadequate intra-party democracy affected the functioning of Indian democracy? (20 marks)<\/li>\n
                2. Examine the role of religion in Indian electoral politics in the contemporary times. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
                3. Examine the nature of the civil liberty movement in India (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  PAPER -2 <\/strong><\/p>\n

                  Q1. \u00a0Answer the following in 150 words: (50 marks)<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Discuss the subject matter of comparative politics. Outline the limitations of comparative political analysis. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
                  2. Analyze the contribution of liberal democratic principles in the democratization of Indian polity. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
                  3. Has the increased participation of the underprivileged in the political process of the developing societies strengthened democracy or created political chaos and conflict? Comment. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
                  4. Critically examine the impact of the process of globalization from the perspective of the countries of the global south. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
                  5. What are the core assumptions of idealism as an approach to study international relations? Explain its continuing relevance in peace building. (10 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Q2.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Explain the concept of balance of power. What are the various techniques of maintaining balance of power. (20 marks)<\/li>\n
                    2. Enumerate the challenges in the operation of the principles related to collective security in the UN charter. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
                    3. Critically analyze the implications of Sino-American strategic rivalry for the south and south -east Asian region. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Q3.<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. Discuss the ways to strengthen the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to enable it to address the challenges faced by the developing countries. (20 marks)<\/li>\n
                      2. Critically evaluate the role of the United States of America in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism and its implications for the future of the WTO. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
                      3. Explain the significance and importance of the demand raised by the developing countries for a New International Economic Order (NIEO). Are they likely to achieve their objectives of the NIEO in foreseeable future. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                        Q4.<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Discuss the significance and urgency of the UN Security Council reforms. Explain the relevance of the reforms proposals made by the UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres for the developing countries. (20 marks)<\/li>\n
                        2. Critically analyse the role of ASEAN in the promotion of regional peace and security through economic cooperation and trade. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
                        3. Examine the role of the United Nations Framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) and other major efforts by the UN to address the global environmental crisis. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          Q5. Answer the following in 150 words: (50 marks)<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          1. Describe the structure and function of the National Security Council of India. What role does it play in formulation of Indian foreign policy. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
                          2. Outline the reasons for the low volume of trade in the SAARC region (10 marks)<\/li>\n
                          3. Analyze the impact of Hydro politics on Indo Bangladesh relations. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
                          4. Discuss the future prospects of Indo-Nepal relations in the context of the recent publication of new Nepalese map wrongly claiming Indian territory. (10 marks)<\/li>\n
                          5. How does cross border terrorism impede the achievements of peace and security in South Asia? (10 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            Q6.<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            1. How do the guiding principles of India-Africa relations seek to enhance harmony and mutual cooperation between India and Africa (20 marks)<\/li>\n
                            2. What are the notable features of the recently concluded part or the acquisition and cross- servicing agreement (ACSA) between India and Japan? How is it likely to address the security concerns of India? (15 marks)<\/li>\n
                            3. Discuss the significance of Indo-US strategic partnership and its implications for India\u2019s security and national defence. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                              Q7.<\/p>\n

                                \n
                              1. Explain the defence and foreign policy of India to address the challenges emerging out of the current India-China standoff at the Line of Actual control (LAC). (20 marks)<\/li>\n
                              2. Explain the importance of India\u2019s claim for a permanent seat in the United Security Council. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
                              3. Discuss the efficacy of India\u2019s \u2018no first use\u2019 policy (nuclear weapons) in the context of the evolving strategic challenges from its neighbours. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                Q8.<\/p>\n

                                  \n
                                1. \u201cThe war in Afghanistan is crucial from the point of view of India\u2019s national security. If the Americans withdraw and jihadis emerge with a sense of triumphalism, India will face increasing onslaught of terrorism\u201d. Comment (20 marks)<\/li>\n
                                2. Identify the key sectors of cooperation between India and Israel since 2014. Examine their significance in strengthening the bilateral ties between the two countries. (15 marks)<\/li>\n
                                3. Critically examine the role of India in shaping the emerging world order. (15 marks)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                  PAPEPR \u2013 1 Q1. Comment on the following in 150 words: (50 marks) Post Colonial theory of the state (10 marks) Equality of opportunity (10 marks) Liberalism as a revolutionary idea (10 marks) Ambedkar\u2019s view on constitutionalism (10 marks) Machiavelli\u2019s secularism (10 marks) Q2. Make a comparative assessment of Greek perspective of Justice with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pyqs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions\/282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}