PSIR Optional Question Paper 2015

The PSIR Optional Question Paper 2015 for the UPSC Civil Services Mains examination is reproduced below in full: Political Science and International Relations Paper-I and Paper-II, Section A and Section B, with the marks for every question as UPSC printed them. Each question links to its solved model answer, and after the papers you will find a syllabus-wise mapping of the 2015 questions, the thinkers who were tested and what the paper signals for your preparation. For every other year and the full topic-wise list, see PSIR Optional question papers (year-wise and topic-wise).

Want the answers too? All 56 questions of the 2015 paper are solved in LotusArise PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions — tap Model answer next to any question below to open it.

PSIR Optional Question Paper-I (2015)

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Time allowed: three hours · Maximum marks: 250 · Eight questions in two sections; Question 1 and Question 5 are compulsory, and three more are to be attempted with at least one from each section.

Section ‘A’: Political Theory and Indian Politics

1. Comment on the following in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
   (a) Idea of Natural Rights 10 · Model answer
   (b) Aristotle’s Conception of Equality 10 · Model answer
   (c) ‘Difference Principle’ in Rawls’ Theory of Justice 10 · Model answer
   (d) Difference between Participatory and Deliberative Democracy 10 · Model answer
   (e) Gandhi’s Views on State 10 · Model answer
2. (a) Examine the challenges to sovereignty of the State in the contemporary world. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Discuss the key features of pre-Marxist socialist theory. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Compare and contrast the views of Kautilya and Machiavelli on Statecraft. 15 · Model answer
3. (a) “Plato was an enemy of the open society.” (Popper) Comment. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Discuss the relationship between base and superstructure in Marxist theory. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Distinguish between Power and Authority. 15 · Model answer
4. (a) Discuss the ‘crisis of legitimacy’ in capitalist societies. (Habermas) 20 · Model answer
   (b) Discuss Gramsci’s notion of ‘organic intellectuals’. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Discuss David Easton’s model of systems analysis. 15 · Model answer

Section ‘B’: Indian Government and Politics

5. Comment on the following in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
   (a) Secularism in the Indian Constitution 10 · Model answer
   (b) Satyagraha as a Strategy in the Indian National Movement 10 · Model answer
   (c) 99th Amendment of the Indian Constitution 10 · Model answer
   (d) Structure and Function of NITI Aayog 10 · Model answer
   (e) Cooperative Federalism in India 10 · Model answer
6. (a) Discuss the efficacy of judicial review in India. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Critically analyze the discretionary powers granted to the Governor by the Indian Constitution. 15 · Model answer
   (c) “Identity politics has trumped development politics in India.” Comment. 15 · Model answer
7. (a) In the light of neo-economic policies adopted since 1991, examine the relevance of the term ‘socialist’ in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Identify the contested areas in Centre-State relations in India. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Discuss the ‘Right to Education’ and the concerns raised by it. 15 · Model answer
8. (a) Examine the role of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies in deepening of democracy in India. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Compare the Nehruvian and Gandhian models of development. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Account for the rise of regional political parties and assess their role in contemporary India. 15 · Model answer

PSIR Optional Question Paper-II (2015)

Time allowed: three hours · Maximum marks: 250 · Eight questions in two sections; Question 1 and Question 5 are compulsory, and three more are to be attempted with at least one from each section.

Section ‘A’: Comparative Politics and International Relations

1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
   (a) Which are the major approaches of comparative politics? Explain in brief, the political economy approach to the study of comparative inquiry. 10 · Model answer
   (b) Do you subscribe to the view that the modern constructs of the State and politics are pre-eminently Eurocentric and not indigenous and appropriate for the analysis of non-western societies? 10 · Model answer
   (c) Identify the major differences between the classical realism of Hans J. Morgenthau and the neorealism of Kenneth Waltz. Which approach is best suited for analysing international relations after the Cold War? 10 · Model answer
   (d) Is globalization essentially a process of ‘universalisation’ of capitalist modernity? 10 · Model answer
   (e) What is the difference between Interest Groups and Pressure Groups? Are the Pressure Groups in India in a position to fully protect or promote the interests of their members? 10 · Model answer
2. (a) ‘The struggle for democracy has been marked by bitter strife and tribulations.’ Examine the statement, illustrating the cases of Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Discuss the theory of Nuclear Deterrence. Did Nuclear Deterrence prevent a superpower war? 15 · Model answer
   (c) What are the real objectives of Millennium Development Goals (MDG)? Do you think that millennium development goals have been able to achieve the desired goals of poverty alleviation and sustainable development? 15 · Model answer
3. (a) Do you endorse that the conventional discourse on human rights has failed to include women’s rights? Explain in the context of feminist theories. 20 · Model answer
   (b) How far are the world governance mechanisms, dominated by IMF and World Bank, legitimate and relevant? What measures do you suggest to improve their effectiveness in global governance? 15 · Model answer
   (c) Discuss the collapse of the Soviet Union and its impact on international politics. 15 · Model answer
4. (a) Has the reform of the economic and social arrangements of the United Nations been effective? 20 · Model answer
   (b) ‘The European Union has become, the most politically influential, economically powerful and demographically diverse regional entity in the world.’ Discuss. 15 · Model answer
   (c) How is it that economic and neo-liberal globalization is being interrogated from inside even in developed countries? What are the economic consequences of such globalization? 15 · Model answer

Section ‘B’: India and the World

5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
   (a) The social structure of a country influences its foreign policy-making. How does the social structure of India impact the course and direction of its foreign policy? 10 · Model answer
   (b) ‘Non-alignment’ has been the basic principle of India’s foreign policy since independence. Discuss its relevance in the contemporary context. 10 · Model answer
   (c) Identify the constraints/challenges to the regional cooperation in South Asia. 10 · Model answer
   (d) Ethnic conflicts and insurgencies in North-East India can be better managed by improving relations with the neighbouring countries. Substantiate the statement with suitable examples. 10 · Model answer
   (e) How does the Parliament determine and influence the making of India’s foreign policy? 10 · Model answer
6. (a) Before the year 2000, the Indo-U.S. relationship has been marked more with estrangement than cordiality. Why? 20 · Model answer
   (b) ‘Economic interest has emerged as the main component of India’s foreign policy.’ Discuss the statement in the light of India’s initiatives to improve relations with China, Japan and the Central Asian republics. 15 · Model answer
   (c) In 1998, India declared itself as a nuclear weapon state. India refuses to sign NPT and CTBT. What would be the implications for India’s nuclear policy in case it signs both the treaties? 15 · Model answer
7. (a) Vision of a new world order has emerged as the major objective of India’s foreign policy. Discuss the policy initiative taken by India in this regard and the challenges faced by it. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Discuss the factors for the decline of India’s presence in Latin America. 15 · Model answer
   (c) River water disputes are emerging as a major source of irritation between India and its neighbours. Identify the sources of conflicts and suggest the remedial measures. 15 · Model answer
8. (a) The United Nations completes 70 years of its establishment in 2015. What reforms is India asking for to strengthen the global institutions of governance and why? 20 · Model answer
   (b) Discuss the realistic foreign policy initiatives taken by India to balance its relations between Israel and the Arab world. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Discuss the humanitarian role played by India in the crisis-stricken Gulf countries like Yemen and Iraq. 15 · Model answer

PSIR Optional 2015 Paper Analysis

Paper-I: syllabus-wise mapping

What stood out in Paper-I

• Section A was a roll-call of thinkers. Eight of its fourteen parts named a specific thinker and two more turned on Marxist theory, from Rawls’ difference principle in 1(c) to Easton’s systems analysis in 4(c), so a candidate thin on Western and Indian thought had little room to manoeuvre.
• Critical theory had a full question to itself. Q4 asked for Habermas on the ‘crisis of legitimacy’ in 4(a) and Gramsci’s ‘organic intellectuals’ in 4(b), while 3(b) asked for the Marxist base–superstructure relationship.
• Some 2015 questions were near-repeats. 2(c) on Kautilya and Machiavelli on statecraft echoed a 2009 question almost word for word, and 3(a) returned to Popper’s reading of Plato, also asked in 2009.
• Section B tracked fresh constitutional change. 5(c) on the 99th Amendment and 5(d) on the structure and function of NITI Aayog both dealt with changes introduced only shortly before the examination.
• Classic Indian-politics debates filled the long questions. 6(a) judicial review, 6(b) the Governor’s discretionary powers, 7(a) the word ‘socialist’ in the Preamble after 1991 and 8(b) Nehruvian versus Gandhian development all needed constitutional and historical depth rather than recent data.

Paper-II: syllabus-wise mapping

What stood out in Paper-II

• Section A opened with method. 1(a) asked for the major approaches to comparative politics and the political economy approach, and 1(b) questioned whether concepts of the State are Eurocentric and unsuited to non-western societies.
• Realism was set as a head-to-head. 1(c) asked candidates to contrast Morgenthau’s classical realism with Waltz’s neorealism and judge which better explains the post-Cold War world; the same comparison came back in 2018.
• Global institutions formed a cluster across Q2–Q4. 2(c) on the MDGs, 3(b) on the legitimacy of the IMF and World Bank and 4(a) on reform of the UN’s economic and social arrangements all asked candidates to judge how well these bodies had delivered.
• Section B was strongly regional. Parts on South Asian cooperation (5(c)), the North-East and neighbours (5(d)), river water disputes (7(c)), Latin America (7(b)) and Israel and the Arab world (8(b)) together covered much of India’s neighbourhood and beyond.
• Topical hooks were explicit. 8(a) tied UN reform to the organisation’s seventieth year in 2015, and 8(c) asked about India’s humanitarian role in Yemen and Iraq.

Each question is counted once, under the syllabus unit its model answer is filed in. The marks show how much of the 400 marks set in each paper came from a unit; a candidate attempts five questions worth 250.

Thinkers and scholars in the PSIR 2015 paper

Solved Answers to the PSIR 2015 Paper

Preparing the syllabus from scratch? Start with the PSIR Optional hub for notes, the official PSIR syllabus and unit-wise PYQs.

PSIR Optional question papers: other years

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