PSIR Optional · Paper II · Section A: Comparative Politics and International Relations
Contemporary Global Concerns Notes · PYQs · Solved Answers
Free notes, every previous year question and the solved answers for Contemporary Global Concerns (Paper II, Section A: Comparative Politics and International Relations), arranged so you can read a topic and immediately see how UPSC has asked it. Syllabus: Democracy, human rights, environment, gender justice, terrorism, nuclear proliferation.
57
Solved answers
1991–2026
Years covered
58
Questions listed
6
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Free notes Previous year questions Solved answers All PSIR Optional units
Paper II · Unit 11
Contemporary Global Concerns notes
Topic-wise notes for this unit in syllabus order. Read a topic, then open its previous year questions below.
Free notes
Free practice
Previous year questions: Contemporary Global Concerns
Every question UPSC has asked from this unit, year-wise, with a link to its solved answer.
Topic-wise question list
Year-wise question papers
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UPSC PSIR Optional Question Paper 2026
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2025
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2024
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2023
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2022
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2021
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2020
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2019
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2018
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2017
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2016
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2015
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2014
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PSIR Optional Question Paper 2013
Solved answers
Solved PYQ answers: Contemporary Global Concerns
Model answers to the previous year questions of this unit, newest exam year first.
PYQ Solutions
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International Human Rights frameworks are hostage to politics among nations. Comment.
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The world currently has been in the throes of a twin process of ‘democratic backsliding’ and ‘democratic backlash’. How would you explain this paradox?
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Explain the non-traditional security threats in the context of food and environmental crises.
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Comment on the Red Lipstick Movement in the context of feminist rights.
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Discuss the major recent social movements related to the physical rights of women in various countries of the world.
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Narrate the various ways in which rapid environmental degradation is posing a serious threat to human security. Illustrate your answer with suitable examples.
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Discuss the efficacy of global conventions to combat international terrorism.
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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.
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Discuss the importance of personal data protection in the context of human rights.
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Is democracy promotion in developing countries a feasible idea?
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Would you agree that the on-going debates on international environmental politics continue to be marred by a new North-South ideological divide over historical responsibility and developmental model? Illustrate your answer with suitable examples.
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Critically examine the notion of “Asian Values” in the context of the on-going debates on human rights.
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Discuss the implications of the Trump-Kim Singapore Summit on the prospects of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
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Give an assessment of the Feminist critique of contemporary global issues.
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The recent move of USA to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement is a setback in the consensus achieved on protecting the world environment. In this context, assess the future prospectives on climate control.
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Why does global human security need to be emphasized along with economic security? Explain with examples.
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Examine the main problems and challenges involved in looking after environmental concerns in world politics.
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‘The struggle for democracy has been marked by bitter strife and tribulations.’ Examine the statement, illustrating the cases of Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar.
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Do you endorse that the conventional discourse on human rights has failed to include women’s rights? Explain in the context of feminist theories.
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“The Feminist approach to international politics is biased.” Comment.
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Critically evaluate the approaches of global south towards addressing environment concerns.
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Who was Mr. ‘X’ in international politics? Elaborate his approach to foreign policy.
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Identify the role and place of Gender in the global economy. (200 words)
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Compare and contrast Sino-India approaches to global Environmental concerns. (200 words)
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What roles do norms, taboos and epistemic communities play in the context of nuclear proliferation? (200 words)
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State the place of Gender Justice in global political agenda. (150 words)
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‘Global commons belong to global society and requires global attention.’ Comment. (150 words)
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How far have the UN reform efforts of 2004-5, transformed the concept of ‘Sovereignty’ as a fundamental principle of International Law? Do you think that UN reform discourse represents a ‘biopolitical reprogramming’ of contemporary sovereignty and global governance? (250 words)
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“Human Rights constitute the Third Generation of Rights.” Analyse the range and complex dimension of Human Rights in the globalised era. (150 words)
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Bring out linkages between environmental degradation and neo -corporatism in the globalised era. (200 words)
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“Either terrorism triumphs or civilization triumphs.” Comment on the above statement.
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Discuss the different perspectives on global environment that have emerged in the context of the Copenhagen Summit.
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Comment on the recent trends in Russia’s foreign policy.
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What is the significance of the increasing global diffusion of nuclear and long-range delivery vehicle technology?
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Comment on the contribution of global feminism to the consolidation of global civil society.
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“Development in contemporary discourse has dimensions larger than just economic.” Bring out the significance of this statement.
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Define geopolitics and account for its prevalence even in the modern nuclear age.
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Comment: Sustainable Development.
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Comment: Basic issues in movements for Gender Justice.
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Describe and assess the role and importance of Geo-political and Geo-economic factors in the determination of foreign policy of a country.
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Comment: The need for, and the hindrances to the development of a common global approach to ecological concerns.
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Critically examine the protection and enforcement of Human Rights under the U.N. system.
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Comment: Human rights and humanitarian intervention.
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“Moral claims of today become the human rights of tomorrow.” Trace the efforts in the international protection of human rights in the twentieth century.
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Comment: National interest and national peculiarities: A guide to foreign policy.
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Comment: Agenda 21 and after.
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Examine the changing perspective of the US foreign policy towards South Asia in recent times and its implications for prospects of peace in the region.
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People are concerned about the degradation of the environment and the problems that go with it. Discuss the international response.
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Comment: Technology and state sovereignty over water resources.
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Comment: Role of idiosyncratic factors in foreign policy.
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Russian foreign policy is described as the “tyranny of the weak”. Explain how judiciously Russia has made use of her weakness vis-a-vis the West and USA.
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Comment: Role of Ideology in International Relations.
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Comment: Economic determinants of Chinese foreign policy.
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Comment: Sovereign Nation State and International concern for Human Rights.
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Comment: Ideological basis of Chinese foreign policy in the post Mao period.
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Comment: Human Rights in the US foreign policy.
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Discuss with reference to the USA, how domestic factors influence the foreign policy of the country.
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Other units in Paper II · Section A: Comparative Politics and International Relations
- Comparative Politics
- State in Comparative Perspective
- Politics of Representation and Participation
- Globalisation
- Approaches to the Study of International Relations
- Key Concepts in International Relations
- Changing International Political Order
- Evolution of the International Economic System
- United Nations
- Regionalisation of World Politics