PSIR Optional Question Paper 2017

The PSIR Optional Question Paper 2017 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 2017 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 2017 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 (2017)

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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) According to Sri Aurobindo, Swaraj is a necessary condition for India to accomplish its destined goal. 10 · Model answer
   (b) Neo-liberal perspective of State 10 · Model answer
   (c) Post-modernism 10 · Model answer
   (d) Eco-feminism 10 · Model answer
   (e) Hobbesian notion of Political Obligation 10 · Model answer
2. (a) Rawls’ theory of justice is both contractual and distributive. Examine. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Everywhere, inequality is a cause of revolution – Aristotle. Comment. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Define Socialism. Discuss the salient features of Fabian Socialism. 15 · Model answer
3. (a) What do you understand by Multiculturalism? Discuss Bhikhu Parekh’s views on Multiculturalism. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Deliberative democracy does not have its salience without participation and participatory democracy does not have its credence without deliberations. Comment. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Differentiate between Freedom and Liberty. Discuss Marx’s notion of freedom. 15 · Model answer
4. (a) Political democracy could not last unless social democracy lay at its base – B.R. Ambedkar. Comment. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Write a brief note on The End of History debate. 15 · Model answer
   (c) What do you understand by the notion of Statecraft? Discuss the theory of statecraft as given by Kautilya. 15 · Model answer

Section ‘B’: Indian Government and Politics

5. Comment on the following in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
   (a) The success of Mahatma Gandhi lay in transforming both political and non-political movements into a unified nationalist movement. 10 · Model answer
   (b) Right to privacy is an intrinsic part of the right to life. 10 · Model answer
   (c) Indian federation has moved from cooperative federation to competitive federation. 10 · Model answer
   (d) State subvention/funding may be an effective instrument in strengthening electoral democracy in India. 10 · Model answer
   (e) In the post-liberalization era, Indian politics is moving from ascriptive politics to developmental politics. 10 · Model answer
6. (a) Differentiate parliamentary supremacy from parliamentary sovereignty. Would you consider the Indian Parliament as a Sovereign Parliament? Examine. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Has the 73rd Constitutional Amendment empowered women in panchayats in India? Discuss. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Religion is still an important factor in Indian politics. Discuss. 15 · Model answer
7. (a) India has moved from ‘one-party dominant system’ to ‘one-party led coalition’. Discuss. 20 · Model answer
   (b) How is the President of India elected? Outline the salient characteristics of the electoral college of the Indian President. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Examine the role of the National Commission for Minorities in preserving, promoting and protecting the rights of minorities in India. 15 · Model answer
8. (a) Judiciary has acquired the role of both, a legislature and an executive in recent years. Examine with suitable examples. 20 · Model answer
   (b) What do you understand by Green Revolution? Do you think that a Second Green Revolution is needed to adequately address the agrarian challenges in contemporary India? Examine. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Differentiate Moderate Nationalism from Extremist/Militant Nationalism in terms of their objectives and means. 15 · Model answer

PSIR Optional Question Paper-II (2017)

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) Explain the Political-Sociological Approach in the field of comparative politics and discuss its limitations. 10 · Model answer
   (b) Critically examine the Globalisation in the past 25 years from the perspectives of the Western world. 10 · Model answer
   (c) Examine the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) movement in developed societies and how it is affecting the political participation in developing societies. 10 · Model answer
   (d) American President Donald Trump’s proposal to withdraw from the ‘NAFTA’ would bring unforeseen consequences to the regionalisation of world politics. Elaborate. 10 · Model answer
   (e) Give an assessment of the Feminist critique of contemporary global issues. 10 · Model answer
2. (a) Is Realist Approach the best method to understand International Relations? Examine this in the context of Classical Realism. 20 · Model answer
   (b) How has the development of Global Capitalism changed the nature of socialist economies and developing societies? 15 · Model answer
   (c) Discuss the changing nature of modern state with reference to transnational actors. 15 · Model answer
3. (a) “The development of advanced missile technology and nuclear threat by North Korea has challenged the American hegemony in South-East Asia.” Evaluate the above statement in the context of recent developments in the region. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Do you endorse the view that the end of Bipolarity and the rise of multiple regional organisations has made Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) more or less irrelevant? 15 · Model answer
   (c) Do you agree with the view that despite the limitations in the functioning of the UN, it has distinguished and unique achievements to its credit? 15 · Model answer
4. (a) 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. 20 · Model answer
   (b) How has ‘BREXIT’ affected the regionalisation process initiated by European Union and what could be its likely impacts in the regionalisation process of world politics? 15 · Model answer
   (c) Examine the World Systems Approach as developed by Immanuel Wallerstein. 15 · Model answer

Section ‘B’: India and the World

5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
   (a) Examine the Indian National Movement and geographical location of India as determinants of India’s foreign policy. 10 · Model answer
   (b) What are the impediments in the development of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)? 10 · Model answer
   (c) “The Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship between India and Bhutan needs to be revised with more pragmatic, realistic obligations and responsibilities.” Comment. 10 · Model answer
   (d) “India has been the largest and consistent country contributing to the UN peacekeepers worldwide.” Examine India’s role in this perspective. 10 · Model answer
   (e) Has the recent Indo-Israeli relationships given a new dynamics to India’s stand on Palestinian statehood? 10 · Model answer
6. (a) Suggest measures so that India’s partnership with Africa becomes a true symbol of South-South Cooperation, delivering clear-cut economic and political dividends to both sides of the equation. 20 · Model answer
   (b) “Despite the differences between India and Pakistan on various issues, Indus Water Treaty has stood the test of times.” In the light of this statement, discuss the recent developments over this issue. 15 · Model answer
   (c) Analyse the stalled progress of Doha Round of WTO negotiations over the differences between the developed and the developing countries. 15 · Model answer
7. (a) How is the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ of China going to affect India-China relations? 20 · Model answer
   (b) The recent differences between India and Russia are the result of misconceptions than facts. Elucidate. 15 · Model answer
   (c) ‘Uniting for Consensus’ also known as ‘Coffee Club’ has opposed the claims of India and other countries over permanent membership of the UN Security Council. Point out their major objections. 15 · Model answer
8. (a) The natural behaviour of India and the United States is likely to serve each other’s interests. Hence, a deliberate strategy of dovetailing their efforts will obviously benefit both. Elaborate. 20 · Model answer
   (b) Do you subscribe to the idea that in the new evolving Asian dynamics, Japan and India have not only moved closer in economic cooperation, but also in strategic partnership? 15 · Model answer
   (c) The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has failed to achieve the ultimate objective of Global Nuclear Disarmament. Discuss the deficiency in the provision of NPT. 15 · Model answer

PSIR Optional 2017 Paper Analysis

Paper-I: syllabus-wise mapping

What stood out in Paper-I

• Section A was a thinkers’ paper. Eight of its fourteen parts named a thinker outright – Aurobindo in 1(a), Hobbes in 1(e), Rawls in 2(a), Aristotle in 2(b), Parekh in 3(a), Marx in 3(c), Ambedkar in 4(a) and Kautilya in 4(c) – so a candidate weak on primary thinkers lost most of the section.
• Ideologies arrived as short notes. Post-modernism 1(c), eco-feminism 1(d), the neo-liberal state 1(b), Fabian socialism 2(c) and the End of History debate 4(b) all appear for the first time in the topic-wise list, rewarding wide coverage of the ideologies unit over depth in one.
• Several themes came straight back. Aurobindo returned for the fourth time since 2013 (after 2013, 2014 and 2016); 3(b) on deliberative and participatory democracy echoed the 2015 short note on their difference; and Kautilya’s statecraft in 4(c), set as a Kautilya–Machiavelli comparison in 2009 and 2015, was asked on its own.
• Section B tested institutions with a constitutional edge. 6(a) on parliamentary supremacy versus sovereignty, 7(b) on the President’s electoral college and 8(a) on the judiciary taking on legislative and executive roles all needed precise constitutional detail rather than generic commentary.
• Party politics followed a one-year-old thread. 7(a) on the move from a ‘one-party dominant system’ to a ‘one-party led coalition’ built directly on the 2016 question on the shift from one dominant party to coalition politics, while 5(d) on state funding and 5(e) on ascriptive versus developmental politics were new.

Paper-II: syllabus-wise mapping

What stood out in Paper-II

• Section A was driven by the year’s headlines. Trump’s NAFTA proposal 1(d), North Korea’s missiles 3(a), the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement 4(a) and Brexit 4(b) together carried 65 of Section A’s 200 marks.
• Theory was asked through named approaches. 2(a) wanted realism judged through classical realism, 4(c) asked for Wallerstein’s world systems approach – its first appearance in the topic-wise list – and 1(a) took the political-sociological approach to comparative politics.
• Section B covered India’s great-power relations evenly. China through the Belt and Road Initiative 7(a), Russia 7(b), the United States 8(a) and Japan 8(b) each had a full long question; the Japan question revisited India–Japan themes set in 2013 and 2014.
• The neighbourhood was approached through treaties and trade. SAFTA 5(b), the India–Bhutan Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship 5(c) and the Indus Waters Treaty 6(b) framed South Asia, with Pakistan appearing only through the water treaty.
• Multilateral India featured in three settings. UN peacekeeping 5(d) and the ‘Uniting for Consensus’ group’s objections to Security Council expansion 7(c) covered the UN, while the stalled Doha Round 6(c) and Africa partnership 6(a) tested India’s South-South diplomacy.

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 2017 paper

Solved Answers to the PSIR 2017 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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