PSIR 1A: Political Theory – Unsolved PYQs [2013-2024]

1] Political Theory: Meaning and Approaches

1. Comment on Behavioural approach to Political Science [2024/10m/150w/1a]
2. Elucidate the meanings inherent in the term ‘political’ with appropriate illustrations. [2024/20m/250w/2a]
3. Comment on normative approach in political science [2023/10m/150w/1a]
4. Comment on decline of political theory [2023/10m/150w/1e]
5. ‘Credo of Relevance’ in post behavioralism advocates the importance of action science. Analyze. [2023/15m/200w/2c]
6. Write on the Systems Approach. [2022/10m/150w/1a]
7. Examine the importance of behavioural approach in political theory. What led to its decline? [2021/15m/200w/2b]
8. Discuss the significance of a normative approach to Political theory. [2020/15m/200w/4b]
9. Comment on resurgence of political theory. [2019/10m/150w/1a]
10. Comment on the decline of Political Theory. [2018/10m/150w/1b]
11. Comment on the post behavioural approach. [2016/10m/150w/1b]
12. Comment: ‘…Political theory is not an escape mechanism but an arduous calling’. (John Plamanetz). [2014/10m/150w/1a]

2] Theories of State

1. Comment on Pluralist theory of State [2024/10m/150w/1b]
2. Eurocentrism is both the target and the motive force of the post-colonial political theory. Discuss. [2023/15m/200w/3c]
3. Examine the liberal theory of State in contemporary politics. [2022/20m/250w/3a]
4. Comment on feminist critique of the State [2021/10m/150w/1a]
5. Comment on post-colonial theory of the state. [2020/10m/150w/1a]
6. Write a short note on pluralist theory of the State. [2019/10m/150w/1b]
7. Critically examine the neoliberal theory of State. [2018/20m/250w/2a]
8. Comment on neoliberal perspective of the State. [2017/10m/150w/1b]
9. Discuss the feminist theory of the State. [2016/15m/200w/2b]
10. Examine the challenges to sovereignty of the State in the contemporary world. [2015/20m/250w/2a]
11. Discuss in what sense Marx’s understanding of State can be considered as materialistic. [2013/15m/200w/3c]

3] Justice

1. Rawls’ idea of ‘liberal self’ is too individualistic. Explain, in this context, the communitarian critique of Rawls’ theory of justice. [2023/15m/200w/2b]
2. Dr. Ambedkar’s idea of social justice leads to ‘egalitarian justice’ as compared to Rawls’ ‘justice as fairness’ which aims at the notion of ‘pure procedural justice’. Comment. [2022/20m/250w/4a]
3. Examine the entitlement theory of justice. [2022/15m/200w/4c]
4. How has Rawls enriched the idea of justice in liberalism? [2021/20m/250w/2a]
5. Make a comparative assessment of Greek perspective of Justice with the Rawlsian concept of Justice. [2020/20m/250w/2a]
6. Examine communitarian perspectives on justice. [2019/15m/200w/2b]
7. Comment on distributive justice. [2018/10m/150w/1c]
8. Analyse John Rawls’ justification of discrimination to achieve the goals of justice. [2018/15m/200w/2b]
9. ‘Rawls’ theory of justice is both contractual and distributive’. Examine. [2017/20m/250w/2a]
10. Critically examine John Rawls argument for democratic equality. [2016/15m/200w/2c]
11. Comment on difference principle in the Rawls theory of justice. [2015/10m/150w/1c]
12. Explicate the conception of justice in the critiques of communitarian theorists. [2014/20m/250w/3a]
13. Comment on ‘Original position’. [2013/10m/150w/1b]

4] Equality

1. The nature of relationship between equality of democratic citizenship and liberty of citizens is influenced by economic equality. Comment. [2024/15m/200w/2c]
2. Affirmative action policies draws as much strong criticism as strong support. Analyze this statement in the context of equality. [2023/15m/200w/3b]
3. “Equality of estates caused equality of power, and equality of power is liberty.” Comment. [2022/15m/200w/2b]
4. Comment on affirmative action [2021/10m/150w/1b]
5. Comment on equality of outcome as a political idea [2021/10m/150w/1c]
6. Comment on equality of opportunity. [2020/10m/150w/1b]
7. Equality means fair treatment rather than equal treatment. Comment. [2018/15m/200w/2c]
8. Comment on affirmative action. [2016/10m/150w/1c]
9. How is liberty a precondition for equality? Explicate the relationship between equality and liberty.  [2014/15m/200w/3c]

5] Rights

1. The nature of relationship between equality of democratic citizenship and liberty of citizens is influenced by economic equality. Comment. [2024/15m/200w/2c]
2. Comment on multicultural perspective on rights [2023/10m/150w/1b]
3. Write on the Cultural Relativism. [2022/10m/150w/1b]
4. Human Rights are complex and contested social practice that organises relations between individuals, society and the State. Comment. [2022/15m/200w/3b]
5. Can there be universal conception of human rights? Give your arguments. [2021/15m/200w/2c]
6. Assess the significance of right to property in political theory. [2020/15m/200w/2c]
7. Discuss the doctrine of ‘rights as trump’. [2019/15m/200w/4b]
8. What do you understand by three generations of human rights? [2018/20m/250w/3a]
9. What do you understand by multiculturalism? Discuss Bhikhu Parekh’s views on multiculturalism. [2017/20m/250w/3a]
10. The implementation of human rights is regarded as a matter of changing the conduct of states. Comment. [2016/15m/200w/3c]
11. Comment on the idea of Natural Rights. [2015/10m/150w/1a]
12. Analyse the relation between natural rights and human rights. [2013/20m/250w/3a]
13. Explain Berlin’s notion of value pluralism. [2013/20m/250w/4a]

6] Democracy

1. Deliberative democracy seeks to promote democratic decision making about public issues among the citizens. Discuss. [2024/15m/200w/3b]
2. Success of contemporary democracies lies in State limiting its own power. Comment. [2023/20m/250w/2a]
3. Elitist theory of democracy denies the possibility of democracy as ‘rule of the people’. Elucidate. [2022/15m/200w/2c]
4. Free and fair deliberation is key to the foundation of democracy.” Explain. [2021/15m/200w/4c]
5. Write a short note on Deliberative democracy. [2019/10m/150w/1d]
6. Comment on Substantive democracy. [2018/10m/150w/1d]
7. Critically examine MacPherson’s views on democracy. [2018/15m/200w/3b]
8. Deliberative democracy does not have its salience without participation and Participatory democracy does not have its credence without deliberations. Comment. [2017/15m/200w/3b]
9. Explicate the features of representative democracy. [2016/15m/200w/4b]
10. Elaborate the difference between participatory and deliberative democracy. [2015/10m/150w/1d]
11. ‘India has thrown up a form of judicial democracy that has no parallel anywhere else, and has nurtured a kind of civil society that is uniquely its own’. (Bhikhu Parekh). Comment.  [2014/10m/150w/1d]
12. Explicate the features of Deliberative democracy.  [2014/15m/200w/4c]

7] Power

1. Comment on linkage between Power and Hegemony [2024/10m/150w/1e]
2. Legitimacy adds positive value to political authority and obligation. Discuss. [2024/20m/250w/4a]
3. Comment on Foucault’s concept of power [2023/10m/150w/1d]
4. Write on the Bases of Power. [2022/10m/150w/1d]
5. Political ideology is primarily concerned with the allocation and utilization of Power.” Comment. [2021/15m/200w/3c]
6. Comment on tools of legitimating of the State [2021/10m/150w/1d]
7. Examine the nature and meaning of power. [2020/15m/200w/3b]
8. Explain the relationship between power, authority and legitimacy. [2018/15m/200w/3c]
9. Distinguish between power and authority. [2015/15m/200w/3c]
10. Discuss the ‘crisis of legitimacy’ in capitalist societies. (Habermas). [2015/20m/250w/4a]
11. Examine the conditions that are required for the maintenance of legitimacy in modern societies.  [2014/15m/200w/2b]

8] Ideologies

8.1] Liberalism

1. Comment on decline of Liberalism [2024/10m/150w/1d]
2. Factors like community, culture and nation weaken the hegemony of neo-liberalism today. Discuss. [2022/20m/250w/2a]
3. Comment on liberalism as a revolutionary idea. [2020/10m/150w/1c]
4. Compare negative and positive concepts of liberty. [2019/15m/200w/2c]
5. The political ideology of Globalisation is neoliberalism. Comment. [2016/20m/250w/2a]
6. Discuss the communitarian critique of liberalism. [2013/20m/250w/2a]

8.2] Socialism

1. Define socialism. Discuss the salient features of Fabian socialism. [2017/15m/200w/2c]
2. Discuss the key features of pre-Marxist socialist theory. [2015/15m/200w/2b]
3. Comment on the view that ‘socialism in the 21st century may be reborn as anti-capitalism’.  [2014/20m/250w/2a]

8.3] Marxism

1. Marxism is a political theory of action demanding strict compliance with its core principles. Comment. [2024/15m/200w/2b]
2. Write on the “Revolution in Permanence” [2022/10m/150w/1c]
3. What is the contemporary relevance of Marxism ? [2019/15m/200w/4c]

8.4] Fascism

1. Fascism displays an ambivalent stance towards parliamentary democracy. Explain. [2023/20m/250w/3a]
2. ‘Nothing against the state, nothing over it, nothing beyond it’. (Mussolini).  Comment. [2018/10m/150w/1e]
3. Examine the conception of state in the ideologies of Fascism and Marxism. [2014/15m/200w/3b]

8.5] Gandhism

• Please not that all questions related to Gandhism have been put under 9.6] M.K. Gandhi.

8.6] Feminism

1. Distinguish between liberal feminism and radical feminism. [2019/15m/200w/3c]
2. Comment on Ecofeminism. [2017/10m/150w/1d]
3. Comment on ‘personal is political’. [2013/10m/150w/1a]

8.7] Postmodernism

1. Comment on Postmodernism. [2017/10m/150w/1c]

8.8] End of Ideology

1. Discuss the end of Ideology debate. [2019/10m/150w/1c]
2. Write a brief note on the End of History. [2017/15m/200w/4b]

9] Indian Political Thought

9.1] Dharmashastra

1. Dharmashastra presents a duty-centric worldview for individuals and communities. Comment. [2024/15m/200w/3c]
2. Explain the sources of ancient Indian political thought. [2020/15m/200w/3c]
3. Examine the significance of Dharma in the ancient Indian political thought. [2013/15m/200w/3b]

9.2] Arthashastra

1. Discuss Kautilya’s views on the elements of the State. [2019/15m/200w/3b]
2. What do you understand by the notion of statecraft? Discuss the theory of statecraft as given by Kautilya. [2017/15m/200w/4c]
3. Compare and contrast the views of Kautilya and Machiavelli on statecraft. [2015/15m/200w/2c]
4. Analyse, as per Kautilya, the Saptanga theory of the state. [2013/15m/200w/4b]

9.3] Buddhist Political Tradition

1. Buddhist thought on Dhamma facilitates the emancipation of political action. Explain. [2023/20m/250w/4a]
2. Do you think that the Buddhist traditions have lent greater ethical foundation to the ancient Indian political thought? Give your arguments.  [2021/20m/250w/4a]
3. Examine the contribution of Buddhist tradition to Indian political thought. [2014/15m/200w/2c]

9.4] Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

1. “When a nation becomes devoid of arts and learning, it invites poverty.” (Sir Syed Ahmad Khan). In the light of this statement, assess the role of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as a in as a reformer in modern India.  [2021/15m/200w/3b]
2. Syed Ahmed Khan as a moderniser. Comment. [2013/10m/150w/1e]

9.5] Sri Aurobindo

1. Sri Aurobindo’s idea of Swaraj has deep significance in the Indian social, cultural and political history. Analyze. [2023/15m/200w/4c]
2. According to Sri Aurobindo, Swaraj is a necessary condition for India to accomplish it’s destined goal. Comment. [2017/10m/150w/1a]
3. Discuss Sri Aurobindo’s views on cultural nationalism. [2016/20m/250w/3a]
4. Comment: ‘Nationalism is not a mere political program, but a way of life like religion’. (Aurobindo). [2014/10m/150w/1c]
5. Comment on Sri Aurobindo’s idea of freedom. [2013/10m/150w/1d]

9.6] M. K. Gandhi

1. “The Panchayats with Gram Sabhas should be so organised as to identify the resources locally available for the development in agricultural and industrial sectors.” Examine the statement in context of Gram Swaraj. [2022/15m/200w/4b]
2. Explicate the ideological components of Gandhism. [2020/20m/250w/3a]
3. Discuss MK Gandhi’s concept of Swaraj. [2019/10m/150w/1e]
4. Examine Gandhi’s critique of modernisation. [2016/15m/200w/4c]
5. Comment on Gandhi’s views on the state. [2015/10m/150w/1e]

9.7] B.R. Ambedkar

1. Comment on Ambedkar’s ideas on constitutionalism. [2020/10m/150w/1d]
2. Discuss Ambedkar’s ideas on Annihilation of Caste. [2018/15m/200w/4b]
3. ‘Political democracy could not last unless social democracy lay at its base’. (BR Ambedkar). Comment. [2017/20m/250w/4a]
4. Discuss Dr. BR Ambedkar’s idea of state socialism. [2016/10m/150w/1d]

9.8] M.N. Roy

1. Manabendra Nath Roy’s political thought highlighted the humanistic aspects of Marxism. Discuss. [2024/15m/200w/4c]

10] Western Political Thought

10.1] Plato

1. Critically examine Plato’s theory of Forms. [2024/15m/200w/4b]
2. Trace the evolution of Western Political Thought from ancient to contemporary period. [2020/20m/250w/4a]
3. Explain Aristotle’s critique of Plato’s Idealism. [2019/20m/250w/2a]
4. ‘Plato was an enemy of the open society’. (Popper). Comment. [2015/20m/250w/3a]

10.2] Aristotle

1. Explain the Aristotelian view of politics. To what extent do you think it has contributed to the development of modern-day constitutional democracies?  [2021/20m/250w/3a]
2. Everywhere inequality is a cause of revolution’. (Aristotle). Comment. [2017/15m/200w/2b]
3. Comment on Aristotle’s conception of equality. [2015/10m/150w/1b]
4. Central to Aristotle’s political thought is his classification of the different types of political constitutions in the POLITICS. Evaluate. [2014/15m/200w/4b]

10.3] Machiavelli

1. Comment on Machiavelli’s secularism. [2020/10m/150w/1e]
2. Critically examine Machiavelli’s views on religion and politics. [2018/15m/200w/4c]
3. Compare and contrast the views of Kautilya and Machiavelli on statecraft. [2015/15m/200w/2c]
4. Explain how Machiavelli’s application of empirical method to human affairs marks an important stage in the evolution of political science. [2014/20m/250w/4a]

10.4] Thomas Hobbes

1. Comment on State of Nature as State of War (Hobbes) [2023/10m/150w/1c]
2. Individualism is inherent in Hobbes’ absolutist ideology. Comment. [2022/15m/200w/3c]
3. Comment on Hobbesian notion of political obligation. [2017/10m/150w/1e]
4. How would I and my fellow human beings behave if we were to find ourselves in a state of nature, and what does this behaviour tell us about our innate predispositions? Thomas Hobbes.  Discuss. [2016/10m/150w/1a]
5. Comment: ‘Covenants without swords are but words and of no strength to secure man at all’. Hobbes. [2013/10m/150w/1c]
6. Comment on the assertion of Laslett that Filmer and not Hobbes was the main antagonist of Locke. [2013/15m/200w/4c]

10.5] John Locke

1. Comment on Locke’s views on Revolution [2024/10m/150w/1c]
2. Write on the Locke’s Social Contract. [2022/10m/150w/1e]
3. John Locke is a father of liberalism. Explain. [2018/20m/250w/4a]

10.6] JS Mill

1. “The legal subordination of one sex to another is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human development.” (J. S. Mill). Comment. [2023/15m/200w/4b]
2. Comment on J. S. Mill’s ideas on women suffrage [2021/10m/150w/1e]
3. Representative democracy means the people as a body must be able to control the general direction of government policy. (J. S. Mill). Comment [2020/15m/200w/2b]
4. John Stuart Mill is a ‘reluctant democrat’.  (CL Wayper). Comment. [2018/10m/150w/1a]
5. Discuss, ‘All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility’ (JS Mill) [2014/10m/150w/1b]

10.7] Karl Marx

1. Marx’s concept of ‘alienation’ is an essential part of the reality in capitalism. Explain.  [2021/15m/200w/4b]
2. Discuss Karl Marx’s concept of class. [2020/15m/200w/4c]
3. Differentiate between freedom and liberty. Discuss Marx’s notion of freedom. [2017/15m/200w/3c]
4. Explain Marx’s understanding of human essence and alienation. [2016/15m/200w/3b]
5. Discuss the relationship between base and superstructure in Marxist theory. [2015/15m/200w/3b]

10.8] Gramsci

1. According to Gramsci, ‘hegemony is primarily based on the organisation of consent.’ Comment. [2019/20m/250w/3a]
2. Comment on Gramsci’s concept of hegemony. [2016/10m/150w/1e]
3. Discuss Gramsci’s notion of organic intellectuals. [2015/15m/200w/4b]
4. Explain, as per Gramsci, the distinction between hegemony and domination. [2013/15m/200w/2c]

10.9] Hannah Arendt

1. Critically examine Hannah Arendt’s conceptual triad of labour, work and action. [2019/20m/250w/4a]
2. Discuss Hannah Arendt’s analysis of the role of ideology in the modern totalitarian regime. [2016/20m/250w/4a]
3. ‘Power is never the property of an individual; it belongs to a group and remains in existence only so long as the group keeps it together’. (Hannah Arendt). Discuss. [2014/10m/150w/1e]