MA Political Science (MPS) · 17 pages · English + हिन्दी
⬇ Download PDFThese are AI-assisted exam notes prepared from an analysis of past IGNOU term-end papers. They are not official IGNOU material. Topics and answer frames can contain mistakes, so check them against your current IGNOU syllabus, your study blocks and the official question papers before you rely on them.
Exam notes for MA Political Science, built from the trend of nine official IGNOU papers. Topics are ordered by how often they were asked, and each one gives the core argument, the thinkers to cite and a 20-mark answer frame.
एम.ए. राजनीति विज्ञान के परीक्षा नोट्स, नौ आधिकारिक IGNOU प्रश्नपत्रों के ट्रेंड पर आधारित। टॉपिक इस क्रम में हैं कि वे कितनी बार पूछे गए, और हर टॉपिक में मूल तर्क, विचारक और 20 अंकों के उत्तर की रूपरेखा है।
Papers analysed: June 2022, December 2022, June 2023, December 2023, June 2024, December 2024, June 2025, December 2025, June 2026 (9 papers)
Every paper had two sections of five questions; students answer five, with at least two from each section. Answers were about 500 words, except in June 2026, which asked for about 400 words. In most papers question 5 is a short-notes question (two notes of 10 marks).
हर प्रश्नपत्र में पाँच-पाँच प्रश्नों के दो भाग थे; पाँच उत्तर देने होते हैं, हर भाग से कम-से-कम दो। उत्तर लगभग 500 शब्दों में, केवल जून 2026 में लगभग 400 शब्द। अधिकांश प्रश्नपत्रों में प्रश्न 5 संक्षिप्त टिप्पणियों का था (10-10 अंक की दो)।
Two question "families". The papers fall into two recurring sets. The concepts set (December 2022, June 2023, December 2023, December 2024, December 2025) asks about political theory itself, democracy, rights, liberty, equality, justice, citizenship, civil society and sovereignty. The ideologies set (June 2024, June 2025, June 2026, and largely June 2022) asks about liberalism, libertarianism, the welfare state, Marxism, conservatism, fundamentalism, nationalism, multiculturalism, fascism and feminism. The June 2024, June 2025 and June 2026 papers are almost identical, so expect a June paper to follow the ideologies set and a December paper the concepts set, though this is a pattern, not a rule.
दो प्रश्न-"परिवार": अवधारणा समूह (दिसम्बर 2022, जून 2023, दिसम्बर 2023, दिसम्बर 2024, दिसम्बर 2025): राजनीतिक सिद्धान्त, लोकतंत्र, अधिकार, स्वतंत्रता, समानता, न्याय, नागरिकता, नागरिक समाज, संप्रभुता। विचारधारा समूह (जून 2024, जून 2025, जून 2026, और अधिकांशतः जून 2022): उदारवाद, स्वेच्छातंत्रवाद, कल्याणकारी राज्य, मार्क्सवाद, रूढ़िवाद, कट्टरवाद, राष्ट्रवाद, बहुसंस्कृतिवाद, फ़ासीवाद, नारीवाद। जून 2024, 2025 और 2026 के प्रश्नपत्र लगभग एक जैसे हैं। यह पैटर्न है, नियम नहीं, इसलिए दोनों समूह पढ़ें।
| Topic / टॉपिक | Papers (of 9) / प्रश्नपत्र | Sessions / सत्र |
|---|---|---|
| Marxism and socialism / मार्क्सवाद और समाजवाद | 7/9 | Jun 22, Dec 22, Jun 23, Dec 23, Jun 24, Jun 25, Jun 26 |
| Nature of political theory / राजनीतिक सिद्धान्त का स्वरूप | 6/9 | Jun 22, Dec 22, Jun 23, Dec 23, Dec 24, Dec 25 |
| Democracy / लोकतंत्र | 6/9 | Jun 22, Jun 23, Dec 23, Jun 24, Dec 24, Dec 25 |
| Liberalism, libertarianism, welfare state / उदारवाद | 6/9 | Jun 22, Dec 22, Jun 24, Dec 24, Jun 25, Jun 26 |
| Liberty, equality and justice / स्वतंत्रता, समानता, न्याय | 6/9 | Jun 22, Dec 22, Jun 23, Dec 23, Dec 24, Dec 25 |
| Nationalism / राष्ट्रवाद | 6/9 | Dec 22, Jun 23, Jun 24, Dec 24, Jun 25, Jun 26 |
| Multiculturalism / बहुसंस्कृतिवाद | 6/9 | Jun 22, Jun 23, Jun 24, Dec 24, Jun 25, Jun 26 |
| Rights and duties / अधिकार और कर्तव्य | 5/9 | Jun 22, Dec 22, Dec 23, Dec 24, Dec 25 |
| Citizenship and civil society / नागरिकता और नागरिक समाज | 4/9 | Jun 23, Dec 23, Dec 24, Dec 25 |
| Conservatism, fundamentalism, fascism / रूढ़िवाद, कट्टरवाद, फ़ासीवाद | 4/9 | Dec 22, Jun 24, Jun 25, Jun 26 |
| Feminism / नारीवाद | 4/9 | Jun 22, Dec 22, Dec 24, Jun 25 |
| Sovereignty, power, legitimacy, autonomy / संप्रभुता, शक्ति, वैधता | 3/9 | Jun 23, Dec 23, Dec 25 |
| Gandhi: satyagraha / गांधी: सत्याग्रह | 2/9 | Dec 22, Jun 23 |
Counts are papers, not questions. The appendix lists every question by session.
Study plan / अध्ययन योजना: Prepare both families. For the ideologies set, topics 1, 4, 6, 7, 10 and 11 cover almost the whole paper; for the concepts set, topics 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 12 do.
दोनों समूह तैयार करें। विचारधारा समूह के लिए टॉपिक 1, 4, 6, 7, 10 और 11 लगभग पूरा प्रश्नपत्र कवर करते हैं; अवधारणा समूह के लिए टॉपिक 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 और 12।
7 of 9 papers. Gramsci on base–superstructure and hegemony (Jun 2022, Jun 2025, Jun 2026 note); Lenin's theory of imperialism (Dec 2022); democratic socialism (Dec 2022 note); Marxist and non-Marxist views of power (Jun 2023); Marxist concept of citizenship (Dec 2023); class war, Lukács on dialectical materialism, meaning of socialism (Jun 2024); historical materialism (Jun 2025); surplus value and socialism (Jun 2026).
Historical materialism. For Marx and Engels, the economic base (forces and relations of production) shapes the superstructure (state, law, religion, ideas). History moves through modes of production (primitive communism, ancient slavery, feudalism, capitalism), each ending when its relations of production fetter the growth of productive forces. Class war (class struggle) between those who own the means of production and those who do not is the motor of history; under capitalism it is between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and Marx expected it to end in proletarian revolution and a classless society. Dialectical materialism (a term developed by later Marxists such as Plekhanov) applies dialectics (contradiction, the transformation of quantity into quality, negation of the negation) to matter and history.
Surplus value. Workers sell their labour power for a wage equal to the value needed to reproduce it, but in a working day they produce more value than that. The difference, taken by the capitalist, is surplus value, the source of profit. It can be increased absolutely (longer hours) or relatively (higher productivity). This is the core of exploitation in Marx's theory.
Lenin's theory of imperialism. In Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1916), Lenin argued that by the late 19th century capitalism had reached a monopoly stage: concentration of production into monopolies; fusion of bank and industrial capital into finance capital and a financial oligarchy; export of capital rather than goods; international monopoly cartels dividing the world; and the territorial division of the world among great powers. Imperialist rivalry caused the First World War, and super-profits from colonies "bribed" a labour aristocracy.
Gramsci. Antonio Gramsci (Prison Notebooks) gave the superstructure relative autonomy. The ruling class rules not only by force (through the state, "political society") but by hegemony: moral and intellectual leadership that wins the consent of subordinate classes through civil society (church, schools, media, family). Revolution in the West therefore needs a long war of position (building counter-hegemony through organic intellectuals) rather than a direct war of manoeuvre. Georg Lukács (History and Class Consciousness, 1923) stressed totality, reification (social relations appearing as relations between things) and the proletariat's class consciousness.
Marxist views of power and citizenship. Power is class power rooted in ownership of the means of production; the state is an instrument of the ruling class. Non-Marxist views see power as distributed (pluralists such as Robert Dahl), concentrated in elites (Pareto, Mosca, Michels, C. Wright Mills), or exercised in three dimensions (Steven Lukes, 1974). For citizenship, Marx (On the Jewish Question, 1843) argued that liberal citizenship gives only political emancipation, formal equality in the state, while inequality persists in civil society; true human emancipation requires ending class society.
Socialism. A system or ideology based on social ownership or control of the means of production, cooperation and equality. Types: utopian (Owen, Fourier, Saint-Simon); scientific (Marx); democratic socialism, which seeks socialist goals through parliamentary democracy and gradual reform (Fabians in Britain, Eduard Bernstein's revisionism, Nehru's mixed economy); and market socialism.
ऐतिहासिक भौतिकवाद: आर्थिक आधार (उत्पादन-शक्तियाँ और उत्पादन-संबंध) अधिरचना (राज्य, कानून, धर्म, विचार) को आकार देता है। इतिहास उत्पादन-पद्धतियों से गुज़रता है; वर्ग-संघर्ष इतिहास का इंजन है; पूँजीवाद में पूँजीपति और सर्वहारा के बीच, जिसका अंत क्रांति और वर्गविहीन समाज में होगा। द्वंद्वात्मक भौतिकवाद (प्लेखानोव जैसे बाद के मार्क्सवादियों द्वारा विकसित शब्द): अंतर्विरोध, मात्रा का गुण में परिवर्तन, निषेध का निषेध।
अधिशेष मूल्य: श्रमिक अपनी श्रम-शक्ति उसके पुनरुत्पादन के मूल्य के बराबर मज़दूरी पर बेचता है, पर उससे अधिक मूल्य पैदा करता है; अंतर अधिशेष मूल्य है, लाभ का स्रोत।
लेनिन का साम्राज्यवाद सिद्धान्त (1916): एकाधिकार; बैंक और औद्योगिक पूँजी का मेल (वित्त पूँजी); माल के बजाय पूँजी का निर्यात; अंतरराष्ट्रीय एकाधिकार संघ; महाशक्तियों द्वारा विश्व का विभाजन; साम्राज्यवादी प्रतिद्वंद्विता से प्रथम विश्वयुद्ध।
ग्राम्शी: अधिरचना की सापेक्ष स्वायत्तता; शासक वर्ग बल से ही नहीं, वर्चस्व (नैतिक-बौद्धिक नेतृत्व) से भी शासन करता है, जो नागरिक समाज (चर्च, विद्यालय, मीडिया) के माध्यम से सहमति जीतता है; पश्चिम में क्रांति के लिए लंबा स्थिति-युद्ध। लुकाच (1923): समग्रता, वस्तुकरण, वर्ग-चेतना।
शक्ति और नागरिकता: मार्क्सवाद में शक्ति वर्ग-शक्ति है; गैर-मार्क्सवादी: बहुलवादी (डाल), अभिजातवादी (पैरेटो, मोस्का, मिशेल्स, सी. राइट मिल्स), स्टीवन ल्यूक्स के तीन आयाम (1974)। मार्क्स (1843): उदार नागरिकता केवल राजनीतिक मुक्ति देती है; मानवीय मुक्ति के लिए वर्ग-समाज का अंत आवश्यक।
समाजवाद: उत्पादन के साधनों पर सामाजिक स्वामित्व, सहयोग और समानता। प्रकार: काल्पनिक (ओवेन, फ़ूरिए), वैज्ञानिक (मार्क्स), लोकतांत्रिक समाजवाद (फ़ेबियन, बर्नस्टीन, नेहरू की मिश्रित अर्थव्यवस्था), बाज़ार समाजवाद।
6 of 9 papers. Features of modern political theory (Jun 2022, Jun 2023, Dec 2023); political theory vs political philosophy vs political science (Dec 2022); what is political theory (Dec 2024, Dec 2025); challenges in a globalising world (Jun 2022).
Definitions. Political theory is systematic thinking about the nature and purpose of political life: concepts (state, power, liberty, justice), their justification and their relation to practice. Political philosophy is the normative, evaluative part: what ought to be (the good life, just order), from Plato to Rawls. Political science is the empirical study of political institutions and behaviour, aiming at explanation and testable generalisations. The three overlap: theory draws on philosophy's norms and science's evidence.
Classical vs modern political theory. Classical theory (Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau) was normative, philosophical and concerned with the ideal state. Modern (empirical) political theory, shaped by the behavioural revolution in the US in the 1950s–60s (David Easton, Robert Dahl), stressed: (1) observation and measurement of political behaviour; (2) value-free, scientific method; (3) interdisciplinary borrowing from sociology, psychology and economics; (4) systems and structural-functional analysis; (5) theory building and testable generalisations. In the 1950s some scholars argued that political theory had "declined" or that political philosophy was "dead" (Alfred Cobban, Peter Laslett). Post-behaviouralism (Easton, 1969) demanded relevance and action. Normative theory revived with John Rawls's A Theory of Justice (1971), followed by debates among liberals, libertarians, communitarians, feminists and multiculturalists.
Challenges in a globalising world. The state is no longer the sole site of power (global markets, international institutions, transnational movements); questions of global justice, migration, climate and human rights cross borders; cultural diversity challenges universal theories; new technologies raise issues of surveillance and digital democracy; and Western-centric theory is questioned by post-colonial and non-Western perspectives (including Indian political thought).
परिभाषाएँ: राजनीतिक सिद्धान्त राजनीतिक जीवन के स्वरूप और उद्देश्य पर व्यवस्थित चिंतन है: अवधारणाएँ (राज्य, शक्ति, स्वतंत्रता, न्याय), उनका औचित्य और व्यवहार से संबंध। राजनीतिक दर्शन मानकीय पक्ष है: क्या होना चाहिए। राजनीति विज्ञान संस्थाओं और व्यवहार का अनुभवजन्य अध्ययन है। तीनों परस्पर जुड़े हैं।
शास्त्रीय बनाम आधुनिक राजनीतिक सिद्धान्त: शास्त्रीय (प्लेटो, अरस्तू, हॉब्स, लॉक, रूसो) मानकीय और आदर्श राज्य से संबंधित। आधुनिक (अनुभवजन्य) सिद्धान्त: 1950–60 के दशक की व्यवहारवादी क्रांति (ईस्टन, डाल): राजनीतिक व्यवहार का अवलोकन और मापन, मूल्य-मुक्त वैज्ञानिक पद्धति, अंतर-अनुशासनात्मकता, व्यवस्था विश्लेषण, सिद्धान्त निर्माण। 1950 के दशक में "राजनीतिक सिद्धान्त के पतन" की बहस (कॉबन, लैसलेट)। उत्तर-व्यवहारवाद (ईस्टन, 1969): प्रासंगिकता और कार्य। रॉल्स की ए थ्योरी ऑफ़ जस्टिस (1971) से मानकीय सिद्धान्त का पुनरुत्थान।
वैश्वीकरण की चुनौतियाँ: राज्य शक्ति का एकमात्र केंद्र नहीं; वैश्विक न्याय, प्रवास, जलवायु और मानवाधिकार के प्रश्न; सांस्कृतिक विविधता; निगरानी और डिजिटल लोकतंत्र; पश्चिम-केंद्रित सिद्धान्त पर उत्तर-औपनिवेशिक प्रश्न।
6 of 9 papers. Democracy as a form of government (Jun 2022); three types of democracy (Jun 2023); historical background or genesis of democracy (Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Dec 2025); the liberal democratic state (Jun 2024).
History. Direct democracy in ancient Athens (5th century BCE), limited to free adult male citizens; the Roman republic; medieval checks on monarchy (Magna Carta, 1215); the English Revolution and the Bill of Rights (1689); the American (1776) and French (1789) revolutions with ideas of popular sovereignty and rights; the gradual extension of suffrage through the 19th and 20th centuries to workers, women and colonised peoples; and post-1945 and post-1989 waves of democratisation (Samuel Huntington's "third wave").
Types and models. (1) Direct or participatory democracy (Rousseau, Athens; today referendums, gram sabhas, participatory budgeting). (2) Liberal representative democracy: elected representatives, constitutionalism, rights, rule of law, separation of powers. (3) Elitist democracy: Joseph Schumpeter (Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 1942) saw democracy as a method in which elites compete for the people's vote. (4) Pluralist democracy: power dispersed among competing groups; Dahl's "polyarchy". (5) Deliberative democracy: legitimacy comes from reasoned public debate (Jürgen Habermas, John Rawls). (6) Marxist or people's democracy: liberal democracy as bourgeois rule; true democracy requires economic equality. C. B. Macpherson identified four models of liberal democracy: protective, developmental, equilibrium and participatory.
Liberal democratic state. Features: free and fair elections with universal adult suffrage; multi-party competition; constitutional limits on government; fundamental rights and civil liberties; independent judiciary and rule of law; free press and civil society; a market economy with private property, often with welfare provisions. Critiques: Marxists (formal equality hides class power), elitists (rule by elites), feminists (exclusion of women's concerns), and communitarians (excessive individualism).
Assessment as a form of government. Strengths: legitimacy through consent, protection of rights, peaceful change of government, accountability, political education, and accommodation of diversity. Weaknesses: majoritarianism, slow decision-making, influence of money and media, populism and low-quality participation.
इतिहास: प्राचीन एथेंस का प्रत्यक्ष लोकतंत्र (5वीं सदी ई.पू., केवल स्वतंत्र पुरुष नागरिक); रोमन गणराज्य; मैग्ना कार्टा (1215); अंग्रेज़ी अधिकार-पत्र (1689); अमेरिकी (1776) और फ़्रांसीसी (1789) क्रांतियाँ; मताधिकार का क्रमिक विस्तार; 1945 और 1989 के बाद लोकतंत्रीकरण की लहरें (हंटिंगटन की "तीसरी लहर")।
प्रकार और मॉडल: (1) प्रत्यक्ष या सहभागी (रूसो; जनमत संग्रह, ग्राम सभा); (2) उदार प्रतिनिधि (निर्वाचित प्रतिनिधि, संविधानवाद, अधिकार); (3) अभिजातवादी (शुम्पीटर, 1942: अभिजनों की मतों के लिए प्रतिस्पर्धा); (4) बहुलवादी (डाल का "बहुतंत्र"); (5) विमर्शी (हैबरमास, रॉल्स); (6) मार्क्सवादी या जन लोकतंत्र। मैकफ़र्सन के चार मॉडल: संरक्षणात्मक, विकासात्मक, संतुलन, सहभागी।
उदार लोकतांत्रिक राज्य: सार्वभौमिक वयस्क मताधिकार, बहुदलीय प्रतिस्पर्धा, संवैधानिक सीमाएँ, मौलिक अधिकार, स्वतंत्र न्यायपालिका, स्वतंत्र प्रेस, बाज़ार अर्थव्यवस्था और कल्याण प्रावधान। आलोचना: मार्क्सवादी, अभिजातवादी, नारीवादी, समुदायवादी।
शासन-रूप के रूप में मूल्यांकन: गुण: सहमति से वैधता, अधिकारों की रक्षा, शांतिपूर्ण सत्ता-परिवर्तन, जवाबदेही; दोष: बहुसंख्यकवाद, धीमे निर्णय, धन और मीडिया का प्रभाव, लोकलुभावनवाद।
6 of 9 papers. Neo-liberalism and the welfare state (Jun 2022); liberalism and "the government that governs least" (Dec 2022); individualism (Dec 2022 note); liberalism, the liberal democratic state and libertarianism (Jun 2024); liberalism, meaning and characteristics (Dec 2024); liberalism, welfare state, libertarianism (Jun 2025); classical liberalism, welfare state, libertarianism (Jun 2026).
Classical liberalism (17th–19th centuries). Core values: the individual as the basic unit (individualism), natural rights to life, liberty and property (John Locke), limited government by consent, rule of law, toleration, and free markets (Adam Smith's "invisible hand"; laissez-faire). The state is a "night-watchman" that protects rights and contracts; the slogan that the best government governs least expresses this view. Jeremy Bentham's utilitarianism and J. S. Mill's On Liberty (1859), with its harm principle, extended liberalism.
Modern or welfare liberalism. From the late 19th century, T. H. Green, L. T. Hobhouse and later J. M. Keynes argued that freedom requires positive conditions (education, health, security), so the state must intervene to remove obstacles. This produced the welfare state: social insurance, public health and education, labour protection and redistributive taxation, consolidated in Britain after the Beveridge Report (1942). Critiques of the welfare state: from the New Right, it creates dependency, bureaucracy and fiscal crisis and reduces liberty; from the left, it only manages capitalism's contradictions; others note its retrenchment since the 1980s.
Neo-liberalism. From the 1970s–80s (Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman; Thatcher and Reagan governments), it revived free-market ideas: deregulation, privatisation, tax cuts, reduced welfare, free trade and global capital mobility (the "Washington Consensus"). Critics link it to rising inequality and financial crises.
Libertarianism. Robert Nozick (Anarchy, State, and Utopia, 1974) argued for a minimal state limited to protection against force, theft and fraud and enforcement of contracts. His entitlement theory holds that a distribution is just if holdings were acquired justly, transferred justly, or rectified; redistributive taxation is "on a par with forced labour" because it violates self-ownership. Libertarians oppose welfare-state redistribution. Critique: ignores historical injustice and unequal starting points; treats property rights as absolute.
शास्त्रीय उदारवाद (17वीं–19वीं सदी): व्यक्ति मूल इकाई (व्यक्तिवाद), जीवन, स्वतंत्रता और संपत्ति के प्राकृतिक अधिकार (लॉक), सहमति पर आधारित सीमित सरकार, कानून का शासन, सहिष्णुता, मुक्त बाज़ार (एडम स्मिथ; अहस्तक्षेप)। राज्य "रात्रि-प्रहरी"; "सबसे अच्छी सरकार वह जो सबसे कम शासन करे" इसी दृष्टि को व्यक्त करता है। बेंथम का उपयोगितावाद और मिल का ऑन लिबर्टी (1859), हानि सिद्धान्त।
आधुनिक या कल्याणकारी उदारवाद: टी. एच. ग्रीन, हॉबहाउस और कीन्स: स्वतंत्रता के लिए सकारात्मक परिस्थितियाँ (शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य, सुरक्षा) चाहिए, इसलिए राज्य का हस्तक्षेप। परिणाम: कल्याणकारी राज्य, ब्रिटेन में बेवरिज रिपोर्ट (1942) के बाद। आलोचना: नव-दक्षिणपंथ: निर्भरता, नौकरशाही, वित्तीय संकट; वामपंथ: पूँजीवाद के अंतर्विरोधों का प्रबंधन मात्र।
नवउदारवाद: 1970–80 के दशक से (हायेक, फ़्रीडमैन; थैचर और रीगन): विनियमन-मुक्ति, निजीकरण, कर कटौती, कल्याण में कमी, मुक्त व्यापार ("वाशिंगटन सहमति")। आलोचना: बढ़ती असमानता और वित्तीय संकट।
स्वेच्छातंत्रवाद: रॉबर्ट नॉज़िक (1974): न्यूनतम राज्य; हक़दारी सिद्धान्त: न्यायपूर्ण अर्जन, न्यायपूर्ण हस्तांतरण, सुधार; पुनर्वितरणकारी कर स्व-स्वामित्व का उल्लंघन। आलोचना: ऐतिहासिक अन्याय और असमान शुरुआत की उपेक्षा।
6 of 9 papers. Rawls's theory of justice (Jun 2022, Dec 2023, Dec 2024); equality in contemporary societies (Dec 2022); justice (Jun 2023; Dec 2025 note); positive or negative liberty (Dec 2023); equality vs inequality and political equality (Dec 2023 notes); contemporary debates on liberty (Dec 2025); equality (Dec 2025 note).
Liberty. Isaiah Berlin ("Two Concepts of Liberty", 1958): negative liberty is freedom from interference by others; positive liberty is self-mastery and the capacity to act on one's rational will, which can be abused when the state claims to know people's "true" interests. Contemporary debates: J. S. Mill's harm principle; republican liberty as non-domination (Philip Pettit): one is unfree if someone can arbitrarily interfere, even if they do not; liberals vs communitarians on whether liberty presupposes community; and liberty vs security in the age of surveillance.
Equality. Not identical treatment but the absence of unjustified privilege. Types: natural vs social inequality (Rousseau); legal and political equality (equality before law, one person one vote); equality of opportunity (fair chances, including affirmative action); equality of outcome or condition; economic equality. R. H. Tawney (Equality, 1931) argued that liberty is impossible without some equality; Amartya Sen asked "equality of what?" and proposed capabilities. Relation to liberty: liberals once saw them in tension; modern theorists see them as complementary.
Rawls's theory of justice. In A Theory of Justice (1971), justice is "fairness". Rational people in an original position behind a veil of ignorance (not knowing their class, talents, gender or conception of the good) would choose two principles: (1) equal basic liberties for all; (2) social and economic inequalities are allowed only if they are attached to offices open to all under fair equality of opportunity and benefit the least advantaged (the difference principle). The first principle has lexical priority. Critiques: Robert Nozick (redistribution violates rights); communitarians (Michael Sandel, Michael Walzer, Alasdair MacIntyre: the "unencumbered self" ignores community and shared meanings); feminists (Susan Okin: justice within the family is ignored); and Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice, 2009: focus on removing actual injustices and on capabilities rather than ideal institutions).
स्वतंत्रता: बर्लिन (1958): नकारात्मक स्वतंत्रता हस्तक्षेप से मुक्ति; सकारात्मक स्वतंत्रता आत्म-स्वामित्व, जिसका दुरुपयोग हो सकता है। समकालीन बहस: मिल का हानि सिद्धान्त; पेटिट की गणतंत्रवादी स्वतंत्रता: प्रभुत्व से मुक्ति; उदारवाद बनाम समुदायवाद; निगरानी के युग में स्वतंत्रता बनाम सुरक्षा।
समानता: समान व्यवहार नहीं, अनुचित विशेषाधिकार का अभाव। प्रकार: प्राकृतिक बनाम सामाजिक (रूसो), कानूनी और राजनीतिक (कानून के समक्ष समानता, एक व्यक्ति एक वोट), अवसर की समानता (सकारात्मक कार्रवाई सहित), परिणाम की समानता, आर्थिक समानता। टॉनी (1931): समानता के बिना स्वतंत्रता असंभव; अमर्त्य सेन: "किसकी समानता?", क्षमताएँ।
रॉल्स का न्याय सिद्धान्त (1971): न्याय "निष्पक्षता" है। मूल स्थिति में अज्ञान के पर्दे के पीछे तार्किक लोग दो सिद्धान्त चुनेंगे: (1) सबके लिए समान मूलभूत स्वतंत्रताएँ; (2) सामाजिक-आर्थिक असमानताएँ तभी स्वीकार्य जब वे अवसर की निष्पक्ष समानता के साथ सबके लिए खुले पदों से जुड़ी हों और सबसे वंचितों को लाभ दें (अंतर सिद्धान्त)। पहले सिद्धान्त को प्राथमिकता। आलोचना: नॉज़िक, समुदायवादी (सैंडल, वॉल्ज़र, मैकिंटायर), नारीवादी (सूज़न ओकिन), अमर्त्य सेन (2009)।
6 of 9 papers. Nationalism and contemporary developments (Dec 2022); two theories of nationalism (Jun 2023); note on nationalism (Jun 2024, Jun 2026); rise and growth (Dec 2024); define and explain (Jun 2025).
Meaning. Nationalism is the ideology and movement holding that the nation, a community bound by shared culture, history, language or political will, should be the basis of political loyalty and ideally have its own state. Rise and growth: it emerged in the late 18th century with the French Revolution (popular sovereignty), spread through 19th-century European unifications (Italy, Germany) and national revivals, drove anti-colonial movements in Asia and Africa in the 20th century, and shaped the break-up of empires and of the Soviet Union.
Theories. (1) Primordialist: nations are ancient, natural communities based on kinship, language and religion. (2) Modernist: nations are modern products. Ernest Gellner (Nations and Nationalism, 1983): industrial society needs a shared, standardised high culture spread by mass education, so nationalism creates nations; Benedict Anderson (Imagined Communities, 1983): nations are "imagined" through print capitalism; Eric Hobsbawm: nations rely on "invented traditions". (3) Ethno-symbolist (Anthony D. Smith): modern nations build on older ethnic myths, memories and symbols. Types: civic (based on citizenship and shared political values) vs ethnic (based on descent and culture); liberal, conservative, expansionist and anti-colonial nationalism.
Contemporary developments. Globalisation was expected to weaken nationalism, but it has revived: secessionist movements (Catalonia, Scotland), ethno-nationalist conflicts, right-wing populist nationalism in many democracies, economic nationalism and trade protectionism, and debates over migration and citizenship. In India, the debate between composite, civic nationalism (Nehru, Gandhi) and cultural nationalism continues.
अर्थ: राष्ट्रवाद वह विचारधारा और आंदोलन है जो मानता है कि राष्ट्र, साझा संस्कृति, इतिहास, भाषा या राजनीतिक इच्छा से बँधा समुदाय, राजनीतिक निष्ठा का आधार हो और उसका अपना राज्य हो। उदय और विकास: 18वीं सदी के अंत में फ़्रांसीसी क्रांति से; 19वीं सदी में इटली और जर्मनी के एकीकरण; 20वीं सदी में एशिया और अफ़्रीका के उपनिवेशवाद-विरोधी आंदोलन; साम्राज्यों और सोवियत संघ का विघटन।
सिद्धान्त: (1) आदिमवादी: राष्ट्र प्राचीन, प्राकृतिक समुदाय। (2) आधुनिकतावादी: गेलनर (1983): औद्योगिक समाज को मानकीकृत उच्च संस्कृति चाहिए, इसलिए राष्ट्रवाद राष्ट्र बनाता है; बेनेडिक्ट एंडरसन (1983): मुद्रण पूँजीवाद से "कल्पित समुदाय"; हॉब्सबॉम: "आविष्कृत परंपराएँ"। (3) नृजाति-प्रतीकवादी (एंथनी स्मिथ): आधुनिक राष्ट्र पुराने मिथकों और प्रतीकों पर निर्मित। प्रकार: नागरिक बनाम नृजातीय; उदार, रूढ़िवादी, विस्तारवादी, उपनिवेशवाद-विरोधी।
समकालीन विकास: वैश्वीकरण के बावजूद पुनरुत्थान: पृथकतावादी आंदोलन, नृजातीय संघर्ष, दक्षिणपंथी लोकलुभावन राष्ट्रवाद, आर्थिक राष्ट्रवाद, प्रवास पर बहस। भारत में समग्र नागरिक राष्ट्रवाद (नेहरू, गांधी) और सांस्कृतिक राष्ट्रवाद की बहस।
6 of 9 papers. What is multiculturalism (Jun 2022); multiculturalism–liberalism interface (Jun 2023); delineate it (Jun 2024); its critique (Dec 2024); characteristics (Jun 2025); meaning (Jun 2026).
Meaning. Multiculturalism is both a fact (cultural diversity within a society) and a normative position that the state should recognise and accommodate cultural groups rather than assimilate them. Thinkers: Will Kymlicka (Multicultural Citizenship, 1995) defended group-differentiated rights within liberalism: self-government rights for national minorities, polyethnic rights for immigrant groups (for example, exemptions for religious dress), and special representation rights; he argued that cultural membership gives the context for meaningful individual choice. Charles Taylor ("The Politics of Recognition", 1992) argued that misrecognition harms identity, so equal dignity requires recognition of difference. Bhikhu Parekh (Rethinking Multiculturalism, 2000) argued for intercultural dialogue. Characteristics: recognition of diversity, minority rights, a pluralist idea of citizenship, rejection of forced assimilation, and accommodation in law and policy.
Liberalism–multiculturalism interface. Liberalism's individual rights and neutrality can be blind to cultural disadvantage; multiculturalists such as Kymlicka reconcile the two by grounding group rights in individual autonomy, but they reject "internal restrictions" that let groups oppress their own members.
Critique. Brian Barry (Culture and Equality, 2001): group rights undermine equal citizenship and distract from economic inequality; feminists (Susan Okin, "Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?", 1999): cultural rights may protect patriarchal practices; others argue it can freeze identities and fragment national solidarity. India has a long multicultural practice: minority educational rights (Articles 29–30), personal laws, linguistic states and Sixth Schedule autonomy.
अर्थ: बहुसंस्कृतिवाद तथ्य भी है (सांस्कृतिक विविधता) और मानकीय दृष्टि भी (राज्य सांस्कृतिक समूहों को आत्मसात करने के बजाय मान्यता और स्थान दे)। विचारक: विल किमलिका (1995): उदारवाद के भीतर समूह-विशिष्ट अधिकार: राष्ट्रीय अल्पसंख्यकों के लिए स्वशासन, प्रवासी समूहों के लिए बहुनृजातीय अधिकार, विशेष प्रतिनिधित्व; चार्ल्स टेलर (1992): मान्यता की राजनीति; भीखू पारेख (2000): अंतर-सांस्कृतिक संवाद। विशेषताएँ: विविधता की मान्यता, अल्पसंख्यक अधिकार, बहुलवादी नागरिकता, बलात् आत्मसातीकरण का निषेध।
उदारवाद से संबंध: उदारवाद की व्यक्तिगत अधिकार और तटस्थता की धारणा सांस्कृतिक वंचना को नहीं देख पाती; किमलिका समूह अधिकारों को व्यक्तिगत स्वायत्तता से जोड़ते हैं, पर समूह द्वारा अपने सदस्यों पर "आंतरिक प्रतिबंधों" को अस्वीकार करते हैं।
आलोचना: ब्रायन बैरी (2001): समान नागरिकता कमज़ोर होती है; सूज़न ओकिन (1999): सांस्कृतिक अधिकार पितृसत्तात्मक प्रथाओं को बचा सकते हैं; पहचानों का स्थिरीकरण। भारत: अनुच्छेद 29–30, व्यक्तिगत कानून, भाषाई राज्य, छठी अनुसूची।
5 of 9 papers. Inter-relationship of duties and rights (Jun 2022); types of duties and their implications (Dec 2022); meaning of rights (Dec 2023, Dec 2025); meaning and significance of rights (Dec 2024).
Rights are justified claims, recognised by society and usually protected by law, that enable individuals to develop and live with dignity. Theories: natural rights (Locke: life, liberty, property, prior to the state); legal rights (Bentham called natural rights "nonsense"; rights are created by law); social-welfare theory (rights exist for social good); historical theory; Marxist critique (bourgeois rights protect property); and human rights after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Types: civil, political, economic, social and cultural; individual and group rights; negative (freedom from) and positive (entitlement to). Duties: moral and legal duties; duties to the state (obey laws, pay taxes, defend the nation), to society and to others; India added Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) through the 42nd Amendment (1976). Relationship: rights and duties are correlative: one person's right implies others' duty to respect it, and enjoying rights implies the duty to respect others' rights; Gandhi stressed that rights flow from duties well performed. Implications: duties sustain the social order that makes rights possible, but an over-emphasis on duties can justify authoritarianism.
अधिकार वे न्यायोचित दावे हैं जिन्हें समाज मान्यता देता है और प्रायः कानून संरक्षण देता है, ताकि व्यक्ति गरिमा से जी सके। सिद्धान्त: प्राकृतिक (लॉक), कानूनी (बेंथम), सामाजिक कल्याण, ऐतिहासिक, मार्क्सवादी आलोचना, और 1948 की सार्वभौमिक घोषणा के बाद मानवाधिकार। प्रकार: नागरिक, राजनीतिक, आर्थिक, सामाजिक, सांस्कृतिक; व्यक्तिगत और सामूहिक; नकारात्मक और सकारात्मक। कर्तव्य: नैतिक और कानूनी; राज्य, समाज और दूसरों के प्रति; भारत में मौलिक कर्तव्य (अनुच्छेद 51A, 42वाँ संशोधन 1976)। संबंध: अधिकार और कर्तव्य सहसंबंधी हैं; गांधी के अनुसार अधिकार भली-भाँति निभाए गए कर्तव्यों से निकलते हैं। कर्तव्यों पर अत्यधिक ज़ोर सत्तावाद को उचित ठहरा सकता है।
4 of 9 papers. Civil society and its relationship with the state (Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Dec 2025); perspectives on citizenship (Jun 2023); Marxist concept of citizenship (Dec 2023); notion of citizenship (Dec 2024); civil society in democracy (Dec 2024); significance of citizenship (Dec 2025).
Citizenship is full membership of a political community, with rights, duties and participation. Perspectives: (1) liberal: a status of equal rights, especially T. H. Marshall's civil, political and social rights (1950); (2) republican or civic: active participation and civic virtue; (3) communitarian: belonging to a community with shared values; (4) Marxist: formal political equality masks class inequality (see topic 1); (5) feminist: traditional citizenship assumed a male public sphere and ignored care work; (6) multicultural or differentiated citizenship (Iris Marion Young, Kymlicka); (7) global or cosmopolitan citizenship. Significance: it defines who belongs, grounds rights and representation, and is contested in debates on migration and nationality laws.
Civil society is the sphere between family and state where people associate voluntarily. Thinkers: Hegel saw it as the sphere of particular interests and market relations, to be reconciled by the universal state; Marx saw it as bourgeois society of private interests; Tocqueville saw voluntary associations as schools of democracy; Gramsci saw it as the site of hegemony and counter-hegemony. Relationship with the state: it limits state power and holds it accountable, mediates between citizens and the state, and supplies legitimacy; but it depends on a state that guarantees rights, and it can reproduce inequality. In India, Neera Chandhoke has written on state and civil society; Partha Chatterjee distinguishes civil society from "political society" of the poor.
नागरिकता राजनीतिक समुदाय की पूर्ण सदस्यता है: अधिकार, कर्तव्य और भागीदारी। परिप्रेक्ष्य: उदार (टी. एच. मार्शल, 1950: नागरिक, राजनीतिक, सामाजिक अधिकार); गणतंत्रवादी (सक्रिय भागीदारी, नागरिक सद्गुण); समुदायवादी; मार्क्सवादी; नारीवादी (देखभाल कार्य की उपेक्षा); बहुसांस्कृतिक या विभेदित (आइरिस मैरियन यंग, किमलिका); वैश्विक नागरिकता।
नागरिक समाज परिवार और राज्य के बीच स्वैच्छिक संगठनों का क्षेत्र है। विचारक: हेगेल (विशिष्ट हितों और बाज़ार का क्षेत्र, जिसका समन्वय राज्य करता है), मार्क्स (बुर्जुआ समाज), टॉकविल (लोकतंत्र की पाठशाला), ग्राम्शी (वर्चस्व और प्रति-वर्चस्व)। राज्य से संबंध: राज्य की शक्ति को सीमित और जवाबदेह बनाता है, नागरिकों और राज्य के बीच मध्यस्थ है; पर अधिकारों की रक्षा करने वाले राज्य पर निर्भर है। भारत में नीरा चंदोक और पार्थ चटर्जी का "राजनीतिक समाज"।
4 of 9 papers. Burke as a conservative thinker (Dec 2022); conservatism (Jun 2024, Jun 2026); characteristics of fundamentalism (Jun 2024, Jun 2025, Jun 2026); fascism and its principles (Jun 2024, Jun 2025, Jun 2026).
Conservatism. Edmund Burke (Reflections on the Revolution in France, 1790) is its founder. Core ideas: respect for tradition, custom and inherited institutions, which embody the wisdom of generations; human imperfection and the limits of abstract reason; society as an organic whole and a partnership between the dead, the living and the unborn; property and hierarchy as sources of stability; and gradual reform rather than revolution ("change in order to conserve"). Later forms: paternalist "one nation" conservatism, and the New Right combining free markets with social conservatism (Thatcher). Michael Oakeshott stressed practical knowledge over rationalist planning.
Fundamentalism. The term originated with early 20th-century American Protestants who defended the "fundamentals" of the faith. Characteristics: literal or authoritative reading of sacred texts; a claim to return to the original, pure form of the faith; rejection of secularism and moral relativism; politicisation of religion and a demand that religious law shape public life; a sharp us-versus-them identity; and, paradoxically, skilled use of modern organisation and media. It is a modern reaction to modernity, found in many religions.
Fascism. Emerged in Italy (Mussolini came to power in 1922) and in Nazi Germany (1933). Principles: extreme nationalism and the nation or race as the highest value; the totalitarian state that controls every sphere of life; the leader principle and cult of personality; rejection of liberalism, democracy and individualism; anti-communism; glorification of violence, war and action over reason; corporatism (organising capital and labour under state control); and, in Nazism, biological racism and antisemitism, leading to the Holocaust.
रूढ़िवाद: एडमंड बर्क (1790) संस्थापक। मूल विचार: परंपरा और विरासत में मिली संस्थाओं का सम्मान; मानवीय अपूर्णता और अमूर्त तर्क की सीमाएँ; समाज एक सावयवी संपूर्ण; संपत्ति और पदानुक्रम स्थिरता के स्रोत; क्रांति के बजाय क्रमिक सुधार। बाद के रूप: "एक राष्ट्र" रूढ़िवाद, और नव-दक्षिणपंथ (मुक्त बाज़ार + सामाजिक रूढ़िवाद, थैचर); ओकशॉट।
कट्टरवाद: शब्द 20वीं सदी के आरंभ के अमेरिकी प्रोटेस्टेंटों से। विशेषताएँ: धर्मग्रंथों की शाब्दिक व्याख्या; धर्म के मूल, शुद्ध रूप की वापसी का दावा; धर्मनिरपेक्षता का विरोध; धर्म का राजनीतिकरण; "हम बनाम वे" की पहचान; आधुनिक संगठन और मीडिया का कुशल उपयोग। यह आधुनिकता की आधुनिक प्रतिक्रिया है।
फ़ासीवाद: इटली (मुसोलिनी, 1922) और नाज़ी जर्मनी (1933)। सिद्धान्त: उग्र राष्ट्रवाद; सर्वाधिकारवादी राज्य; नेता सिद्धान्त; उदारवाद, लोकतंत्र और व्यक्तिवाद का विरोध; साम्यवाद-विरोध; हिंसा और युद्ध का महिमामंडन; निगमवाद; नाज़ीवाद में जैविक नस्लवाद और यहूदी-विरोध, जिसका परिणाम होलोकॉस्ट।
4 of 9 papers. Feminist position on public vs private (Jun 2022); origin of the term and types of feminism (Dec 2022); feminism and its forms (Dec 2024); the sex–gender distinction (Jun 2025).
Origin and waves. The word came into use in 19th-century France and spread with the women's movement. First wave (19th–early 20th century): legal rights and suffrage (Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792; J. S. Mill's The Subjection of Women, 1869). Second wave (1960s–80s): equality at work, sexuality, family and the body (Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, 1949; Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, 1963). Third wave and after: diversity, intersectionality and global feminisms.
Types. Liberal: equal rights and opportunities through legal reform. Marxist and socialist: women's oppression rooted in capitalism and the household division of labour. Radical: patriarchy is the root system of oppression, including in sexuality and family (Kate Millett's Sexual Politics, 1970). Black feminism and intersectionality: gender interacts with race and class (Kimberlé Crenshaw coined "intersectionality", 1989). Post-modern and post-structural: gender as discourse and performance (Judith Butler, Gender Trouble, 1990). Eco-feminism links domination of women and nature. In India, Dalit feminism adds caste.
Public vs private. Liberal theory separated the public sphere (politics, law, the economy) from the private sphere (family), treating the latter as outside justice. Feminists argued that "the personal is political" (a slogan of the 1960s–70s women's movement): power, violence and unpaid labour within the family are political issues, and the division keeps women out of public life.
Sex–gender distinction. Sex refers to biological differences; gender to the social roles and meanings attached to them (Ann Oakley, Sex, Gender and Society, 1972). Beauvoir's argument that one becomes, rather than is born, a woman underlies this. The distinction shows that gender inequality is social and changeable. Later theorists such as Butler questioned whether "sex" itself is purely natural.
उद्गम और लहरें: शब्द 19वीं सदी के फ़्रांस में प्रचलित हुआ। पहली लहर: कानूनी अधिकार और मताधिकार (वोल्स्टनक्राफ़्ट, 1792; मिल, 1869)। दूसरी लहर (1960–80): कार्य, यौनिकता, परिवार (सिमोन द बोउवार, 1949; बेट्टी फ़्रीडन, 1963)। तीसरी लहर: विविधता और अंतर्विभाजकता।
प्रकार: उदारवादी (कानूनी सुधार से समान अधिकार); मार्क्सवादी-समाजवादी (पूँजीवाद और घरेलू श्रम-विभाजन); उग्र (पितृसत्ता मूल व्यवस्था; केट मिलेट, 1970); अश्वेत नारीवाद और अंतर्विभाजकता (क्रेनशॉ, 1989); उत्तर-आधुनिक (जूडिथ बटलर, 1990); पारिस्थितिक नारीवाद; भारत में दलित नारीवाद।
सार्वजनिक बनाम निजी: उदार सिद्धान्त ने सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र को निजी (परिवार) से अलग किया। नारीवादियों ने कहा "व्यक्तिगत भी राजनीतिक है": परिवार में शक्ति, हिंसा और अवैतनिक श्रम राजनीतिक मुद्दे हैं।
लिंग (सेक्स)–जेंडर भेद: सेक्स जैविक अंतर; जेंडर उनसे जुड़ी सामाजिक भूमिकाएँ और अर्थ (एन ओकली, 1972); बोउवार का तर्क कि स्त्री जन्म से नहीं होती, बनाई जाती है। इससे पता चलता है कि जेंडर असमानता सामाजिक और परिवर्तनशील है। बटलर ने "सेक्स" के भी पूर्णतः प्राकृतिक होने पर प्रश्न उठाया।
3 of 9 papers. Pluralistic view of sovereignty (Jun 2023 note); Austin's sovereignty (Dec 2023); development of sovereignty (Dec 2025); autonomy (Dec 2023, Dec 2025); legitimacy and power (Dec 2025); causes of political violence (Jun 2023 note).
Sovereignty. Supreme, final legal authority within a territory. Development: Jean Bodin (1576) defined it as absolute and perpetual power; Thomas Hobbes placed it in an absolute sovereign created by social contract; Rousseau located it in the general will of the people (popular sovereignty). John Austin's monistic theory (1832): sovereignty belongs to a determinate human superior who receives habitual obedience from the bulk of society and is not in the habit of obeying anyone else; law is the sovereign's command. Critiques: in democracies, sovereignty is not located in one determinate person; it ignores custom and public opinion. Pluralist critique (Harold Laski, J. N. Figgis): the state is one association among many (churches, unions, communities), so sovereignty is divided. Today: internal and external sovereignty are both qualified by federalism, international law, global institutions and globalisation.
Power and legitimacy. Power is the ability to get others to act as one wishes (Weber), exercised through force, influence or control of agendas (Lukes's three dimensions). Legitimacy is the belief that power is rightful; it turns power into authority. Weber's three bases are traditional, charismatic and legal-rational. Jürgen Habermas warned of a "legitimation crisis" when the state cannot meet expectations. Power without legitimacy relies on coercion and is unstable; legitimacy without power is ineffective.
Autonomy. Self-rule: the capacity to govern oneself by one's own reasons and values. Kant saw moral autonomy as giving oneself the moral law through reason; liberal theory sees personal autonomy as a core value grounding rights; feminists propose "relational autonomy" shaped by social relations; politically, autonomy also refers to regional or group self-government (for example, autonomous councils under India's Sixth Schedule).
Political violence (causes). Relative deprivation (Ted Gurr's Why Men Rebel, 1970); blocked channels of participation; ethnic, religious or class grievances; state repression; ideology; and weak institutions.
संप्रभुता: किसी क्षेत्र में सर्वोच्च, अंतिम कानूनी सत्ता। विकास: बोदाँ (1576), हॉब्स, रूसो (लोकप्रिय संप्रभुता)। ऑस्टिन का एकलवादी सिद्धान्त (1832): संप्रभुता एक निश्चित मानवीय श्रेष्ठ में है, जिसका समाज का बड़ा भाग आदतन पालन करता है और जो स्वयं किसी का पालन नहीं करता; कानून संप्रभु का आदेश है। आलोचना: लोकतंत्र में संप्रभुता किसी एक व्यक्ति में नहीं। बहुलवादी आलोचना (लास्की, फ़िगिस): राज्य अनेक संघों में से एक। आज संघवाद, अंतरराष्ट्रीय कानून और वैश्वीकरण से संप्रभुता सीमित।
शक्ति और वैधता: शक्ति दूसरों से अपनी इच्छा अनुसार कार्य कराने की क्षमता (वेबर); ल्यूक्स के तीन आयाम। वैधता यह विश्वास कि शक्ति उचित है; यह शक्ति को सत्ता बनाती है; वेबर के तीन आधार। हैबरमास का "वैधता संकट"।
स्वायत्तता: स्व-शासन: अपने कारणों और मूल्यों से स्वयं को संचालित करने की क्षमता; कांट की नैतिक स्वायत्तता; नारीवादी "संबंधपरक स्वायत्तता"; राजनीतिक अर्थ में क्षेत्रीय या समूह स्वशासन (छठी अनुसूची)।
राजनीतिक हिंसा के कारण: सापेक्ष वंचना (टेड गर, 1970), भागीदारी के अवरुद्ध मार्ग, नृजातीय-धार्मिक-वर्गीय शिकायतें, राज्य दमन, विचारधारा, कमज़ोर संस्थाएँ।
2 of 9 papers. Gandhian concept of satyagraha (Dec 2022); Gandhian concept of "passive resistance" (Jun 2023).
Satyagraha means "holding firmly to truth" or "truth-force" (soul-force). Developed by Gandhi in South Africa from 1906 and used in India (Champaran 1917, Non-Cooperation, the Salt March of 1930). Principles: truth (satya) and non-violence (ahimsa); self-suffering rather than inflicting suffering; love for the opponent and the aim of converting, not defeating, him; openness and discipline; and readiness to accept punishment. Forms: non-cooperation, civil disobedience, fasting, hartal and boycott. Satyagraha vs passive resistance: Gandhi distinguished them. Passive resistance, as he described it, was a weapon of the weak, adopted for expediency, possibly hiding hatred and compatible with violence if the chance arose; satyagraha is a weapon of the strong, based on love and inner conviction, excluding violence in all circumstances. Relevance: it inspired the US civil rights movement (Martin Luther King Jr.) and anti-apartheid struggles; critics question its effectiveness against ruthless regimes.
सत्याग्रह का अर्थ "सत्य पर दृढ़ रहना" या "आत्म-बल" है। गांधी ने 1906 से दक्षिण अफ़्रीका में विकसित किया और भारत में प्रयोग किया (चंपारण 1917, असहयोग, दांडी यात्रा 1930)। सिद्धान्त: सत्य और अहिंसा; दूसरों को कष्ट देने के बजाय स्वयं कष्ट सहना; विरोधी के प्रति प्रेम और उसे हराने के बजाय हृदय-परिवर्तन; खुलापन और अनुशासन; दंड स्वीकार करने की तैयारी। रूप: असहयोग, सविनय अवज्ञा, उपवास, हड़ताल, बहिष्कार। सत्याग्रह बनाम निष्क्रिय प्रतिरोध: गांधी के अनुसार निष्क्रिय प्रतिरोध दुर्बल का हथियार है, सुविधा के लिए अपनाया जाता है, उसमें घृणा हो सकती है और अवसर मिलने पर हिंसा भी; सत्याग्रह बलवान का हथियार है, प्रेम और आंतरिक विश्वास पर आधारित, हर स्थिति में अहिंसक। प्रासंगिकता: मार्टिन लूथर किंग और रंगभेद-विरोधी संघर्ष।
Questions are summarised in a few words, not quoted. Sources: IGNOU question-paper archive (2022–2024) and ignou.ac.in (2024–2026).
| Session / सत्र | Section I | Section II |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 2022 | Features of modern political theory; democracy as a form of government; Rawls's theory of justice; neo-liberalism; duties and rights | Gramsci on base and superstructure; the welfare state; feminism on public vs private; multiculturalism; challenges in a globalising world |
| Dec 2022 | Theory vs philosophy vs science; equality today; types of duties; nationalism today; notes: democratic socialism, individualism | Gandhi's satyagraha; liberalism and minimal government; Lenin on imperialism; origin and types of feminism; Burke as a conservative |
| Jun 2023 | Modern political theory; three types of democracy; justice; Marxist and non-Marxist power; notes: pluralist sovereignty, causes of political violence | Civil society and the state; Gandhi's passive resistance; multiculturalism and liberalism; theories of nationalism; perspectives on citizenship |
| Dec 2023 | Modern political theory; history of democracy; rights; positive or negative liberty; notes: equality vs inequality, political equality | Rawls; autonomy; Marxist citizenship; Austin's sovereignty; civil society |
| Jun 2024 | Liberalism; liberal democratic state; libertarianism; class war; notes: Lukács on dialectical materialism, socialism | Conservatism; fundamentalism; nationalism; multiculturalism; fascism |
| Dec 2024 | What is political theory; history of democracy; rights; liberalism; rise of nationalism | Rawls; multiculturalism and its critique; citizenship; forms of feminism; civil society in democracy |
| Jun 2025 | Liberalism; welfare state; libertarianism; historical materialism; Gramsci's hegemony | Fundamentalism; nationalism; multiculturalism; fascism; sex–gender distinction |
| Dec 2025 | Political theory; genesis of democracy; rights; debates on liberty; notes: equality, justice | Autonomy; citizenship; sovereignty; state and civil society; legitimacy and power |
| Jun 2026 (400 words) | Classical liberalism; welfare state; libertarianism; surplus value; notes: Gramsci's hegemony, socialism | Conservatism; fundamentalism; nationalism; multiculturalism; principles of fascism |
Honesty notes. These notes were written from standard political-theory sources, not copied from IGNOU blocks; check names and dates against your IGNOU study material if a detail matters. Exam trends describe past papers and do not guarantee future questions.
ईमानदारी नोट: ये नोट्स मानक राजनीतिक सिद्धान्त स्रोतों से लिखे गए हैं, IGNOU ब्लॉक से नकल नहीं। ट्रेंड पिछले प्रश्नपत्रों का वर्णन है, भविष्य की गारंटी नहीं।
Read your IGNOU blocks for MPS-001 first, then use these notes to decide which topics to revise more. Practise writing at least a few answers in about 500 words, and check the official question papers for the current pattern. More material for this programme is on the MA Political Science (MPS) page, and the official IGNOU site is at ignou.ac.in.