Political Science & International Relations (PSIR) Optional Syllabus, Strategy, Notes and Videos

PSIR STRATEGY BY IAS NAVEEN KUMAR CHANDRA 

PSIR OPTIONAL SYLLABUS- CLICK HERE

Now, let me first begin with congratulating you guys on your decision to prepare for this exam. Although it is definitely just an exam but I am sure that many of you must have taken some very tough decisions and sacrificed a lot to begin this.

Let me give a very brief introduction, my name is Naveen Kumar Chandra, did my graduation from IIT Roorkee, passed out in 2015, I will be joining the IAS through CSE 2017. I am already in service, that is civil service, the IRPS through CSE 2016. My optional is PSIR, I got a very decent 153 in paper 1 last year but my marks in paper 2 disappointed me, a lowly 93, this also led to a great slide in my rank and I missed the IAS. This year, I improved a lot in Paper 2, securing a good score of 150, it is an improvement of 55 marks, which could’ve given me IAS last year itself, but I took Paper 1 very lightly, not even read the entire thing once completely, my soccer thus, came down to 130, this again made me miss the top 100.

So, the first lesson is, NEVER IGNORE ANYTHING, EVEN YOUR STRONG POINTS.

I have over 2 years, come to develop a comprehensive way to study PSIR, which led me to score good scores in both the papers.

But, first things first. If you have opted for PSIR, I guess it must be due to some underlying reasons, like:

Interest

Background

Overlap with GS

Scoring Nature

Now, if your reasons are first 2, then great. But, if your reasons are the bottom 2, let me clear a few doubts and bust a few myths. There is indeed a huge overlap with GS and it is also true that you might not need to study a lot of topics owing to your studying them for your optional. But, the answers demand different things, this was my mistake the first time around, as I didn’t join any test series, out of over confidence, of either mains or prelims, I didn’t realize that my optional answers and GS polity answers were similar, too deep for GS.

Then, if you have are in due to the scoring nature and the recent good results, then, this is never ever a surety. The results of a particular optional can go up or down but yes, a good student is rewarded even in a bad year of his optional.

Let us now come to some generic tips which will help you in your entire optional preparation:

Don’t end up doing a research project, stick to your syllabus and UPSC demands, you don’t have that much time and neither is it required.

Too many books, too much trouble, just pick one book and follow it religiously.

Make your own notes if you have time, you will end up memorizing a lot of it.

Always practice answer writing, daily, without fail.

Don’t try to impress strangers, by buying books with fancy names, and becoming a collector. Even if you love books, I know it can be a temptation sometimes, it was with me, but you will have time later to read them.

I will now cover the syllabus, as comprehensively as possible:

PAPER 1 PART A:

Although there are 10 topics to be covered in this part, they can all be clubbed under 2 main headings,

Political theories and Ideologies: This would include the theory of power, equality, justice, state, democracy etc

Political Thought: This would include, both, western and Indian political thought.

First and foremost, let me be very honest, I would recommend you guys to get Shubhra Ranjan’s Notes, not that they are sufficient enough to score well but, they are a very good foundation, especially if you have never ever read the subject. The process would thus be, go through the topics from the notes, you are now good to add to your knowledge, fill the gaps and complete your preparation. You might feel a bit weird about this, but as I mentioned, your goal here is to clear the exam and not to write a PhD thesis.

Once you have thus read the first part(a) as mentioned above, then, you have to refer to the respective chapters in the book, ‘Introduction to Political Theory by O.P. Gauba’. You don’t have to read the entire book, as many topics have indeed been covered quite comprehensively by Shubhra maam. The areas you need to focus on are, theory of state, justice(apart from rawls, especially his criticism), equality and affirmative action amd concept of legitimacy and authority.

You have to make additions to the notes or you can either decide to take up the topic from zero. I would suggest that, even if you are using Shubhra Ranjan’s notes, you would need to add a lot to them, thus, it is better that you make your own notes, in the process you will memorize a lot by writing.

Now, for part (b), western political thought has been covered beautifully by her. You would only need to read a book to get a new perspective and add a few scholars and their views but even if you don’t want to, you can do that. The book I would recommend is, ‘Western Political thought by Brian Nelson. It’s a beautiful book, I love it and its not that heavy a read either, if time permits, you must read it and fill in the gaps in these areas, J.S. Mill, Bentham, Rousseau and Marx.

Now, for Indian Political thought, you must read, V. R. Mehta, reason being Indian Political thought is not that well covered by her.

Also, you must develop a way to correlate certain thinkers from the same and opposite parts of the world, example, Machiavelli and Kautilya, Gandhi and Marx, Gandhi and Ambedkar, Ambedkar and Marx, Plato and Aristotle, Socrates and Plato, Hobbes and Locke, Bentham and Mill etc. Must make a note of the similarities and differences in their core philosophy.

PAPER 1 PART B

This part is again divided into 11 topics, I would again like you to club them into 3:

Indian Constitution and Government

Indian Polity

Institutions

For, 1st topic, you must get P.M. Bakshi, it is the bare text of the constitution, develop a habit of carrying it with you and reading it whenever you get a chance. Then, other very small but useful book to get a head start is S.C. Kashyap’s OUR CONSTITUTION.

After that, you can go through Shubra Ranjan maam’s notes, once you are done, you can add and fill gaps by referring to B.L. Fadia.

For the next part, which is mainly about the peculiarities of Indian Political system, like caste, communalism, regionalism, ethnicity etc, you can rely on her notes, she has covered it quite extensively, after that, you can buy Oxford Handbook. It has some beautifully written chapters, on these areas.

This paper, the first one, is more of what we call a static nature, that is, it contains mainly things and concepts which might not change. What you have to make sure is that you get the views of some contemporary as well as some classical commentators and experts.

PAPER 2 PART A

The second paper, part A is divided into 11 topics, I clubbed them into 3 major ones:

Comparitive politics

Theory of International Relations

Major Groupings

The first topic here is the most neglected one by Shubra Ranjan maam, maybe she took it lightly or maybe she has covered others better, whatever be the reason, you can’t rely only on her. For this part, the best source is IGNOU BA study material. Quite surprisingly, they cover the topics exactly as given by UPSC in its syllabus. One very great book that I would recommend you must read is Global politics by Heywood, it is an excellent work and would supplement the entire syllabus beautifully, don’t read all the chapters though, stick to the syllabus.

For the second topic, you can rely completely on her notes, she has done a great job in covering them. But for one topic in particular, the changing nature of international political order, you will again have to refer IGNOU material.

For the third topic, you will again have to go through both the notes and the IGNOU material, especially for SAARC, ASEAN, NAFTA, UN, NIEO and CMEA in particular.

PAPER 2 PART B

This is again a part with 8 points, divided by me into 2:

Foreign Policy

International Relations

This is perhaps the most dynamic of all the 4 parts. You will have to make sure that not only are you going to refer the standard books but some innovative mediums as well. Some very excellent sources are, apart from following foreign policy commentators and columnists in the Express and the Hindu, the website of MEA, you get some brilliant lectures and videos there and RSTV’S India’ World.

For the 1st topic here, you can read, apart from her notes, ‘Does the elephant dance’ by Malone.

For the 2nd topic, you will have to more heavily rely on her notes and the artices in the newspapers, you can also read one or two issues of foreign policy magazines. Although here, you will make, note of some country and region specific scholars and commentators, like retired ambassadors, UN representatives, Foreign Secretaries etc.

This is the entire book and material wise strategy. You must make sure that you have at least 10-15 scholars on your tips, for the entire syllabus, many of them, classical ones like Gandhi, Ambedkar and Nehru are very useful in Paper 1 Part A, while many contemporary ones like P.B. Mehta, C. RajaMohan, Suhas Palshikhar, Shashi Tharoor etc have written on a variety of subjects and thus can be used very intelligently in the entirety of the syllabus.

Again, you must also make it a point that theoretically static answers cover the core points first and the periphery is indeed the periphery, not the centre.

It must also be kept in mind that your answer must be a very healthy mix of static and dynamic.

Now, a few tips on how to approach answer writing, here, you must concentrate on the following points:

Be precise and to the point

Quote scholars

Write in paragraphs

Try to write in a good hand writing and underline important points

Make it a point to include the recent events wherever possible, especially in IR

I would now like to conclude, it’s a great subject and would fetch you great marks, some would say that they read it for 3 months only, that too only Shubra Ranjan maam’s notes and they succeeded, that might be even true but it’s an exception and their sheer good luck, there is no guarantee that they would even get a 100 marks if they wrote again, same is true for this approach as well but it surely does one thing, it minimizes your risk and you should always try to be sure then sorry.

I wish you luck, if you guys still wanna ask something, you can on quora, I write there regularly.

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PSIR STRATEGY  BY UTPAL SANNYASHI (AIR 76, 2017)

Hi! I took up PSIR in my second attempt and I scored 292 in the optional. I’ve tried to explain, to the best of my abilities, the strategy I followed for PSIR preparation. I hope it is helpful to aspirants who have opted for PSIR as well as for those who are inclined towards this optional but haven’t made up their mind yet.

Disclaimer - My approach towards PSIR was moulded by a number of factors such as my preparation level in GS, availability of resources, paucity of time and my pre-existing aptitude in some of the topics of PSIR which overlap with GS. Similarly, your strategies will be a product of your learning environment and other influences. Hence, I'd suggest that one must pick those elements from this article which can be incorporated into their strategy easily.

A Brief Background

As I've mentioned in an earlier post that I took up PSIR in my second attempt (I had Chemistry in my first). 2016 Mains result was released towards the end of February 2017, after which I tried to join Shubra Ma'am's classes. Unfortunately, the ongoing batch had already completed 50% of the syllabus. I wasn't too concerned though as I knew that her notes are available online as well in ORN. I got the ones available in ORN and probably studied them for a month. I also joined a coaching center in Mukherjee Nagar and attended their classes for about a month. I didn't continue, however, as I had to prepare for Prelims.

This was a mistake, however, as the notes were outdated and incomplete (newer notes might be available now, I'm not sure). I asked a friend of mine, who went for Shubra ma'am's classes in 2016, to share her notes. These were much better in terms of quality and almost the entire syllabus was covered. So I decided to stick to them. I didn't go through any other book for PSIR such as OP Gauba, BL Fadia, Andrew Heywood etc. due to lack of time. If one has more than a year to prepare for PSIR, I'd suggest that you go through these standard books as well as it'll help you to develop a mature understanding of PSIR.

Sectionwise Strategy

Paper 1 (Section A)

This is probably the most complex and, at the same time, the most straightforward section of the entire syllabus. Its complexity (especially for those of us from non-PSIR background) arises from the fact that one needs to study and understand the thought process of numerous thinkers, do an in-depth study of seemingly simple concepts like Equality, Justice etc., understand various political ideologies and so on.

However, it's pretty straightforward once conceptual understanding is developed as the questions can be answered with mathematical precision. There cannot be two different understandings of Plato's Theory of Communism or John Locke's Theory of State. There are clear-cut differences between Gandhism and Fascism or between Liberalism and Marxism. Hence this section is very scoring provided one has crystal clear conceptual clarity. However, its easier said than done and probably requires the greatest amount of time and effort among all the 4 sections in the syllabus.

For this section, I'd suggest that after understanding the concepts, one should try to interlink the different ideas being discussed. Examples -

1. What are the different ideas of hegemony and legitimacy discussed by Machiavelli in his book The Prince?
2. How has liberalism contributed to the development of feminism?
3. How has the evolving theory of rights contributed to the evolution of the ideas of democracy?
4. Comparison between the majoritarian theory of democracy and the participatory theory of democracy.
5. The relation between Mill's views of freedom of speech and Arendt's concept of political action.

I would come up with such questions and try to find some relation between them. This exercise helped me to understand the differences between the various concepts. However, I'd warn against going overboard as the question in Mains will be pretty straightforward.

Also, you may go through O P Gauba if time permits.

Paper 1 (Section B)

This section is a bit complicated as it feels familiar but isn't really so. One might feel questions on the topics can be answered with the help of knowledge of GS2. But it requires a slightly more mature understanding of concepts of polity.

For instance, one needs to understand the relationship between casteism and communalism in India to answer questions on the evolution of the Political Party system, how the role of pressure groups have changed over the years as the economy liberalized, how state reorganization and land reforms are related etc. Further, you'll have to be able to relate all these concepts with major current events as well.

For this paper, I was well-versed in the following -

1. Important quotes from Political scholars like Atul Kohli, Paul Brass, Ramchandra Guha, Christopher Jefferelot etc.: One needs to use their quotes flexibly. For instance, Ramchandra Guha's statements on environmental movements may be used for questions on Green Revolution as well.

2. Court Cases - They add greater legitimacy to the viewpoints you are putting forward. So, I'd suggest using them liberally in relevant portions of your answers.

I'm sharing the links to the list of court cases I had prepared. I prepared a mindmap of all the cases using XMind to create a mental picture. You may do the same or prepare a list as per your convenience.

XMind File - https://drive.google.com/open?id...

Image file - https://drive.google.com/open?id...

I believe these will help you for GS2 prep as well.

3. 2nd ARC Recommendations - For topics like Grassroots Democracy (6th Report), Pressure Groups and NGOs (9th Report), Communalism (7th Report) and Statutory bodies (12th Report). It is important that one doesn't spend too much time on these reports. Just remembering 4-5 recommendations from each report should be enough.

Lastly, one needs to prepare one-page write-ups for each major current event (Polity-related) of the year. Preparing a list of quotes from scholars beforehand for these events may also prove very helpful as well.

One may refer to B L Fadia for clarification on some of the concepts of this section.

Paper 2 (Section A)

This section's significance arises from the fact that it contains the conceptual base required to better understand International Relations. Topics like Comparative Politics, Globalization, National Interest, Balance of Power etc. contain the concepts which explain how relations between among countries are initiated and sustained/altered.

A good way to prepare this section is to understand the various topics being discussed from the point of view of relevant scholars and prepare 2-3 examples for each topic. For instance, let's consider Sociological liberalism - Here one would need to know what sociological liberalism is and different scholars like Karl Deutsch, Rosenau, John Burton etc. have explained the theory (and how they differ) and criticism of this theory. Some relevant examples may be US-India Business Council (referring to the growth of transnationalism), NATO (referring to the development of Security Community) etc.

Now one must know how to connect this topic to other concepts such as Changing nature of State (gradual ceding of State power to private groups), Balance of power and security (formation of security community in the form of NATO), Functionalist approach to IR (how the cobweb model has encouraged the gradual but steady resolution of disputes).

This approach can be followed for other topics as well so that one starts seeing how everything is related and how different concepts often evolve from and are influenced by each other as they evolve.

I'd also suggest that while preparing current affairs for GS, one should try to understand the underlying force which guides the actions of the actors. For instance, the resolution of the Doklam issue by India and China can be attributed to Complex Interdependence (existence of cooperation and conflict side-by-side) between the two countries.

One may go through Andrew Heywood if time permits as many concepts of this section are very well explained in the book.

Paper 2 (Section B)

This section is more or less based on current affairs and may include questions from significant recent happenings (e.g. progress in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula) or from gradually evolving globally important IR events (e.g. USA-China antagonism).

One must be well-versed with India's relationship with major countries like USA, China, Russia, Japan etc. as well as its neighbours. Further one must have a reasonably good knowledge of relationship among major global actors like USA-China, USA-Russia, USA-North Korea, Arab-Israel relations, EU-Turkey etc.

One must also be aware of the background and recent events associated with organizations which India is affiliated with such as SAARC, SCO, IBSA, BRICS, RIC, EAS etc. The first topic of this section which consists of 'Foreign Policy determinants', 'Institutions of Foreign Policy-making' and 'Continuity and change' in foreign policy should be prepared in depth as it can help in answering numerous tricky questions.

Further the concepts of Section A such as Deterrence, Balance of Power, Security Dilemma, Liberal/Realist/Marxist/Functionalist theories, Evolution of the International Economic System etc. should be used liberally in this section to give an edge to the answers.

Finally, one must prepare a list of quotation of IR commentators which may be used to justify a stand and/or establish the premise on which your answers will be based. For this, I picked up some statements from articles of prominent IR commentators like C Rajamohan, Rakesh Sood, Ashok Kantha and others, as well as from the test series. I would write the scholars name and a 2-3 word pointer for his statement. This ensured that all the quotes could be fitted on one page. You can find the page in the link given below:

https://drive.google.com/open?id...

You may also go through Mr. V N Khanna's book on foreign policy as it gives a good background for most of the topics in the syllabus.

Answer Writing

I had neglected this crucial step of Optional preparation in my first attempt which was probably the biggest reason behind my low marks in Chemistry. Its importance lies in the fact that one gets to understand the nuances of answer-writing as well as develop the habit of writing crisp and precise answers. I believe these are the major points to be kept in mind -

• One must learn to interlink topics from all the sections and use them in answers. Examples -

(i) Chanakya's theories of diplomacy in India-Pak-Afghanistan relations or India-Pak-Japan Relations,

(ii) M.N Roy's ideas of Radical Humanism and the philosophy behind the setting up of UN,

(iii) Concept of Power of Hegemony in the development of the post-WW2 International Economic order, post- colonialism and India-EU relations, Foucault's idea of 'Discourses' and patriarchy in India etc.

• Work on the feedback given by your teachers and peers. Although this is important for GS as well, it assumes greater significance for optional as a lot of standard questions are asked in the Mains exam. So there is a good chance that any question discussed in the class may be repeated in the exam and you wouldn't want to make the same mistakes again.
• While writing answers try to ensure that the different ideas you are discussing don't pop-up haphazardly. Try to maintain a flow of thoughts as it will ensure that the reader doesn't lose her interest mid-way.
• It is a better idea to adopt a conservative approach while presenting answers i.e. following the Introduction-Body-Conclusion format, writing in paragraphs and minimizing the use of charts, diagrams etc. However, the points you are discussing should be dynamic and should give the examiner an impression that you have given serious thought to the topics in the syllabus and tried to find interlinkages between them.
• One must solve at least 8-10 test papers in a time-bound manner before writing Mains. This will help to create a standard framework for most of the answers which in turn will help reduce the time required to structure your answers while writing Mains.

So this is more or less all that I've wanted to share about PSIR preparation. It has been interesting to know that many working professionals and aspirants who are thinking of moving to PSIR have connected with my ‘Mains preparation’ article on InsightsonIndia. I hope this write-up is able to clarify some of the doubts which were emailed to me.

Good luck and All the Best :)

Source- Quora

Utpal Sannyashi's Quora handle- Click here

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PSIR STRATEGY BY IRS DEBOTOSH CHATTERJEE

I had taken Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) as my optional subject for CSE Mains 2015. I scored 234/500, which is a pretty good score by this year’s standards (not more than 5 or 6 PSIR toppers have scored in excess of 240). A few points in this context, before proceeding with the preparation strategy -

1. I graduated in 2015 with a Degree in Chemical Engineering, which is miles away from anything that is given in the PSIR syllabus.
2. I prepared the whole subject without any coaching - by reading books, consulting notes, writing answers and browsing the internet at times.

PSIR is a beautiful subject which, in my opinion, makes you feel good about intellectual stuff like ‘democracy’, ‘justice’, ‘rights’, etc and gives you a 360 degree view of the kind of ‘system’ that we inhabit, not just in India but also in the whole world.

Why I chose PSIR as my optional -

1. I liked reading and loved writing. This is a win-win combination for PSIR optional, which heartily rewards good writers and thoughtful readers.
2. Current Affairs forms a heavyweight part of PSIR syllabus. International Relations is more or less totally dominated by recent issues, while your answers in Indian Govt and Politics part can fetch you more marks if you cite examples from current events.
3. It has a lot of overlap with GS syllabus - Indian National Movement, International Relations and Indian Polity are three such overlapping areas.

Preparation Strategy -

Paper 1 Part A - Political Thought, Ideologies, Indian and Western Political Thought.

This is the ONLY part of the PSIR syllabus which is completely static. You can score top marks even if you don’t have an iota of idea about current affairs. However, this is also the most time consuming portion in the syllabus. Conceptual understanding of the various theories, thoughts and distinguishing them from each other will take time and energy.

O.P. Gauba for Political Thought and Theories
Brian Nelson for Western Political Thought
V.R. Mehta + IGNOU for Indian Political Thought

I read these books first in order to build a solid foundation for the topics, since I was not attending any coaching at all. Once I had completed two readings of these books, I switched to Shubra Ranjan Ma’am’s notes, which I ordered from Delhi (nowadays, Flavido is doing a good job), and made them my study material. These notes are very concise and extremely handy for revision purposes. I used to add my own notes here and there from the aforesaid books to plug the gaps in SR’s notes.

Paper 1 Part B - Indian National Movement, Indian Govt and Politics.

A very scoring part in PSIR, and easy to read and revise since it has major overlaps with GS syllabus. The style of writing for optional answers, however, is different from that of GS. I followed the same routine as in Part A i.e. go through basic books and then switch to SR notes.

Laxmikanth for Polity basics (already done for Pre).
Bipin Chandra and Spectrum for Indian National Movement(already done for Pre).
B.L. Fadia(very selective) for in-depth optional-style information on Indian Govt and Politics.

Paper 2 Part A - Comparative Politics

A very tricky section. The topics are very much static, but in recent years UPSC has mostly come up with current affairs based questions in this part too (e.g. Sustainable Development Goals in CSE Mains 2015). It is better to read selectively from Internet, books and notes instead of keeping all eggs in one basket.

IGNOU MA Modules (selectively, topic-wise from syllabus).
Global Politics - Andrew Heywood for in-depth conceptual understanding.

I found SR’s notes to be a bit insufficient for this part, so I made my own addition to them from wherever possible.

Paper 2 Part B - International Relations

This is a repository of current affairs based questions, quite literally! You need to read some basic book to get an idea of what ‘international relations’ is really all about. After that, you will have to master the art of analysis of current international events (last 1 to 1.5 years) and link it to the basic understanding. Example - How present state of India-Russia relations is not like what it was during the Treaty of 1971. In such questions, you need to have full knowledge of both current events and historical background. SR’s notes may be skipped for this portion.

Challenges and Strategies - Rajiv Sikri
Does the Elephant Dance - David Malone

These two books are very good for basic understanding of historical backgrounds of relations between India and other countries. However, a lot of topics such as Importance of Parliament in Foreign Policy, Determinants of Foreign Policy, etc have to studied from Internet, with reference to current events.

Even though this is a very interesting part of the syllabus, most books on IR become irrelevant 10 years down the line. Example - Rajiv Sikri’s book was published in 2004, and IR has undergone massive changes since then. So, always keep a tab on what’s happening ‘now’.

A few more miscellaneous points on PSIR preparation -

1. It is advisable to write in paragraphs in humanities optional papers, instead of point-format which we may use in GS. You are expected to have ‘specialized’ to some extent in the optional, and your maturity of understanding is better reflected in paragraph format.
2. If you don’t practice answer writing well enough, you are surely going to miss out on questions worth atleast 20, 30 marks in the paper. The time crunch is tougher to handle in optional than in GS.
3. Don’t waste your time by reading a particular book cover-to-cover. Go topic-wise according to the syllabus, or you will never be able to finish revisions in time.
4. [IMPORTANT] Refer to last 34 years PSIR question papers given in Mrunal’s website. Categorize them according to topics given in the syllabus. Example - Indian Political Thought, Western Political Thought, Indo-Russia relations, Foreign Policy, Political Ideologies, etc. You will find that in most topics, UPSC repeats a number of questions year after year, simply by rephrasing the statements. This is especially true for Paper 1 (example - questions on Marxism). Identify such areas and stress on them.

From my vault - categorization of previous years question papers according to topics in syllabus. (Figures in brackets indicate year of examination).

Source- Quora

Debotosh Chatterjee Quora handle- Click here

PSIR STRATEGY BY IPS TUSHAR GUPTA

Strategy for PSIR

• I had attended Shubra Ranjan Mam’s classes as my attempts at reading the optional on my own were a complete failure. It started in Dec 2016 and went on for around 5 months. She has a very lucid and a beautiful way of teaching such that even a person from Engineering background is able to comprehend enough to write good answers.
• I used to read for an hour what mam would teach in class the previous day before going in the morning to attend her next class.
• My actual preparation started after Prelims ended. So effectively my optional preparation had been for around 4 months.
• Regarding books i would say that if i had more time, i might have looked at some books like OP Gauba among others. But learning Mam’s notes was enough to get through the exam.
• Make short notes for final revisions as just revising the class notes would take too much time, which near the exam period you won’t have. My short notes were what i had made in Evernote.

Evernote PSIR Notes

• If you take a good look at the notes which i have made for PSIR, you will see that every scholar has a pictorial reference and what s/he said has been tabulated. While writing answers, the images are what came to mind and the corresponding lines i could easily recall.
• Since we have so many scholars to learn for PSIR, i was finding it utterly confusing to learn their names. So i had come up with the Pictographical mapping idea. All my notes have been made within those 4 months of preparation and they dont take a lot of time but are very rewarding in terms of efficiency of revision. I remember the day before the Optional test in Mains paper, I had sat for a non-stop 19 hour session with my evernote and was able to complete the whole course.
• You can follow as i had, or you can directly learn as well. Link to my notes will be attached. You can take a look at it for reference.

For Eg,

1. The following would be the answer for the Question on effect of globalisation on Sovereignty as a concept.
   
2.  This would be standard answer for a question for Secularism.
   
3.  This is answer for Paper 2 Part A- Functionalism Theory of Liberal International Politics.
   

General Strategy

• One needs to understand that we are studying the optional to clear the UPSC examination and not to do a PhD. So dont get emotional while preparation. Be objective with a clear focus on results.
• Answer writing requires some work. Introduction and conclusion have to be very specific and need to be prepared in advance for each type of question. Eg : For Secularism topic in IGP, my intro was Starting with what Machiavelli - Father of European secularism had said, what it means in the international context and what in the Indian context. Irrespective of the question, if secularism is asked, this used to be the intro. So always have Intro and conclusions prepared as they are very important to fetch marks.
• I would recommend you to change the size of your handwriting such that you fill up the answers sheets completely. 294 in the first attempt is a testament to that fact. Perception does matter.
• It is always recommended to write in paragraphs in Optional paper. Do not write in points. Quote as many scholars in every answer as you can ( Should obviously be relevant to the question ).
• Previous year questions are of paramount importance in Optional paper (not so much for Mains) . Whichever topic you have finished reading, pick up its PYQs and solve them. Time yourself and ensure that you are able to reach the word limit in that time. Writing practice is the only thing that will sail you through the optional. I had written answers to most of the questions which had been asked in the previous years.
• Keep some points in mind while writing answers
• Start with defining the basic terms In PSIR wherever possible, follow the dictum of 4Cs. — Compare, Criticise, Contemporary, Conclude. Check after every question whether you have done this, It will fetch a lot of marks Do not forget criticism if available. It is extremely important.
• In questions that require you to differentiate between 2 concepts say Social movements New and Old, Run them in parallel. Your answer should not be divided between New para and old para. On each and every point of differentiation write them both together. Always look for temporal terms in the question ( Like Old, New, Contemporary, etc) . They will help you understand what the examiner is asking and write accordingly.

PSIR is divided into 4 different parts

Paper 1 Section A : Political Theory and Indian Politics

• Mam’s notes are more than enough in this section. No need to do anything extra. PYQs are very important. Do refer them before learning various thinkers.
• In the answers 4Cs is highly applicable. Have a clear idea on Contemporary C as well. For eg, in a question regarding Philosopher King, you could add that Iran’s Supreme leader is closest to Philosopher king as given by Plato in contemporary times.
• Make short notes with just the key words for the answers that have come in the Previous years.

Eg : Answers on Plato. -

Paper 1, Section B : Indian Govt and Politics

• Again Mam’s notes were enough for this section Highly current affairs related paper, so keep a close eye on issues which could be asked here, It also helps you a lot in GS2 paper.

Paper 2, Section A : Comparative and International Politics

• This is said to be the dullest portion of PSIR preparation. But believe me it is the most interesting and the most scoring as well. Doing this portion properly will ensure that you can score pretty well in the Paper 2 theory portion. I had followed Mam’s notes and added a lot into my notes from the world’s leading open access website for students and scholars of international politics website (e-ir(dot)info )especially on the topics which i though were not clear to me. But again realise that you need to read just enough so as to understand properly and make only that much notes which can be used in your answers.
• You can see a lot of material been added to my notes for a reference.
  

Paper 2, Section B : International Relations

• This is the dynamic portion of PSIR and also is the most interesting Shubra mam takes a lot of effort to make good notes here and they are very good. But i had supplemented her notes from a few sources. Before starting any topic, read what kind of questions were asked on that topic in the previous years and your preparation should be moulded accordingly. Dont unnecessarily go off topic and waste your time. Remember the aim is not to do PhD but to get good marks in UPSC. Dont get emotional.
• The Diplomat - no need to get the magazines. Say, when you are reading India-Bangladesh relations, just search on The Diplomat regarding this and read all the relevant articles. You can supplement your notes like this. There is a limit of 5 articles per month, but this can be overcome by deleting your cookies after 5 articles are done. You can read as many articles as you need after that, though you can consider getting the paid account if you have the money for that.
• Caspian Report Youtube channel - It helps you understand many dimension of IR and foreign policy of various nations and acts as a good orientation towards that country’s foreign policy. No need to make notes. just understand what he says.
• Indian Express and The Hindu articles especially by C Raja Mohan and others.
• Have a clarity of picture in your notes. Take a look at my evernote for reference. Introductions and conclusions should be prepared well in advance and that too with Scholars wherever possible Write as many answers as possible.
• Consolidate your notes in one place. That should be the only place where you revise from the end.
  
  
  
  
• Revision is the key to writing good answers. So revise it 7-8 times at least.
  Evernote shared notebook: Open with a browser other than Chrome.
  All the best !

Source- Quora

Tushar Gupta Facebook- Here

Tushar Gupta Quora- Here

Tushar Gupta Instagram- Here

PSIR STRATEGY BY TINA DABI (AIR 01, 2016)

You can find Tina Dabi's optional strategy i.e. PSIR starategy as well as Tina Dabi time table, mains strategy, prelims strategy and others by checking her blog. (Tina Dabi blog)

Here is the direct link. Click here to redirect her page. 

PSIR STRATEGY BY IAS ANKIT PANNU (AIR 31, CSE 2017)

Ankit Pannu Rank 31 UPSC CSE 2017 – My Journey 

I started the preparation for UPSC in my 4th year in college. I have done B.Tech in Polymer Science and Chemical Technology from Delhi Technological University (2016 batch) and i gave my first attempt in 2016 and got AIR 444. That year my optional marks (285) helped me get my name in the list, likewise this year also my marks in optional (300) proved clinical for securing an AIR-31.

 OPTIONAL STRATEGY: Political Science and International Relations (PSIR)

Importance of an optional subject is beyond doubt the most crucial aspect of UPSC preparation. In these similar terms, My optional, Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) has helped me clear UPSC in both my attempts.

Choosing an optional subject can be difficult and sometimes many of us end up choosing an optional subject which is not right for us. Interest in a particular subject along with some prior proficiency in that must be the prime factors considered while choosing an optional. Other factor of “GS Overlap” can also be considered. I myself decided to choose PSIR after going through previous year papers of UPSC, reading the syllabus and NCERTs related to my optional subject, just to get a glimpse of it and analyse if i have any sort of interest in the subject.

Key Points I followed during my preparation :

1. Time Devotion : I devoted 40-50 percent of my daily time (After Prelims) to my PSIR preparation as it helped me in GS papers also. ( GS Overlap : GS paper 1- Social Issues, India’s Freedom Struggle, GS paper 2- complete, GS Paper 3- Internal Security, GS paper 4- Philosopher part)
2. Sources : I focused only on Shubhra Mam’s Notes for covering the syllabus of PSIR, and read O.P. Gauba for Political Theory (3-4 times), O.P. Gauba for Indian Thinkers (2 Times), Global Politics by Andrew Heywood (Selective Reading by referring to the syllabus). For international relations i read blogs of various I.R. Experts. (Links Provided below).
3. Notes Making : I had prepared lucid notes for PSIR, only for topics and subject part that i had difficulty remembering. Other purpose of making notes was for revision in the last 1-2 days before exams.
4. Answer Writing : I practiced answer writing through Shubhra Mam’s Test series and also through previous year papers. The more you practice for PSIR the better answers you will be able to write.

Now i will focus on the syllabus of PSIR and how i covered and prepared each dimension of it :-

Paper 1, Section A

Political Theories, Theories of state, ideologies, Indian Political Thought i covered from O.P. Gauba and from Shubhra mam notes. These are sufficient sources and we don’t have to go beyond these. Practice of Previous years Questions helped me a lot here as it provides a glimpse of how questions have been asked, and sometimes questions get repeated here, in a different way though.

I wrote my answers in paragraph format in almost whole of my optional paper, also I tried to connect the Topics here and mention the name of thinkers and their theories where ever they fit in.

In the introduction part in this section i emphasised on giving a background of the topic,

For example in the question to comment on “Neo-Liberal Perspective of state” i started with what is Neo liberalism and why it came into being. In the body part i had written about the important dimensions of Neo liberalism and the names of their proponents/Thinkers alongwith and also focused on its drawbacks in a brief manner (Always provide examples to support whatever points you make in the Body). In the conclusion i remained positive, a little critical, futuristic and pragmatic ( Very Important in PSIR Conclusions).

Paper 1, Section B

This part is more connected with the GS paper 2. I prepared current affairs part for this paper (For questions like ‘Judiciary has acquired the role of both, a legislature and an executive in recent years. Explain with suitable examples.’ Here one must be aware of the current examples to write a good answer), and read Shubhra Mam’s notes along with Laxmikanth.

Shubhra mam proves names of scholars in her notes which can be used in answers in this part, one thing must be taken care of here, whatever scholar you quote, it should be factually correct and proper explanation must be provided along with otherwise just a quote would solve no purpose.

Paper 2, Section A

In this part of the syllabus i only focused on Shubhra Mam’s Notes and Selective reading of Global Politics by Andrew Heywood. Here, Comparative politics can be done from shubhra mam’s notes, that will do it.

Answers in this part should have a blend of current examples and historical background. (For example, in the question ‘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’, it becomes important to write about UN’s History and its achievements through current examples.) Also International experts can be quoted where ever it seems logical and appropriate , like in the Question of Brexit, last year, C.Raja Mohan can be quoted in “what india must do” in case of Brexit with proper explanation of whatever he said. These IR experts can be found in the notes on current Issues released by Shubhra mam in last days before mains.

Pragmatic, logical and Futuristic answers are appreciated in this part.

Paper 2, Section B

In this part background knowledge of International relations between India and different countries and also evolution of India’s Foreign Policy is essential. One can do these from Shubhra mam notes. After this, current affairs part can be done from the notes provided by Shubhra mam in last month before mains examination. Apart from this, one can follow online sources like : 

https://chellaney.net/ ,

https://www.project-syndicate.org/ ,

http://indianexpress.com/profile/columnist/c-raja-mohan/ ,

https://thediplomat.com/tag/indian-foreign-policy/ , 

https://idsa.in/ ,

https://bharatkarnad.com/ .

One must prepare and analyse the relations between different countries and india through a Pragmatic, Realist, and Futuristic lens to answer questions in this part in a better way.

One More Thing :

Do not leave anything in syllabus thinking that we will have choice and we will skip this particular topic, but there are always chances that the topic you left out comes in compulsory part of questions, or either clubbed with 2 other question which were on topics you prepared really well. So my advice to you is complete whole syllabus at least 3-4 times with minimum sources and maximum possible practice of answer writing.

 All the best to everyone for their UPSC journey.

Ankit Pannu.

Source- IASBaba

PSIR STRATEGY BY MIRANT PARIKH (AIR 67)

The UPSC results are out and the Travesty of pitting one Optional subject against the other has started already. The popularity of the So-Called “High Scoring” PSIR is at it’s all-time high. So before penning this article let me tell you all that please select PSIR only if your own personal interest beckons you to do so and not just because someone is telling you that a particular subject is high scoring. UPSC never discriminates against any optional and if you look at the final list, you’ll notice that almost all Optional are equally represented.

P.S.: I’m sharing this strategy with the assumption that all of you are clear with the choice of your optional and are not in a dilemma regarding the same.

A Personal Rendezvous:

I had left my Job at Ford in March of 2016. The Prelims was on 7th August. I had but a few months to prepare for my Prelims, so thinking about mains and the Optional wasn’t the kind of luxury that I could afford. So, the only thing that I was sure about mains was the Optional Subject that I would select. This selection was based on three agendas:

(1) Interest – To ensure that I can stretch long hours with this subject without getting bored

(2) Expanse, Relevance and the Dynamism of the Subject – To achieve Contextual Clarity

(3) Overlap with GS – Killing Two Birds with a Single Stone

So, post my resignation, my target was to clear prelims and to earn an opportunity to write mains. Post-Prelims, I went to Delhi and joined Shubhra Ma’ams’ classes (Coz apparently she’s considered the Best and Believe me she is). Coming from an Engineering background I was a novice as far this subject was considered and living in Delhi for the First time had it’s own set of trials and tribulations. I tried to plunge myself initially into almost every recommended books for this Subject from O.P.Gauba to Andrew Heywood to V.R.Mehta to make sure that I perfected this subject and so that I could score well. But one month down the line, I recognised my folly and on Shubhra Ma’ams’ advice decided to follow just her notes.  I realised that due to the paucity of time, my preparation should be rechannelised into something which could fetch me the maximum marks into the shortest possible time. So, I decided to stick with just Shubhra Ma’ams, notes.

Caveat: Also regarding my point about  PSIR overlapping with GS, one must be very careful while treading the very fine line about being a Generalist and a Specialist. For eg – There was question on Rawls Theory of Justice in Ethics Paper this time around. One must be very careful not to delve too deep into that question and put up a PSIR perspective or context into that. The Vice-Versa is also true.

Next on, I’d try to cover the Optional Paperwise and Partwise:

Paper 1,Part A:

For this Part, I referred only Shubhra Ma’ams’ notes. Her notes are very extensive and will provide you with 15-20 points regarding every topic/thinker, which according to me are more than enough. Just read her notes 5 times before appearing for mains (I read it 5 times) and you’re good to go. It should be on the tip of your tongue, so much so that if someone wakes you up in the middle of the night and asks you something from these notes, you should be in a position to answer that.
Benefit?? – This’ll ensure that during your Mains exams you do not get confused. Coz if you would have accessed myriad materials it’ll lead to consternation in your mind whilst writing your paper about which points to include and which to avoid. Reading limited material obviates such a situation.

Now the difficult part – You should be in a position to relate one theory with another. Supposedly if you can relate a Western Thinkers’ theory with something contemporary happening in IR, it can fetch you some extra marks. Eg.- If you quote Iran’s Ayatollahs’ example in the Philosopher Kings’ concept, it’ll make your answer stand out.

So, rather than having a chain of thoughts it’s better to have a Web-based thinking to take into consideration multiple contexts, dimensions and linkages.

Paper 1,Part B:

I followed Shubhra Ma’ams’ for this part as well. But this part being Dynamic, only her notes won’t suffice. One has to complement it with standard GS-2 material as it has a lot many overlapping portions with GS-2. For example – 
(1) Indian Nationalism – Spectrum and Bipin Chandra
(2) Constitution related topics – Laxmikanth
My strategy while articulating the answer was to pick up two or three good Academician from Ma’ams’ notes like Yogendra Yadav, Suhas Palashikar, Rajni Kothari, Milan Vishnav,etc . I would then understand their statements and try to us them in their relevant questions in the exam. For example – One can quote Milan Vaishnav’s book “When Crime Pays” on a question about Criminalisation or increasing money/muscle power in India. This will give your answer a different appeal and ensure your existence from the herd.
Also, if possible do read the Editorials in IE or Hindu on contemporary Political Turmoils by Christophe Jaffrelot, Milan Vaishnav, Suhas Palashikar or any other psephologists to gain a new perspective. This will ensure that you’d be in a position to answer any current affairs based question with extreme clarity and with an articulation of an expert political academician.

Paper 2, Part A:

In this paper you’d have to keep a delicate balance between the Static and the Dynamic portion. One should not be sacrificed at the altar of other which penning down your answer.

For the Comparative Politics, I referred only Ma’ams’ notes and nothing else. I think just her notes would suffice. But if you have time and want to delve deeper one can refer IGNOU material for the same.

As explained earlier in Paper1,PartB, one can quote contemporary issues and their timeline to give your answer an added edge. But one must keep in mind that the issue should not turn out to be irrelevant to what has been asked for in the question. For example – While answering a question on Security Dilemma one can quote the India-China-Pakistan triangle. Similarly, for a question on Connectivity/CPEC/OBOR/BRF one can quote the statement given by our Honble PM “Sovereignty should not be compromised for connectivity”. This are just a few examples, the other examples being Ukraine/Crimea issue, Rohinga issue, ISIS, al-shabab, Migrant Crisis, Artic Melt, etc…. Thus, you can quote anything you like, but it has to be relevant.

Also, while writing an answer in this portion one should always India central to things. Thus, even though the question of Crimea might not impact India directly but still relating that issue with Indian perspective/response should be our strategy.

Paper 2,Part B:

This part being the most dynamic of all, newspaper reading becomes extremely important. Reading Editorials penned by C Raja Mohan, Lisa Curtis, Nirupama Rao, Rakesh Sood, Ashley Tellis, etc. can enhance your perspective as well as would be helpful to you in quoting in any relevant questions.

Also, I’d recommend visiting Project Syndicate, The Diplomat and The Economist websites. These are the Gold-Standard.

For the Books, I referred to Rajiv Sikri’s book as well as Can the Elephant Dance? By David Malone. As IR is my forte I used to refer many many sources(Which I could’ve avoided). Also, watching 2 mins news clipping of Al-Jazeera,BBC World News, DW News, NHK News,CNN, etc…. could be really very useful.

Alongwith reading, Articulating your answer becomes very important in this portion.

The Achilles Heel – Answer Writing :-

To be honest, I haven’t written a single test for PSIR. I didn’t have much time to prepare. So, I could’ve either written the Test Series for my GS or my Optional. So, I joined the test series for my GS and hoped that the practice done there to have a spillover effect in my optional.

Tip : Writing 3 average answers is better than writing one Extraordinary answer (UPSC Samhita!!!)

(1) Love Thy Examiner :This is the winning formula. Whether one becomes and IAS or not is very well in the hands of the examiners that checks your copy. So, why to make him unhappy and ruin your career. Whilst writing your answer always keep the examiner on the back of your mind. – Will the Examiner like it?? Will it seem repetitive to the examiner?? 
That’s why the first 2-3 questions matter a lot. Coz the examiner will judge whether you’re a smart student or an average student and will base the whole paper on that assumption (“First Impression Lasts” – Harvey Specter)

(2) Time is Money:

Whatever might be the situation, ensure that you attempt all the 20 questions. With every less attempt, your chance of being in the final list diminishes. So, don’t remain emotionally attached with one answer, if you feel you’ve answered it satisfactorily, just move in. Don’t remain on that answer trying to make it perfect.

(3) Write!Write!Write!:

The more you practice, the better. Just reading won’t cut much ice. So, write as many test papers as you can. Get it checked from your teacher or get it peer-reviewed.

(4) Mind-Chain:

Be as innovative as you can in linking stuff and preparing a “Mind Chain” to ensure a better articulation and a multi-perspective answer formulation.

I hope this would help the aspirants.

Source- Insights

PSIR STRATEGY VIDEO

POOJA RANAWAT HAD SECURED 319 MARKS IN PSIR OPTIONAL. HER RANK WAS 258. CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO.

POOJA RANAWAT BLOG LINK- Click here

RISHAV MANDAL HAD SECURED 325 MARKS IN PSIR OPTIONAL. THAT WAS HIGHEST MARK IN PSIR OPTIONAL IN 2018. HIS RANK WAS 58. CHECK OUT THAT VIDEO.

PSIR OPTIONAL NOTES PDF

Shubhra Ranjan IAS PSIR Notes (

Shubra Ranjan Political science Notes Download PDF)

Click here for Shubhra Maam's Political Science optional Latest Notes 2020 - Click here

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