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 CONTENTS

Previous Paper (Solved), 2019 ................................................................................ 1-4

STUDY MATERIAL

1. International Relations ......................................................................... 3-86

Realism; Liberalism; The English School; Constructivism; Marxism; Marxism, Migrants and Borders;
Critical Theory; Poststructuralism; Poststructuralism and Media Representations of Rerrorists; Feminism;
Feminism and Peacekeeping; Postcolonialism; Postcolonialism and the Marginalisation of Women of
Colour; Green Theory; Green Theory and Climate Change; Global Justice; Global Justice and Climate
Change; Queer Theory; Queer Theory and Sexual Equality in Europe; Securitisation Theory;
Securitisation Theory and the Islamic State Group in Europe; Protocols / Conventions / Treaties; India
Joins The Hague Code of Conduct; About HCoC; Shangri-La Dialogue; Raisina Dialogue; RCEP;
Ulaanbaatar Declaration; Hague Abduction Convention; Sendai Framework; Vienna Convention;
International Chemical Weapons Convention; International Organisations / Groupings; SCO; ISA;
APEC; NSG; MTCR; PCA; ICC; BCIM; BBIN; APTA; MERCOSUR; BRICS; AARDO; BIMSTEC; IOR-
ARC; SAARC; Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development; Heart of Asia
Conference; OPEC; IMAFT; CLMV Conclave; APTTA; Commonwealth of Nations; Wassenaar
Arrangement; Australia Group; IOM; NAM; ASEAN; G-7; G-15; G-20; G-77; OECD; EEC or ECM;
EFTA; NAFTA; EAS; GATT; Uruguay Round and Dunkel Proposals; WTO; UNO; UN Specialized
Agencies; UNHRC; IMO; UNCTAD; ICJ; New Secretary-General of UN; UNISDR; UNCITRAL; Indian
Elected to UN International Law Commission; UN Women: The United Nations Entity for Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of Women; WFP; International Banks / International Financial Institutions;
ADB; BRICS’ New Development Bank; AIIB; AfDB; IMF; IBRD; Objectives of World Bank; IMF. Vs.
World Bank; Membership of the World Bank and the Voting Right; List of International Organizations
and their Headquarters; Multiple Choice Questions; Answers.

2. Political Science ................................................................................87-175

Political Theory; Positivism, Scientific Method and its Critique, Contemporary Approaches to Research
in Social Sciences; Theories of State—Classical, Social Contract; Force Theory and Divine Origin
Theory of State; Social Contract Theory—Hobbes, Locke and its Limitations; Social Contract Theory
as Developed by Jean Jacques Rousseau; Theories of State : Elite, Pluralist, Neo-pluralist, Marxist
and Neo-marxist; Neo-Marxism Power and Authority; Law Liberty and Right; Power Theory; Authority;
Legitimacy and Political Obligation; Political Obligation; Meaning and Concept; Sources of Law; Theories
of Law; Classification of Law; Liberty; Rights; Justice, Equality and Civil Society; Meaning and Concept;
Theories of Justice; Social Justice; Economic Justice; Political Justice; Equality; Civil Society;
Contemporary Debates in Democracy; Meaning and Definition of Democracy; Essential Features of
Modern Liberal Democracy; Political Ideology and Liberalism; Neoliberalism; Marxism and Socialism;
Dialectical Materialism; Proletarian Revolution; Introduction to Socialism; Origin and Meaning of
Socialism; Core Ideas of Socialism; Fascism, Communitarianism; Etymology and Definition of Fascism;
Communitarianism; Environment and Multiculturalism; Politics of Environment; Multiculturalism :
Definition and Meaning; Feminism; Gender and Sex; Different Ideological Views on Feminism; Liberalism;
Conservatives; Socialists; Fascist View; Religious Fundamentalism; Feminism: Its Origin and
Development; Citizenship; Post-modernism; Multiple Choice Questions; Answers.

3. Sociology ..........................................................................................176-233
Sociology as a Discipline; Subject Matter of Sociology; Is Sociology a Science?; Nature of Sociology;
Scope of the Sociology; Early Thinkers; Perspectives in Sociology; Functionalist Perspective; Conflict
(iii)
 Perspective; Interactionist or Interpretive; Critical Perspective; Sociological Imagination; Developing a
Sociological Outlook; Importance/ Significance & Practical Utility of Sociology; Culture; Sub Culture;
Counter Culture; Culture Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism, Xenocentrism, Components of Culture;
Cultural Universals and Cultural Variability; Ethnocentrism; Cultural Relativism; Xenocentrism; Cultural
Change; Components of Culture; Knowledge; Normative; Material Culture and Non Material Culture;
Towards a Global Culture; Society and Groups; Evolution of Societies; Social Groups; Importance of
Social Groups; Classification of Social Groups; In Group and Out Group; Primary Groups and Secondary
Groups; Electronic Community (Net working); Types of Virtual Communities; Social Network Services;
Advantages of Internet Services; Disadvantages of Internet Communities; Social Institutions: Concept
and Significance; Social Institution: Meaning; Social Stratification; Religion; Political Institution; State
and Government; Socialization; Definition and Significance; The Process of Socialization; Agencies of
Socialization; Introduction; Stages in Socialization; Resocialization; Gender Socialization; Political
Socialization; Social Change; Meaning & Definition; Theories of Change; Factors of Social Change;
Resistance to Change; Multiple Choice Questions; Answers.

4. History ..............................................................................................234-312
European Penetration and British Conquest of India; Portuguese; British; Dutch; French; Danish;
Major Battles; The Carnatic Wars; Growth of British Power in Bengal; The Mysore Wars; Subsidiary
Alliance System; The Maratha Wars; Anglo-Sikh Wars; Annexation of Sindh; British Policies; Mercantilist
Phase; Period of Industrial Capital; Finance Capital; Economic Impact; Social & Economic Effects;
Transport and Communication; Modern Industries; Land Revenue System; Social and Cultural
Awakening in India; Hindu Reform Movements and Main Proponents; Parsi Reform Movements; Sikh
Reform Movements; Resistance to British Rule; Early Uprisings against the British in India; Popular
Non-Tribal Movements Against British Rule; Peasant Uprisings; Tribal Movements Against British
Rule; Peasants Movements Against British Rule; All India Kisan Sabha; The Great Revolt of 1857; The
Sepoy Mutinies; Centres and Leaders of 1857 Revolt; Indian Nationalism; Pre-Congress Political
Associations; Indian National Congress; Phase of National Movement; The Moderates; The Extremists;
Congress Sessions and Presidents; Nationalist Movement, 1905-1918: Growth of Militant Nationalism;
Partition of Bengal, 1905; Rise of Extremism; Swadeshi Movement (1905); Muslim League, 1906;
Calcutta Session of INC, 1906; Surat Session of INC, 1907; Indian Council Act/Morley-Minto Act,
1909; Ghadar Party, 1913; Komagata Maru Incident, 1914; Home Rule Movement, 1916; Lucknow
Pact, 1916; August Declaration, 1917; Struggle for Swaraj-I, 1919-1927; Government of India Act/
Montague Chelmsford Reforms, 1919; Rowlatt Act, 1919; Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 1919; Khilafat
Movement, 1920; Non-Cooperation Movement, 1920; Chauri-Chaura Incident, 1922; Swaraj Party,
1923; Emergence of Gandhi; Struggle for Swaraj-II, 1927-1947; Simon Commission, 1927; Butler
Committee, 1927; The Nehru Report, 1928; The Fourteen Points, 1929; Lahore Session, 1929; Dandi
March, 1930 and the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1931); First Round Table Conference, 1930;
Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 1931; Second Round Table Conference, 1931; The Communal Award, 1932;
Poona Pact, 1932; Revolutionary Movements; The Left Movement; The Working Class Movement;
Third Round Table Conference, 1932; The Government of India Act, 1935; World War II and the
National Movement; August Offer, 1940; The Cripps Mission, 1942; The Revolt of 1942 and the Quit
India Movement; INA, 1942; Hindus-Muslims over the Years; Growth of Communalism; Naval Mutiny,
1945; Rajagopalachari Formula, 1945; Partition, 1947; Constitutional Developments; Regulating Act,
1773; Pitts India Act, 1784; The Act of 1786; Charter Act of 1793; Charter Act of 1813; Charter Act
of 1833; Charter Act of 1853; Government of India Act, 1858; Indian Council Act, 1861; Indian Council
Act, 1892; Indian Council Act/Morley-Minto Act, 1909; Government of India Act/Montague-Chelmsford
Reforms, 1919; Government of India Act, 1935; British Education Policy and Growth of Modern
Education; James Thomson Plan (1843-53); The Hunter Commission (1882-1883); Indian Press
Under The British Rule; Censorship of Press Act, 1799; Licencing Regulating Act, 1823; Licencing Act
of 1857; Vernacular Press Act of 1878; Newspapers Incitement to Offences Act, 1908; Indian Press
Act, 1910; Press Committee, 1921; The Indian Press Emergency Act, 1931; Press Inquiry Committee,
1947; Important Newspapers Before 1947; Hindi News Papers During British Regime; Governor-
generals of India; Governor-Generals of Bengal; Viceroys of India; Chronology of Events; Multiple
Choice Questions; Answers.
  
(iv)
 1

Previous Paper (Solved)

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
MA–International Relations and Area Studies
Entrance Exam 2019*

1. The Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and A. Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation
Pakistan in: in Europe (1975)
A. 1948 B. 1960 B. Open Skies Treaty (1988)
C. 1966 D. 1972 C. SALT Negotiations (1972)
D. Camp David Accord (1978)
2. Copenhagen School of International Relations
represents a shift from an emphasis on traditional 8. Match the following books and author:
military security to issues of non-traditional security. (i) Daughter of the East (a) Kautilya
Who are the scholars associated with this school? (ii) Friends not Masters (b) Hitler
A. Barry Buzan, Ole Weaver and Jaap de Wilde (iii) Arthashastra (c) Moh Ayub Khan
B. Hans Morgenthau, Amitav Acharya and Joseph (iv) Mein Kampf (d) Benazir Bhutto
Nye Codes:
C. Robert Keohane, Hedley Bull and Kenneth Waltz (a) (b) (c) (d)
D. Enid Blyton, J.K. Rowling and Mark Twain A. (ii) (iv) (iii) (i)
B. (iii) (iv) (ii) (i)
3. This region of Germany was to remain demilitarized
C. (ii) (i) (iii) (iv)
in the aftermath of the First World War: D. (iv) (iii) (i) (ii)
A. Berlin B. Bonn
C. Frankfurt D. Rhineland 9. In which country did the ‘Jasmine Revolution’ start?
A. Morocco B. Algeria
4. Which one of the following outcome is not the benefit C. Tunisia D. Egypt
of adopting multi-culturalism?
A. Reduction of prejudice 10. Match the following:
B. Enforcement of the beliefs and tradition of the (i) Morgenthau (a) Structuralism
dominant ethnic group (ii) Ronald Watts (b) Federalism
C. Equal opportunities for all (iii) Raul Prebisch (c) Neo-liberalism
D. Reduction of negative stereotypes and (iv) Joseph Nye (d) Realism
discrimination Codes:
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
5. Social change refers to change in social structure A. (c) (a) (b) (d)
primarily characterized by alternation in: B. (a) (c) (d) (b)
A. Cultural symbols B. Rules of behaviour C. (d) (b) (a) (c)
C. Value system D. All of above D. (d) (c) (a) (b)
6. ‘Smiling Buddha’ was the code name for: 11. The governor General of Canada is:
A. First nuclear test of India A. Elected by the members of senate
B. Second nuclear test of India B. Elected by the premiers of provinces
C. Indo-U.S.S.R. Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1971 C. Nominated by British Parliament
D. Indo-US Nuclear Agreement D. Nominated by British monarch
7. When did the idea of ‘confidence building measures’ 12. The best approach to explain Canadian foreign policy
originate? is:

* Online exam conducted by NTA on 29 May, 2019 1 2105 (MA–IR) ’19—1

 2105 (MA–IR) ’19—1-II
2

A. Liberalism A. Kazakhstan B. Uzbekistan

B. Liberal internationalism C. Tajikistan D. Kyrgyzstan
C. Functionalism
24. The predominant religion in Mongolia is:
D. Isolationism
A. Shamanism B. Buddhism
13. Identify the capital of Brazil: C. Islam D. Christianity
A. Rio de Janeiro B. Brasilia
25. In which year did Dalai Lama receive the Nobel Peace
C. Sao Paulo D. Caracas
Prize?
14. Which country has never been a full member of A. 1969 B. 1989
MERCOSUR? C. 1999 D. 2000
A. Paraguay B. Uruguay
26. Which of these is not an ethnic group of Inner Asia?
C. Guyana D. Argentina
A. Tibetan B. Uzbek
15. The tenth annual BRICS Summit, 2018 was held in: C. Tajik D. Han
A. Fortaleza B. Brasilia
C. Johannesburg D. Goa 27. The Yogyakarta Principles adopted in 2006
specifically deal with:
16. The Mahavamsa, the ancient Ceylonese chronicle, A. Freedom of religion
was written in which of the following languages? B. Sexual orientation and gender identity
A. Buddhist Sanskrit C. Prisoners of War
B. Pali D. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
C. Sinhala treatment
D. Sanskrit
28. Which President of the United States of America made
17. Who among the following is a Cold War historian? human rights the focus of his foreign policy agenda?
A. John Lewis Gaddis A. Franklin D. roosevelt
B. Eric Foner B. John F. Kennedy
C. Gordon S. Wood C. Lyndon B. Johnson
D. Bernard Bailvn D. Jimmy Carter
18. August Comte is known as the propounder of which
29. What is the first article in the Universal Declaration
of the following ideologies?
of Human Rights (UDHR)?
A. Positivism B. Communism
A. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security
C. Totalitarianism D. Fascism
B. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
19. Drawing inference about the entire population based inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
on observations made in small sample is referred to C. All human beings are born free and equal in
as: dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
A. Deductive inference and conscience and should act towards one
B. Inductive inference another in a spirit of brotherhood
C. Pseudo inference D. All are equal before the law and are entitled, which
D. Extrapolation any discrimination, to equal protection of the law
20. Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) is a 30. The International Law Commission is a body to:
province of which of the following countries? A. Investigate situations which may threaten
A. India B. Pakistan international peace and security
C. China D. Central Asia B. Codify International Law
21. In which country does Syr Darya originate? C. Conciliate between/among the disputing states
A. Tibet B. Kazakhstan D. Constitute an arbitration tribunal for the pacific
C. Kyrgyzstan D. Tajikistan settlement of a dispute
22. The alternative term for Neo-realism is: 31. Who is known as ‘the father of International Law’?
A. Structural realism A. David Dueley field
B. Post-positivism B. Hugo Grotius
C. Neo-classical realism C. Jeremy Bentham
D. Modernism D. Hersch Lauterpacht
23. The country that was not the founding member of 32. Name the international tribunal that has the jurisdiction
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is: to prosecute individuals for the international crimes
 3

of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and 41. The idea of ‘territorial trap’ refers to
aggression. A. The fate of landlocked states
A. International Court of Justice B. A specific ancient tactic of warfare
B. European Court of Justice C. A faulty assumption of mainstream IR theory
C. International Criminal Court about the nature of modern states
D. Inter-American Court of Human Rights D. A faulty assumption of mainstream IR theory
33. Which among the following is the ‘odd’ organisation? about the nature of modern warfare
A. Universal Postal Union 42. Colonialism is a form of rule that resulted in:
B. International Labour Organization A. Expansion of the idea of the modern nation-state
C. International Telecommunication Union B. Marking and mapping of earth as territories
D. International Committee of the Red Cross C. Transfer of resources from the colonized part of
34. Which of these is not a recognized criterion for the world to the colonizers part of the world
statehood? D. All of the above
A. Recognition by UN and other states 43. The Concert of Vienna was an alliance against
B. Government Napoleon Bonaparte formed by which of the following
C. An army countries?
D. Legitimate use of force A. Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia
35. Who was the first Secretary General of the United B. Spain, Germany, Italy and Greece
Nations? C. France, Spain, Russia and Denmark
A. Eric Drummond D. America, Canada, Britain and Japan
B. Trygve Lie
44. Dyarchy was introduced in India by the British under
C. Dag Hammarskjold
which Act?
D. Woodrow Wilson
A. Indian Councils Act of 1861
36. Which of the following are not part of the World B. Montague Chelmsford Act of 1919
Bank Group? C. The Minto-Morley Act of 1909
A. International Finance Corporation D. The Government of India Act of 1935
B. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
C. International Development Association 45. In which country did the Dutch introduce the ‘Culture
D. Overseas Development Agency System’?
A. Netherlands B. Papua New Guinea
37. Which of the following does not find a mention in the C. Indonesia D. India
Charter of the United Nations?
A. Peacekeeping 46. After President Trump’s assumption of Presidency,
B. Regional arrangements which trade agreement did America back out from?
C. Permanent members A. Trans-Pacific Partnership
D. Amendments B. ASEAN India Free Trade Agreement
C. NAFTA
38. The Trusteeship Council of the United Nations owes
D. Regional Comprehensive Economic Parternship
its existence to:
A. The Concert of Europe 47. Where is the headquarter of African Union?
B. The Responsibility to Protect Doctrine A. Cario B. Addis Ababa
C. The Mandate System of the League of Nations C. Nairobi D. Accra
D. Good Neighbour’s Policy 48. Who stated ‘Law is the command of a determinate
39. The book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments is written sovereign’?
by: A. John Austin B. Laski
A. M.K. Gandhi C. Bentham D. Grotius
B. John Locke
49. Who among the following has used social contract
C. Woodrow Wilson
approach in his theory?
D. Adam Smith
A. Aristotle B. Machiavelli
40. The term ‘geopolitics’ was first used by: C. Bentham D. John Rawls
A. Halford Mackinder
50. Mozambique was a colony of:
B. Aristotle
A. Britain B. France
C. Rudolf Kjellen
D. Friedrich Ratzel C. Portugal D. Germany
 4

ANSWERS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
B A D B D A A B C C
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
D B B C C B A A B C
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
C A B B B D B D C B
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
B C D C B D A C D C
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
C D A B C A B A D C
 International Relations and Area Studies 1

MA
International Relations and Area Studies
STUDY MATERIAL

1 2105 (MA–IR)—1
2 International Relations and Area Studies

U
N
I
T 1
Traditionally there have been two central theories of
International Relations (IR): liberalism and realism.
Although they have come under great challenge from other
theories, they remain central to the discipline. At its height,
liberalism was referred to as a ‘utopian’ theory and to some
degree is still recognised as such today. Its proponents view
human beings as innately good and believe peace and
harmony between nations is not only achievable, but
desirable. In the late eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant
developed the idea that states that shared liberal values
should have no reason for going to war against one another.
In Kant’s eyes, the more liberal states there were in the
world, the more peaceful it would become, since liberal
states are ruled by their citizens and citizens are rarely
disposed to go to war. This is in contrast to the rule of kings
and other non-elected rulers who frequently have selfish
desires out of step with citizens. His ideas have resonated
and continue to be developed by modern liberals, most
notably in the democratic peace theory, which posits that
democracies do not go to war with each other.
Further, liberals have faith in the idea that the permanent
cessation of war is an attainable goal. Putting liberal ideas
into practice, US President Woodrow Wilson addressed his
‘Fourteen Points’ to the US Congress in January 1918 during
the final year of the First World War. The last of his ‘points’
– ideas for a rebuilt world beyond the war – was the setting
up of a general association of nations: this became the
League of Nations. Dating back to 1920, the League of
Nations was created largely for the purpose of overseeing
affairs between states and implementing, as well as
maintaining, international peace. However, when the League
collapsed due to the outbreak of the Second World War in
1939, its failure was difficult for liberals to comprehend, as
events seemed to contradict their theories. Therefore, despite
the efforts of figures such as Kant and Wilson, liberalism
3
International Relations and Area Studies 3
failed to retain a strong hold and a new theory emerged to
explain the continuing presence of war. That theory became
known as realism.
Realism gained momentum during the Second World
War, when it appeared to offer a convincing account for
how and why the most widespread and deadly war in known
history followed a period of supposed peace and optimism.
Although it originated in named form in the twentieth
century, many realists look back much further. Indeed, realists
have looked as far back as the ancient world, where they
detected similar patterns of human behaviour as those
evident in our modern world. As its name suggests, advocates
of realism purport that it reflects the ‘reality’ of the world
and more effectively accounts for change in international
politics. Thomas Hobbes is often mentioned in discussions
of realism due to his description of the brutality of life
during the English Civil War of 1642–1651. Hobbes
described human beings as living in an orderless ‘state of
nature’ that he perceived as a war of all against all. To
remedy this, he proposed a ‘social contract’ between the
ruler and the people of a state to maintain relative order.
Today, we take such ideas for granted as it is usually clear
who rules our states. Each leader, or ‘sovereign’ (a monarch
or a parliament, for example), sets the rules and establishes
a system of punishments for those who break them. We
accept this in our respective states so that our lives can
function with a sense of security and order. It may not be
ideal, but it is better than a state of nature. As no such
contract exists internationally and there is no sovereign in
charge of the world, disorder and fear rules international
relations. For realists, we live in a system of ‘international
anarchy’. That is why war seems more common than peace
to realists; indeed, they see it as inevitable.
It is important to understand that there is no single
variant of each theory. Scholars rarely fully agree with each
 4 International Relations and Area Studies
other, even those who share the same theoretical approach.
Each scholar has a particular interpretation of the world,
which includes ideas of peace, war and the role of the state
in relation to individuals. Nevertheless, these perspectives
can still be grouped into theory families (or traditions). In
your studies you will need to unpack the various differences
but, for now, understanding the core assumptions of each
approach is the best way to get your bearings. For example,
if we think of the simple contrast of optimism and pessimism
we can see a familial relationship in all branches of realism
and liberalism. Liberals share an optimistic view of IR,
believing that world order can be improved, with peace and
progress gradually replacing war. They may not agree on
the details, but this optimistic view generally unites them.
Conversely, realists tend to dismiss optimism as a form of
misplaced idealism and instead they arrive at a more
pessimistic view. This is due to their focus on the centrality
of the state and its need for security and survival in an
anarchical system where it can only truly rely on itself. As
a result, realists reach an array of accounts that describe IR
as a system where war and conflict is common and periods
of peace are merely times when states are preparing for
future conflict.
The thinking of the English school is often viewed as
a middle ground between liberal and realist theories. Its
theory involves the idea of a society of states existing at the
international level. Hedley Bull, one of the core figures of
the English school, agreed with traditional theories that the
international system was anarchic. However, he insisted this
does not mean the absence of norms (expected behaviours),
thus claiming a societal aspect to international politics. In
this sense, states form an ‘Anarchical Society’ (Bull 1977)
where a type of order does exist, based on shared norms and
behaviours.
Constructivism is another theory commonly viewed as
a middle ground. It also has some familial links with the
English school. Unlike scholars from other perspectives,
constructivists highlight the importance of values and of
shared interests between individuals who interact on the
global stage. Alexander Wendt, a prominent constructivist,
described the relationship between agents (individuals) and
structures (such as the state) as one in which structures not
only constrain agents but also construct their identities and
interests. His phrase ‘anarchy is what states make of it’
(Wendt 1992) sums this up well. Another way to explain
this, and to explain the core of constructivism, is that the
essence of international relations exists in the interactions
between people. After all, states do not interact; it is agents
of those states, such as politicians and diplomats, who
interact. Since those interacting on the world stage have
accepted international anarchy as its defining principle, it
has become part of our reality. However, if anarchy is what
we make of it, then different states can perceive anarchy
differently and the qualities of anarchy can even change
over time. International anarchy could even be replaced by
a different system if an influential group of other individuals
(and by proxy the states they represent) accepted the idea.
To understand constructivism is to understand that ideas, or
‘norms’ as they are often called, have power. As such,
constructivists seek to study the process by which norms are
challenged and potentially replaced with new norms.
Critical approaches refer to a wide spectrum of theories
that have been established in response to mainstream
approaches in the field, mainly liberalism and realism. In a
nutshell, critical theorists share one particular trait – they
oppose commonly held assumptions in the field of IR that
have been central since its establishment. They call for new
approaches that are better suited to understand, as well as
question, the world we find ourselves in. Critical theories
are valuable because they identify positions that have
typically been ignored or overlooked within IR. They also
give a voice to groups of people who have frequently been
marginalised, particularly women and those from the Global
South.
Marxism is a good place to start with critical theories.
This approach is based upon the ideas of Karl Marx, who
lived in the nineteenth century at the height of the industrial
revolution. The term ‘Marxist’ refers to people who have
adopted Marx’s views and believe that industrialised society
is divided into two classes – the business class of ‘owners’
(the bourgeoisie) and the working class (the proletariat).
The proletariat are at the mercy of the bourgeoisie who
control their wages and therefore their standard of living.
Marx hoped for the overthrow of the bourgeoisie by the
proletariat and an eventual end to the class society. Critical
theorists who take a Marxist angle often argue that the
organisation of international politics around the state has
led to ordinary people around the globe becoming divided
and alienated, instead of recognising what they all have in
common – potentially – as a global proletariat. For this to
change, the legitimacy of the state must be questioned and
ultimately dissolved. In that sense, emancipation from the
state in some form is often part of the wider critical agenda.
Postcolonialism differs from Marxism by focusing on
the inequality between nations or regions, as opposed to
classes. The effects of colonialism are still felt in many
regions of the world today as local populations continue to
deal with the challenges created and left behind by ex-
colonial powers such as the United Kingdom and France.
Postcolonialism’s origins can be traced to the Cold War
period when much activity in international relations centred
around decolonisation and the wish to undo the legacies of
European imperialism. This approach acknowledges that
the study of IR has historically centred on Western
perspectives and experiences, excluding the voices of people
from other regions of the world. Crucially, postcolonial
scholars have argued that analyses based on Western
theoretical perspectives, or that do not take into account the
perspectives of those in former colonies, may lead

international institutions and world leaders to take actions
that unfairly favour the West. They have created a deeper
understanding of the way in which the operations of the
global economy, the decision-making processes of
international institutions and the actions of the great powers
might actually constitute new forms of colonialism. Edward
Said’s (1978) Orientalism described how societies in the
Middle East and Asia were regularly misrepresented in
Western literary and scholarly writing in a way that
positioned them as inferior to the West. Postcolonial scholars
are, therefore, important contributors to the field as they
widen the focus of enquiry beyond IR’s traditionally
‘Western’ mindset.
Another theory that exposes the inequality inherent in
international relations is feminism. Feminism entered the
field in the 1980s as part of the emerging critical movement.
It focused on explaining why so few women seemed to be
in positions of power and examining the implications of
this on how global politics was structured. You only need
look at a visual of any meeting of world leaders to see how
it appears to be a man’s world. Recognising this introduces
a ‘gendered’ reading of IR, where we place an issue such as
gender as the prime object on our map. If it is a man’s world,
what does that mean? How have certain characteristics
traditionally viewed as masculine – such as aggression,
emotional detachment and strength – come to be seen as
essential qualities of a world leader? Which qualities and
characteristics does this exclude (it might be empathy and
cooperation) and what kind of actions does this result in?
By recognising that gender – the roles that society constructs
for men and women – permeates everything, feminism
challenges those roles in a way that benefits everyone. It is
not simply a question of counting male and female bodies.
Rather, feminists ask how gendered power structures make
it difficult for women or men who display supposedly
feminine traits to reach the highest levels of power. Given
that those positions involve making life and death decisions,
it matters to all of us whether the person who gets there is
known for their aggression or their compassion. With all
this talk of socially constructed gender roles, you might be
beginning to see some overlaps – with constructivism, for
example. We are doing our best to present each approach
separately so that you have a clearer starting point, but it
is wise to caution you that IR theory is a dense and complex
web and not always clearly defined. Keep this in mind as
you read on and as your studies develop.
Perhaps the most controversial of the critical theories is
poststructuralism. This is an approach that questions the
very beliefs we have all come to know and feel as ‘real’.
Poststructuralism questions the dominant narratives that have
been widely accepted by mainstream theories. For instance,
liberals and realists both accept the idea of the state and for
the most part take it for granted. Such assumptions are
foundational ‘truths’ on which those traditional theories
rest – becoming ‘structures’ that they build their account of
International Relations and Area Studies 5
reality around. So, although these two theoretical
perspectives may differ in some respects with regard to their
overall worldviews, they share a general understanding of
the world. Neither theory seeks to challenge the existence
of the state; they simply count it as part of their reality.
Poststructuralism seeks to question these commonly held
assumptions of reality, not just the state but also more
widely the nature of power. Michel Foucault’s contribution
to poststructuralism was his identification of the knowledge–
power nexus. What this means is that people in a position
of power, including politicians, journalists, even scholars,
have the ability to shape our common understandings of a
given issue. In turn, these understandings of the issue can
become so ingrained that they appear to be common sense
and it becomes difficult to think outside of them, leaving
room for only certain kinds of action. Power is knowledge
and knowledge is power. By analysing the way in which a
certain understanding of an issue becomes dominant,
poststructuralists aim to expose the hidden assumptions it
is based upon. They also aim to open up other possible
ways of being, thinking and doing in international politics.
REALISM
In the discipline of International Relations (IR), realism is
a school of thought that emphasises the competitive and
conflictual side of international relations. Realism’s roots
are often said to be found in some of humankind’s earliest
historical writings, particularly Thucydides’ history of the
Peloponnesian War, which raged between 431 and 404
BCE. Thucydides, writing over two thousand years ago, was
not a ‘realist’ because IR theory did not exist in named form
until the twentieth century. However, when looking back
from a contemporary vantage point, theorists detected many
similarities in the thought patterns and behaviours of the
ancient world and the modern world. They then drew on his
writings, and that of others, to lend weight to the idea that
there was a timeless theory spanning all recorded human
history. That theory was named ‘realism’.
The Basics of Realism
The first assumption of realism is that the nation-state
(usually abbreviated to ‘state’) is the principle actor in
international relations. Other bodies exist, such as individuals
and organisations, but their power is limited. Second, the
state is a unitary actor. National interests, especially in
times of war, lead the state to speak and act with one voice.
Third, decision-makers are rational actors in the sense that
rational decision-making leads to the pursuit of the national
interest. Here, taking actions that would make your state
weak or vulnerable would not be rational. Realism suggests
that all leaders, no matter what their political persuasion,
recognise this as they attempt to manage their state’s affairs
in order to survive in a competitive environment. Finally,
states live in a context of anarchy – that is, in the absence
 6 International Relations and Area Studies
of anyone being in charge internationally. The often-used
analogy of there being ‘no one to call’ in an international
emergency helps to underline this point. Within our own
states we typically have police forces, militaries, courts and
so on. In an emergency, there is an expectation that these
institutions will ‘do something’ in response. Internationally,
there is no clear expectation of anyone or anything ‘doing
something’ as there is no established hierarchy. Therefore,
states can ultimately only rely on themselves.
As realism frequently draws on examples from the past,
there is a great deal of emphasis on the idea that humans
are essentially held hostage to repetitive patterns of
behaviour determined by their nature. Central to that
assumption is the view that human beings are egoistic and
desire power. Realists believe that our selfishness, our
appetite for power and our inability to trust others leads to
predictable outcomes. Perhaps this is why war has been so
common throughout recorded history. Since individuals are
organised into states, human nature impacts on state
behaviour. In that respect, Niccolò Machiavelli focused on
how the basic human characteristics influence the security
of the state. And in his time, leaders were usually male,
which also influences the realist account of politics. In The
Prince (1532), Machiavelli stressed that a leader’s primary
concern is to promote national security. In order to
successfully perform this task, the leader needs to be alert
and cope effectively with internal as well as external threats
to his rule; he needs to be a lion and a fox. Power (the Lion)
and deception (the Fox) are crucial tools for the conduct of
foreign policy. In Machiavelli’s view, rulers obey the ‘ethics
of responsibility’ rather than the conventional religious
morality that guides the average citizen – that is, they
should be good when they can, but they must also be
willing to use violence when necessary to guarantee the
survival of the state.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Hans
Morgenthau (1948) sought to develop a comprehensive
international theory as he believed that politics, like society
in general, is governed by laws that have roots in human
nature. His concern was to clarify the relationship between
interests and morality in international politics, and his work
drew heavily on the insights of historical figures such as
Thucydides and Machiavelli. In contrast to more
optimistically minded idealists who expected international
tensions to be resolved through open negotiations marked
by goodwill, Morgenthau set out an approach that
emphasised power over morality. Indeed, morality was
portrayed as something that should be avoided in
policymaking. In Morgenthau’s account, every political
action is directed towards keeping, increasing or
demonstrating power. The thinking is that policies based on
morality or idealism can lead to weakness – and possibly
the destruction or domination of a state by a competitor. In
this sense pursuing the national interest is ‘amoral’ – meaning
that it is not subject to calculations of morality.
In Theory of International Politics (1979), Kenneth
Waltz modernised IR theory by moving realism away from
its unprovable (albeit persuasive) assumptions about human
nature. His theoretical contribution was termed ‘neorealism’
or ‘structural realism’ because he emphasised the notion of
‘structure’ in his explanation. Rather than a state’s decisions
and actions being based on human nature, they are arrived
at via a simple formula. First, all states are constrained by
existing in an international anarchic system (this is the
structure). Second, any course of action they pursue is based
on their relative power when measured against other states.
So, Waltz offered a version of realism that recommended
that theorists examine the characteristics of the international
system for answers rather than delve into flaws in human
nature. In doing so, he sparked a new era in IR theory that
attempted to use social scientific methods rather than
political theory (or philosophical) methods. The difference
is that Waltz’s variables (international anarchy, how much
power a state has, etc.) can be empirically/physically
measured. Ideas like human nature are assumptions based
on certain philosophical views that cannot be measured in
the same way.
Realists believe that their theory most closely describes
the image of world politics held by practitioners of statecraft.
For this reason, realism, perhaps more than any other IR
theory, is often utilised in the world of policymaking –
echoing Machiavelli’s desire to write a manual to guide
leaders. However, realism’s critics argue that realists can
help perpetuate the violent and confrontational world that
they describe. By assuming the uncooperative and egoistic
nature of humankind and the absence of hierarchy in the
state system, realists encourage leaders to act in ways based
on suspicion, power and force. Realism can thus be seen as
a self-fulfilling prophecy. More directly, realism is often
criticised as excessively pessimistic, since it sees the
confrontational nature of the international system as
inevitable. However, according to realists, leaders are faced
with endless constraints and few opportunities for
cooperation. Thus, they can do little to escape the reality
of power politics. For a realist, facing the reality of one’s
predicament is not pessimism – it is prudence. The realist
account of international relations stresses that the possibility
of peaceful change, or in fact any type of change, is limited.
For a leader to rely on such an idealistic outcome would be
folly.
Perhaps because it is designed to explain repetition and
a timeless pattern of behaviour, realism was not able to
predict or explain a major recent transformation of the
international system: the end of the Cold War between the
United States of America (US) and the Soviet Union in
1991. When the Cold War ended, international politics
underwent rapid change that pointed to a new era of limited
competition between states and abundant opportunities for
cooperation. This transformation prompted the emergence

of an optimistic vision of world politics that discarded
realism as ‘old thinking’. Realists are also accused of focusing
too much on the state as a solid unit, ultimately overlooking
other actors and forces within the state and also ignoring
international issues not directly connected to the survival
of the state. For example, the Cold War ended because
ordinary citizens in Soviet-controlled nations in Eastern
Europe decided to rebel against existing power structures.
This rebellion swept from one country to another within the
Soviet Union’s vast empire, resulting in its gradual collapse
between 1989 and 1991. Realism’s toolbox did not and
does not account for such events: the actions of ordinary
citizens (or international organisations, for that matter) have
no major part in its calculations. This is due to the state-
centred nature of the thinking that realism is built upon. It
views states as solid pool balls bouncing around a table –
never stopping to look inside each pool ball to see what it
comprises and why it moves the way it does. Realists
recognise the importance of these criticisms, but tend to see
events such as the collapse of the Soviet Union as exceptions
to the normal pattern of things.
Many critics of realism focus on one of its central
strategies in the management of world affairs – an idea
called ‘the balance of power’. This describes a situation in
which states are continuously making choices to increase
their own capabilities while undermining the capabilities of
others. This generates a ‘balance’ of sorts as (theoretically)
no state is permitted to get too powerful within the
international system. If a state attempts to push its luck and
grow too much, like Nazi Germany in the 1930s, it will
trigger a war because other states will form an alliance to
try to defeat it – that is, restore a balance. This balance of
power system is one of the reasons why international
relations is anarchic. No single state has been able to become
a global power and unite the world under its direct rule.
Hence, realism talks frequently about the importance of
flexible alliances as a way of ensuring survival. These
alliances are determined less by political or cultural
similarities among states and more by the need to find fair-
weather friends, or ‘enemies of my enemy’. This may help
to explain why the US and the Soviet Union were allied
during the Second World War (1939–1945): they both saw
a similar threat from a rising Germany and sought to balance
it. Yet within a couple of years of the war ending, the
nations had become bitter enemies and the balance of power
started to shift again as new alliances were formed during
what became known as the Cold War (1947–1991). While
realists describe the balance of power as a prudent strategy
to manage an insecure world, critics see it as a way of
legitimising war and aggression.
Despite these criticisms, realism remains central within
the field of IR theory, with most other theories concerned
(at least in part) with critiquing it. In addition, realism
continues to offer many important insights about the world
International Relations and Area Studies 7
of policymaking due to its history of offering tools of
statecraft to policymakers.
LIBERALISM
Liberalism is a defining feature of modern democracy,
illustrated by the prevalence of the term ‘liberal democracy’
as a way to describe countries with free and fair elections,
rule of law and protected civil liberties. However, liberalism
– when discussed within the realm of IR theory – has
evolved into a distinct entity of its own. Liberalism contains
a variety of concepts and arguments about how institutions,
behaviours and economic connections contain and mitigate
the violent power of states. When compared to realism, it
adds more factors into our field of view – especially a
consideration of citizens and international organisations.
Most notably, liberalism has been the traditional foil of
realism in IR theory as it offers a more optimistic world
view, grounded in a different reading of history to that
found in realist scholarship.
The Basics of Liberalism
Liberalism is based on the moral argument that ensuring the
right of an individual person to life, liberty and property is
the highest goal of government. Consequently, liberals
emphasise the well being of the individual as the
fundamental building block of a just political system. A
political system characterised by unchecked power, such as
a monarchy or a dictatorship, cannot protect the life and
liberty of its citizens. Therefore, the main concern of
liberalism is to construct institutions that protect individual
freedom by limiting and checking political power. While
these are issues of domestic politics, the realm of IR is also
important to liberals because a state’s activities abroad can
have a strong influence on liberty at home. Liberals are
particularly troubled by militaristic foreign policies. The
primary concern is that war requires states to build up
military power. This power can be used for fighting foreign
states, but it can also be used to oppress its own citizens.
For this reason, political systems rooted in liberalism often
limit military power by such means as ensuring civilian
control over the military.
Wars of territorial expansion, or imperialism – when
states seek to build empires by taking territory overseas –
are especially disturbing for liberals. Not only do
expansionist wars strengthen the state at the expense of the
people, these wars also require long-term commitments to
the military occupation and political control of foreign
territory and peoples. Occupation and control require large
bureaucracies that have an interest in maintaining or
expanding the occupation of foreign territory. For liberals,
therefore, the core problem is how to develop a political
system that can allow states to protect themselves from
foreign threats without subverting the individual liberty of
its citizenry. The primary institutional check on power in
 8 International Relations and Area Studies
liberal states is free and fair elections via which the people
can remove their rulers from power, providing a fundamental
check on the behaviour of the government. A second
important limitation on political power is the division of
political power among different branches and levels of
government – such as a parliament/congress, an executive
and a legal system. This allows for checks and balances in
the use of power.
Democratic peace theory is perhaps the strongest
contribution liberalism makes to IR theory. It asserts that
democratic states are highly unlikely to go to war with one
another. There is a two-part explanation for this phenomenon.
First, democratic states are characterised by internal restraints
on power, as described above. Second, democracies tend to
see each other as legitimate and unthreatening and therefore
have a higher capacity for cooperation with each other than
they do with non-democracies. Statistical analysis and
historical case studies provide strong support for democratic
peace theory, but several issues continue to be debated.
First, democracy is a relatively recent development in human
history. This means there are few cases of democracies having
the opportunity to fight one another. Second, we cannot be
sure whether it is truly a ‘democratic’ peace or whether
some other factors correlated with democracy are the source
of peace – such as power, alliances, culture, economics and
so on. A third point is that while democracies are unlikely
to go to war with one another, some scholars suggests that
they are likely to be aggressive toward non-democracies –
such as when the United States went to war with Iraq in
2003. Despite the debate, the possibility of a democratic
peace gradually replacing a world of constant war – as
described by realists – is an enduring and important facet
of liberalism.
We currently live in an international system structured
by the liberal world order built after the Second World War
(1939–1945). The international institutions, organisations
and norms (expected behaviours) of this world order are
built on the same foundations as domestic liberal institutions
and norms; the desire to restrain the violent power of states.
Yet, power is more diluted and dispersed internationally
than it is within states. For example, under international
law, wars of aggression are prohibited. There is no
international police force to enforce this law, but an aggressor
knows that when breaking this law it risks considerable
international backlash. For example, states – either
individually or as part of a collective body like the United
Nations – can impose economic sanctions or intervene
militarily against the offending state. Furthermore, an
aggressive state also risks missing out on the benefits of
peace, such as the gains from international trade, foreign aid
and diplomatic recognition.
The fullest account of the liberal world order is found
in the work of Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry
(1999), who describe three interlocking factors:
First, international law and agreements are accompanied
by international organisations to create an international
system that goes significantly beyond one of just states.
The archetypal example of such an organisation is the United
Nations, which pools resources for common goals (such as
ameliorating climate change), provides for near constant
diplomacy between enemies and friends alike and gives all
member states a voice in the international community.
Second, the spread of free trade and capitalism through
the efforts of powerful liberal states and international
organisations like the World Trade Organization, the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank creates
an open, market-based, international economic system. This
situation is mutually beneficial as a high level of trade
between states decreases conflict and makes war less likely,
since war would disrupt or cancel the benefits (profits) of
trade. States with extensive trade ties are therefore strongly
incentivised to maintain peaceful relations. By this
calculation, war is not profitable, but detrimental to the
state.
The third element of the liberal international order is
international norms. Liberal norms favour international
cooperation, human rights, democracy and rule of law. When
a state takes actions contrary to these norms, they are subject
to various types of costs. However, international norms are
often contested because of the wide variation in values
around the globe. Nevertheless, there are costs for violating
liberal norms. The costs can be direct and immediate. For
example, the European Union placed an arms sale embargo
on China following its violent suppression of pro-democracy
protesters in 1989. The embargo continues to this day. The
costs can also be less direct, but equally as significant. For
example, favourable views of the United States decreased
significantly around the world following the 2003 invasion
of Iraq because the invasion was undertaken unilaterally
(outside established United Nations rules) in a move that
was widely deemed illegitimate.
Most liberal scholars today focuses on how international
organisations foster cooperation by helping states overcome
the incentive to escape from international agreements. This
type of scholars is commonly referred to as ‘neoliberal
institutionalism’ – often shortened to just ‘neoliberalism’.
This often causes confusion as neoliberalism is also a term
used outside IR theory to describe a widespread economic
ideology of deregulation, privatisation, low taxes, austerity
(public spending cuts) and free trade. The essence of
neoliberalism, when applied within IR, is that states can
benefit significantly from cooperation if they trust one
another to live up to their agreements. In situations where
a state can gain from cheating and escape punishment,
defection is likely. However, when a third party (such as an
impartial international organisation) is able to monitor the
behaviour of signatories to an agreement and provide

information to both sides, the incentive to defect decreases
and both sides can commit to cooperate. In these cases, all
signatories to the agreement can benefit from absolute gains.
Absolute gains refer to a general increase in welfare for all
parties concerned – everyone benefits to some degree, though
not necessarily equally. Liberal theorists argue that states
care more about absolute gains than relative gains. Relative
gains, which relate closely to realist accounts, describe a
situation where a state measures its increase in welfare
relative to other states and may shy away from any
agreements that make a competitor stronger. By focusing on
the more optimistic viewpoint of absolute gains and
providing evidence of its existence via international
organisations, liberals see a world where states will likely
cooperate in any agreement where any increase in prosperity
is probable.
A core argument of liberalism is that concentrations of
unaccountable violent power are the fundamental threat to
individual liberty and must be restrained. The primary means
of restraining power are institutions and norms at both
domestic and international level. At the international level
institutions and organisations limit the power of states by
fostering cooperation and providing a means for imposing
costs on states that violate international agreements.
Economic institutions are particularly effective at fostering
cooperation because of the substantial benefits that can be
derived from economic interdependence. Finally, liberal
norms add a further limitation on the use of power by
shaping our understanding of what types of behaviour are
appropriate. Today, it is clear that liberalism is not a
‘utopian’ theory describing a dream world of peace and
happiness as it was once accused of being. It provides a
consistent rejoinder to realism, firmly rooted in evidence
and a deep theoretical tradition.
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL
The English school provides the basis for the study of
international and world history in terms of the social
structures of international orders. Unlike many theories that
claim a certain sector of the subject of International
Relations, the English school provides a holistic approach
to the subject, attempting to see the world as a whole.
English school theory is built around establishing distinctions
between three key concepts: international system,
international society and world society. By doing so it
opens up a new space in IR theory and offers a middle
ground between the opposing theories of realism and
liberalism.
The Basics of the English School
The English school is built around three key concepts:
international system, international society and world
society. Hedley Bull (1977) defined the international system
International Relations and Area Studies 9
as being formed ‘when two or more states have sufficient
contact between them, and have sufficient impact on one
another’s decisions to cause them to behave as parts of a
whole.’ According to this definition, the international system
is mainly about power politics among states whose actions
are conditioned by the structure of international anarchy.
An international society exists when a group of like-minded
states ‘conceive themselves to be bound by a common set
of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the
working of common institutions’ (Bull 1977). In other words,
international society is about the creation and maintenance
of shared norms, rules and institutions. Finally, world society
is more fundamental than international society because ‘the
ultimate units of the great society of all mankind are not
states … but individual human beings’ (Bull 1977). Thus,
world society transcends the state system and takes
individuals, non-state actors and ultimately the global
population as the focus of global societal identities and
arrangements. It is important to note here that in the English
school the term ‘institution’ is different to the term
‘organisation’. According to English school thought,
‘institutions’ refer to long-term practices among states (such
as diplomacy, law and war) rather than to international
bureaucratic structures (organisations) that may be
established to facilitate state interaction. To refer to
international organisations, the English school uses the term
‘pseudo-institutions’ or ‘secondary institutions’ to show that
the effectiveness of international organisations depends on
the function of an international society’s primary institutions.
The distinction between an international system and an
international society helps us distinguish the pattern and
character of relations among and between certain states and
groups of states. For example, historically there was an
essential difference between the type of relations among the
European states and the type of their relations with the
Ottoman Empire. Relations among the European states
reflected the existence of a European international society,
while relations between the European states and the Ottoman
Empire reflected the existence of an international system.
Likewise, the interaction among the European Union’s
member states reflects the existence of an international
society, while the interaction of the European Union itself
with Turkey (a non-member) describes interaction within a
broader international system. Despite its usefulness, the
distinction between an international system and an
international society invited considerable criticism because
even in an international system one could observe the
existence of some rules and the operation of some
institutions. This debate has resulted in the acceptance of
the premise that an international system constitutes a weak
or ‘thin’ form of an international society.
Throughout the bulk of history, there was not any
single international system or society. Instead, there were
several regional international societies, each with its own
2105 (MA–IR)—2
 10 International Relations and Area Studies
distinctive rules and institutions. All were built upon
elaborate civilisations, including distinctive religions,
different systems of governance, different types of law and
different conceptions of the world. This, in turn, implied
that relations between political entities that were members
of different regional international societies could not be
conducted on the same moral and legal basis as relations
within the same society, because the rules of each individual
regional society were culturally particular and exclusive.
There was no single agreed body of rules and institutions
operating across the boundaries of any two or more regional
international societies to speak for a broad international
society. Moreover, contacts between regional international
societies were much more limited than contacts within them.
Thus, the emergence of a truly universal international society
would not be possible unless one of the regional
international societies could expand itself to the degree that
it could merge all the others into a single universal society
organised around a common body of rules and values.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
international society came to be regarded as a privileged
association of European and ‘civilised’ states, which had
visible expression in certain institutions such as international
law, diplomacy and the balance of power. There was a sense
that European powers were bound by a code of conduct in
their dealings with one another and that this code did not
apply in their dealings with other societies. Nineteenth-
century international lawyers perpetuated the cultural duality
between Europeans and non-Europeans and between
‘civilised’ and ‘non-civilised’ peoples. The distinction
between ‘civilised’ and ‘barbarous’ humanity meant that
states belonging to either category were accorded different
stages of legal recognition. As the European international
society spread over the world, many non-European states
sought to join international society. Thus, the European
states needed to define the conditions under which non-
European political entities would be admitted. The result
was the establishment of a standard of ‘civilisation’, which
reflected the norms of the liberal European civilisation.
The standard of civilisation included such elements as
the guarantee of basic human rights and the maintenance of
a domestic legal system guaranteeing justice for all. Thus,
by definition, countries unwilling or unable to guarantee
such rights could not be considered ‘civilised’. Consequently,
non-European candidate states were judged not only by
how they conducted their foreign relations but also by how
they governed themselves. The process also led to the
creation of hierarchical relations between two new categories
of states: the ‘civilisers’ and the ‘civilisees’. Or to put it
another way, the ‘teachers’ and the ‘pupils’.
A new international society emerged following the end
of the First World War (1914–1918), watermarked by the
establishment of the League of Nations in 1920. The latter’s
design for a new global international society incorporated
almost all the rules and practices that had developed in the
European international society, including its international
law and diplomacy, as well as its basic assumptions about
sovereignty and the judicial equality of states recognised as
independent members of the society. The impetus for the
League came not from Europe, but from an American
president, Woodrow Wilson – signifying a change in the
nature of the international order. The outbreak of the Second
World War in 1939 interrupted the functioning of the League
and consequently led to the destruction of that particular
international society. The establishment of the United
Nations (UN) in 1945 constituted the expression of yet
another new international society. In fact, many principles
and structures found in the League were replicated by the
United Nations. Meanwhile, the standard of ‘civilisation’
was insulting to representatives of non-European
civilisations since the privileged legal status which European
states claimed for themselves meant not only the division
of the world between ‘civilised’ and ‘non-civilised’ states
but also the maintenance of a hierarchical relationship
among states. Consequently, non-European states and
colonised communities began campaigning against the
‘standard of civilisation’, which was eventually abolished
when the decolonisation process commenced – heralding
the end of the age of empire and imperialism. The emergence
of the bipolar world of the Cold War (1947–1991), when
two superpowers divided the world into their respective
orbits, led to the division of the relatively ‘thin’ new global
international society into two sub-global ‘thicker’
international societies: one associated with the United States
and one with the Soviet Union. The end of the Cold War
in 1991 meant two things: first, the division of the global
international society ceased to exist; and second, a set of
regional international societies with different degrees of
‘thickness’ gradually emerged within the confines of the
‘thinner’ global international society.
A key debate within the English school revolves around
pluralism and solidarism. Pluralism refers to international
societies with a relatively low degree of shared norms, rules
and institutions. Solidarism refers to types of international
society with a relatively high degree of shared norms, rules
and institutions. The pluralist/solidarist debate is basically
about how international society relates to world society or,
in other words, to people. The main question has been how
to reduce the tension between the needs and imperatives of
states and the needs and imperatives of humankind. These
are regularly in conflict both in real world situations and in
the theory. Most English school scholars operate within this
debate, taking the tension between the imperatives of order
and justice as the core problem to be addressed.
Important to the pluralist/solidarist debate are questions
about whether international law should include natural law
or positive law. Natural law is a philosophy that advocates
that certain rights or values are inherent by virtue of human

nature and can be universally understood through human
reason. In other words, natural law refers to a body of
unchanging moral principles regarded as a basis for all
human conduct. Positive law, on the other hand, refers to
human-made laws of a given community, society or state.
This debate manifests most acutely between states’ claims
to sovereignty (via pluralism) on the one hand and the idea
that universal rights are vested in people (via solidarism) on
the other. A quick example to demonstrate this would be to
use the case of Syria. A pluralist reading would state that
despite terrible atrocities since 2011 as the state has
collapsed in a brutal civil war, Syria is a sovereign country
and responsible for its own territory and people. A solidarist
position would stress the overriding obligation to protect
human life and intervene in Syria’s civil war. Both positions
would suggest a very different type of international society.
Pluralism and solidarism, while seemingly opposites, are
the framing principles for a debate about the limits and
possibilities of international society. This debate is mostly
about how best to reconcile the desires and needs of both
people and states. In this sense, the English school is an
essential tool within IR theory that tries to find a working
balance between how power, interests and standards of justice
and responsibility operate in international society.
Two important debates have taken place within the
English school. First, whether the distinction between an
international system and an international society is valid
and, if yes, then where does the boundary line between the
two forms of international order lie. The second turns on
pluralist versus solidarist understandings and the relationship
between international society and world society. The first
debate has resulted in the acceptance of the premise that an
international system constitutes a weak/thin form of an
international society. Although the pluralist/solidarist debate
is still ongoing, one should recognise that certain changes
in international society (e.g. a shift from a world of perpetual
war pre-1945 to a world of relative peace post- 1945) are
accompanied by some other important developments in
world society. For example, there has been a growing demand
for human rights as people increasingly understand that
they are embedded in a single global economy and a single
global environment. At the same time, technology and social
media enable widely shared experiences. These
developments have led to an increased interplay between
international society and world society that has the potential
of stabilising international society by embedding ideas not
just in the minds of political and economic elites but also
in the minds of ordinary citizens.
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Constructivism’s arrival in IR is often associated with the
end of the Cold War, an event that the traditional theories
such as realism and liberalism failed to account for. This
failure can be linked to some of their core tenets, such as
International Relations and Area Studies 11
the conviction that states are self-interested actors who
compete for power and the unequal power distribution among
states which defines the balance of power between them. By
having a dominant focus on the state, traditional theories
have not opened much space to observe the agency of
individuals. After all, it was the actions of ordinary people
that ensured the end of the Cold War, not those of states or
international organisations. Constructivism accounts for this
issue by arguing that the social world is of our making
(Onuf 1989). Actors (usually powerful ones, like leaders and
influential citizens) continually shape – and sometimes
reshape – the very nature of international relations through
their actions and interactions.
The Basics of Constructivism
Constructivism sees the world, and what we can know about
the world, as socially constructed. This view refers to the
nature of reality and the nature of knowledge that are also
called ontology and epistemology in research language.
Alexander Wendt (1995) offers an excellent example that
illustrates the social construction of reality when he explains
that 500 British nuclear weapons are less threatening to the
United States than five North Korean nuclear weapons. These
identifications are not caused by the nuclear weapons (the
material structure) but rather by the meaning given to the
material structure (the ideational structure). It is important
to understand that the social relationship between the United
States and Britain and the United States and North Korea is
perceived in a similar way by these states, as this shared
understanding (or intersubjectivity) forms the basis of their
interactions. The example also shows that nuclear weapons
by themselves do not have any meaning unless we
understand the social context. It further demonstrates that
constructivists go beyond the material reality by including
the effect of ideas and beliefs on world politics. This also
entails that reality is always under construction, which opens
the prospect for change. In other words, meanings are not
fixed but can change over time depending on the ideas and
beliefs that actors hold.
Constructivists argue that agency and structure are
mutually constituted, which implies that structures influence
agency and that agency influences structures. Agency can
be understood as the ability of someone to act, whereas
structure refers to the international system that consists of
material and ideational elements. Returning to Wendt’s
example discussed above, this means that the social relation
of enmity between the United States and North Korea
represents the inter-subjective structure (that is, the shared
ideas and beliefs among both states), whereas the United
States and North Korea are the actors who have the capacity
(that is, agency) to change or reinforce the existing structure
or social relationship of enmity. This change or
reinforcement ultimately depends on the beliefs and ideas
held by both states. If these beliefs and ideas change, the
social relationship can change to one of friendship. This
 12 International Relations and Area Studies
stance differs considerably from that of realists, who argue
that the anarchic structure of the international system
determines the behaviour of states. Constructivists, on the
other hand, argue that ‘anarchy is what states make of it’
(Wendt 1992). This means that anarchy can be interpreted
in different ways depending on the meaning that actors
assign to it.
Another central issue to constructivism is identities and
interests. Constructivists argue that states can have multiple
identities that are socially constructed through interaction
with other actors. Identities are representations of an actor’s
understanding of who they are, which in turn signals their
interests. They are important to constructivists as they argue
that identities constitute interests and actions. For example,
the identity of a small state implies a set of interests that are
different from those implied by the identity of a large state.
The small state is arguably more focused on its survival,
whereas the large state is concerned with dominating global
political, economic and military affairs. It should be noted,
though, that the actions of a state should be aligned with
its identity. A state can thus not act contrary to its identity
because this will call into question the validity of the
identity, including its preferences. This issue might explain
why Germany, despite being a great power with a leading
global economy, did not become a military power in the
second half of the twentieth century. Following the atrocities
of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime during the Second World War,
German political identity shifted from one of militarism to
pacifism due to unique historical circumstances.
Social norms are also central to constructivism. These
are generally defined as ‘a standard of appropriate behaviour
for actors with a given identity’ (Katzenstein 1996). States
that conform to a certain identity are expected to comply
with the norms that are associated with that identity. This
idea comes with an expectation that some kinds of behaviour
and action are more acceptable than others. This process is
also known as ‘the logic of appropriateness’, where actors
behave in certain ways because they believe that this
behaviour is appropriate (March and Olsen 1998). To better
understand norms, we can identify three types: regulative
norms, constitutive norms and prescriptive norms. Regulative
norms order and constrain behaviour; constitutive norms
create new actors, interests or categories of action; and
prescriptive norms prescribe certain norms, meaning there
are no bad norms from the perspective of those who promote
them (Finnemore and Sikkink 1998). It is also important to
note that norms go through a ‘lifecycle of norms’ before
they can get accepted. A norm only becomes an expected
behaviour when a critical mass of relevant state actors adopt
it and internalise it in their own practices. For example,
constructivists would argue that the bulk of states have
come together to develop climate change mitigation policies
because it is the right thing to do for the survival of
humanity. This has, over decades of diplomacy and
advocacy, become an appropriate behaviour that the bulk
of citizens expect their leaders to adhere to. Liberals, on the
other hand, might reject the notion of climate change politics
in favour of continued economic growth and pursuing
innovative scientific solutions, while realists might reject it
due to the damage that climate policies may do to shorter-
term national interests.
Although all constructivists share the above-mentioned
views and concepts, there is considerable variety within
constructivism. Conventional constructivists ask ‘what’-type
questions – such as what causes an actor to act. They
believe that it is possible to explain the world in causal
terms and are interested in discovering the relationships
between actors, social norms, interests and identities.
Conventional constructivists assume, for instance, that actors
act according to their identity and that it is possible to
predict when this identity becomes visible or not. When an
identity is seen to be under-going changes, conventional
constructivists investigate what factors caused which aspects
of a state’s identity to change. Critical constructivists, on
the other hand, ask ‘how’-type questions such as how do
actors come to believe in a certain identity. Contrary to
conventional constructivists, they are not interested in the
effect that this identity has. Instead, critical constructivists
want to reconstruct an identity – that is, find out what are
its component parts – which they believe are created through
written or spoken communication among and between
peoples. Language plays a key role for critical constructivists
because it constructs, and has the ability to change, social
reality.
Most constructivists, however, position themselves
between these two more extreme ends of the spectrum.
Constructivism is often said to simply state the obvious
– that actions, interactions and perceptions shape reality.
Indeed, that idea is the source of the name of this theory
family. Our thoughts and actions literally construct
international relations. Yet, this seemingly simple idea, when
applied theoretically, has significant implications for how
we can understand the world. The discipline of International
Relations benefits from constructivism as it addresses issues
and concepts that are neglected by mainstream theories –
especially realism. Doing so, constructivists offer alternative
explanations and insights for events occurring in the social
world. They show, for instance, that it is not only the
distribution of material power, wealth and geographical
conditions that can explain state behaviour but also ideas,
identities and norms. Furthermore, their focus on ideational
factors shows that reality is not fixed, but rather subject to
change.
MARXISM
Marxism is both a critical approach that wants to always
question the mainstream policy-driven approaches to IR
theory and a classical approach via the philosophical and

sociological tradition of its namesake, the philosopher Karl
Marx (1818–1883). In fact, Marxism is the only theoretical
perspective in IR that is named after a person. Of the range
of great thinkers available to us, Marx may not automatically
qualify as being the most ‘internationalist’. In fact, most of
Marx’s (and his sometimes co-author Friedrich Engels’) work
was not primarily concerned with the formation of states or
even the interactions between them. What connected their
interests to IR was the industrial revolution, as this event
was ultimately what Marx was witnessing and trying to
understand. He, with Engels, developed a revolutionary
approach and outlined a set of concepts that transcended
national differences while also providing practical advice
on how to build a transnational movement of people.
Workers from factories across the world – the proletariat –
were to organise themselves into a politically revolutionary
movement to counter the exploitative and unequal effects
of capitalism, which were accelerated and expanded by the
industrial revolution. This vision of a potential link between
the bulk of humanity as a global proletariat is where, and
how, Marxism enters IR from a different vantage point to
other theories.
The Basics of Marxism
Marxist concepts are all connected by the common goal to
contribute to what they perceive as the greater good of
humankind and its environment. To borrow the words of
Adrienne Rich (2002), theory is
the seeing of patterns, showing the forest as well
as the trees – theory can be a dew that rises from
the earth and collects in the rain cloud and returns
to earth over and over. But if it doesn’t smell of
the earth, it isn’t good for the earth.
In other words, Marxists must remain informed and
reflective of the basic and most common aspects of societies
and their environment. This also means that if the industrial
revolution (and capitalism in general) smells of burning
coal, overcrowded factories and petrol fumes, the smells of
the next revolution should be less deadly, less polluting
and more protective of the earth. To understand Marxism,
we need to grasp the basic elements of Marx’s innovations
regarding the origins and functioning of capitalism. In
addition, we must understand that those origins and
functioning can simultaneously happen at the domestic and
international level. Combining these tasks leads to arguably
the most important contribution Marxism offers to IR: that
the capitalist mode of production and the modern sovereign
states system (that emerged roughly at the same time) are
not natural or inevitable events. They are interdependent
products of particular historical conditions and social
relations. The work of Marxists is to map and retrace those
conditions and social relations and to figure out how the
capitalist mode of production and the sovereign states system
emerged – as two sides of the same coin, as different coins
International Relations and Area Studies 13
or maybe as different currencies. Debates on the degree of
interdependence between these two major historical
phenomena may be ongoing, but Marxism’s achievement in
IR has been to stop us from thinking about them separately.
Marxism also advises that concepts are not just meant to
help us understand the world – they should also help us
change it.
To explain Marxism in IR, we need to start with Marx’s
main theory for the development of capitalism: historical
materialism. Most simply, historical materialism asserts that
human beings – including their relations with each other
and their environment – are determined by the material
conditions in which they can survive and reproduce.
Therefore, Marxism asserts that material conditions can be
changed by the actions of human beings as well as by
events – think of climate change for example, which depends
on physical phenomena as well as human behaviour. In
other words, these material conditions are historical, they
change over space and time. But they are also always
dependent on – and often hampered by – the processes and
ideas that preceded them, as the past weighs on the present.
A Marxist would stress that IR is not just about states’
foreign policy or the behaviour of politicians, but more
about survival (or more broadly, life), reproduction,
technologies and labour. If this is correct then the separation
between the political and economic, or public and private,
is problematic because those categories hide the ways in
which states and foreign policies are determined by the
social relations and structures of the global economy – such
as multinational corporations or international financial
institutions. Put differently, Marxism fundamentally
questions what ‘the international’ is in IR. Whether it is
anarchy for realists or international society for the English
school, Marxists argue that such concepts are problematic
because they make us believe in illusions or myths about
the world. For example, the concept of anarchy creates the
mirage that states are autonomous agents whose rational
behaviour can be predicted. However, this ignores the
endurance of regional inequalities and the structural and
historical links between states, violence and the key actors
of the global political economy.
The first application of Marxist ideas to explain
international processes was by comm unists and
revolutionaries of the early twentieth century such as Rosa
Luxemburg, Rudolf Hilferding and Vladimir Lenin. These
authors developed what we now call the classical theories
of imperialism to understand how capitalism expanded and
adapted to a world of inter-imperial rivalry leading to the
First World War and the slow disintegration of the European
empires.
In 1974, Immanuel Wallerstein developed ‘world
systems theory’ to incorporate the changes of the late
twentieth century and counter the way traditional approaches
tended to understand imperialism as a state-led process.
 14 International Relations and Area Studies
Wallerstein’s approach used different units of analysis and
took a much longer-term view of the history of states and
their interactions. He distinguished three groups of states or
regions: the core, the semi-periphery and the periphery. The
aim was to understand how states have developed since the
sixteenth century in relation to each other, thereby creating
relations of dependency between different groups of states
depending on the specific types of economies and industries
they specialised in. Therefore, these relations of dependency
and groups required that we understand the world through
broader units than states. These units – or world systems –
helped to address the dilemma of why states all became
capitalist, albeit in very unequal and different ways. The
core group of states (e.g. in Western Europe and North
America) refers to democratic governments providing high
wages and encouraging high levels of investment and
welfare services. The semi-periphery states (e.g. in Latin
America) are authoritarian governments that provide low
wages and poor welfare services for their citizens. Periphery
states (e.g. sub-Saharan and Central Africa, South Asia) refer
to non-democratic governments where workers can mostly
expect wages below subsistence levels and where there are
no welfare services.
The core is able to produce high-profit consumption
goods for itself as well as for the semi-periphery and
periphery markets because the periphery provides the cheap
labour and raw materials to the core and semi-periphery
necessary to make these high-profit consumption goods. In
other words, although historically some states have changed
their group (e.g. from periphery to semi-periphery), capitalism
always needs a peripheral region that provides the means
for the core to sustain a high level of consumption and
security. Thus, relations of dependency and inequality are
essential to capitalism and cannot be significantly reduced.
Another influential update of the classical theories of
imperialism is the neo-Gramscian strand of Marxism. Antonio
Gramsci’s (1891–1937) concept of hegemony is thought by
some to be more useful today than the concept of imperialism.
It emphasises two things. First, the domination of some
groups of individuals (or groups of states) over other groups
also depends on ideological factors. In other words,
capitalism is experienced in different ways historically and
across the globe because people understand it – and therefore
agree to or resist it – in different ways. Second, the relations
of dependency and types of groups (or units) used to
understand those relations are more varied and fluid than
world systems theory. Therefore, capitalism dominates our
social relations because it is reproduced through coercive
and consensual means. The concept was used to explain
why educated and organised workers in Western Europe did
not ‘unite’ to ‘lose their chains’, as Marx and Engels had
predicted. A neo-Gramscian concept of hegemony focuses
on the consensual ways in which transnational classes,
organisations and international law reproduce capitalism
and its inequalities. The transnational capitalist class –
dominated by great powers – forms a ‘global civil society’
that universalises liberal ideals rather than imposing itself
through more coercive processes of classical imperialism
and colonisation, as was the case in earlier times.
For example, Singapore, Hong-Kong, South Korea and
Taiwan were known as the Four Asian Tigers because of
their rapid industrialisation and high growth rates from the
1960s to the 1990s. In these countries, a strong ruling elite
consented to a specific type of financial economy – often
called a ‘neoliberal’ model – which also took hold across
the world to varying degrees as other states sought to emulate
this ‘success’. However, vast inequalities and human rights
violations are increasing across and within many societies
despite the dominance of neoliberalism globally. This shows
that although neoliberal hegemony is far from producing
the success it originally projected, this perceived success
remains one of the main drivers of capitalism because it
convinces people to consent to capitalism without the threat
of force.
A more recent trend of Marxism in IR – historical
sociology – returns to some of the more classical problems
of IR. Specifically, it looks at the development of the modern
state system in relation to the transition(s) to capitalism and
to the different moments of colonial and imperial expansion.
It looks more closely at what happened inside Europe but
also beyond Europe. More specifically, it contests the birth
of the sovereign states system following the treaties of
Westphalia in 1648 and instead focuses on more socio-
economic processes in the nineteenth century to define key
shifts in modern international relations. This underlines
how scholars are taking history beyond Europe in order to
address the Eurocentric assumptions found in Marxism and
in the wider discipline of IR itself.
In sum, Marxism is characterised by interdependence.
The Marxist term for this is dialectics, which underpins the
way in which all the previous concepts explored in this
chapter relate to each other. For Marxism, all concepts
reflect social relations, but categories take on a life of their
own and often hide those social relations. It is easy to
overcomplicate or abuse this concept. However, it is a crucial
starting point for understanding the world as a whole, rather
than just its individual parts, since ‘dialectics is a way of
thinking that brings into focus the full range of changes and
interactions that occur in the world’ (Ollman 2003).
Marxism, Migrants and Borders
A Marxist IR approach to migration shows the importance
of historical materialism as an approach to IR. First, Marxists
are critical of the fixed aspect of borders because they create
relations of dependency and inequality between peoples by
restricting and controlling their access to resources and
labour. Some Marxists argue that we need a global concept
of citizenship to counter how states exclude non-citizens
from benefits and access to labour and resources. After all,

from a Marxist point of view, peoples of all nations are
united in their oppression by capitalism and the modern
state system that separates them and sets them against each
other, so people should be freed (or emancipated) from this
status. Consequently, Marxists see borders as fixtures that
unfairly determine relations of dependency and inequality
– or in other words, who has the right to what. Second, we
need to think of who decides who is a migrant and what that
category entails. For example, being a migrant who is fleeing
a country because of persecution is a necessary condition
according to international law for applying for asylum and
becoming a refugee in a host state. Most states have signed
the 1951 Refugee Convention and have agreed to this
definition. Hence, the reality of being this particular type of
migrant is dependent on a specific treaty and the will of
states to consent to it. In other words, the category of
persecuted migrant or refugee is relative – it is not real in
the sense that the colour of your eyes is real and cannot be
decided differently by someone else.
People who flee from poverty related to conflict, climate
change, or lack of jobs are often designated as economic
migrants. Their status does not depend on a definition as
clear as that of a refugee, and it also does not lead to the
same rights and opportunities. Many people move towards
Europe because it offers more economic opportunities and
a relatively safer political environment. However, decisions
at the European and state level are increasingly resulting in
the strengthening (or closing) of borders, because some feel
that economic migration is not a sufficient reason to freely
admit a person. In contrast, being an economic migrant who
has a particular skill needed by the host country is
considered legitimate. In other words, the ‘reality’ of being
a ‘good’ economic migrant – who is allowed to move across
countries – depends on factors that are often independent
of the person migrating.
Marxism provides us with an original angle that makes
us reconsider migration and shows why closing borders is
a sociologically and politically blind policy in relation to
the system we all live in. In effect, capitalism started a
simultaneous process of territorial bordering and of social
change through wage-labour. Mainstream IR separates those
processes historically and theoretically by taking the
separation between the domestic and international as fixed
and real. Marxism argues that this leads to obscuring the
social relations and processes linking movements of people
and the creation of borders. In other words, dissociating the
domestic and international levels leads to thinking that
being a migrant is the reserve of certain people rather than
a condition we are all subjected to. Crucially, it justifies
treating migrants as second-class people and therefore leads
to further racial and social inequalities.
Movement of peoples occurred long before capitalism,
but capitalism shapes those movements in conjunction with
the creation of borders and economic productivity. The
International Relations and Area Studies 15
process of enclosure at the beginning of capitalism led to
people moving away from the land on which they hunted,
gathered and grew food. The process involved landowners
closing off or fencing common land so as to graze sheep
and develop more intensive methods of agriculture. This
gradually transformed social relations – the ways in which
people could survive and reproduce. Without land to survive
on, people had to start selling their ability to work – what
Marxists call labour power – and often had to work far from
their homes. Although people move for a variety of reasons,
one that is particularly familiar is the necessity to move to
sell our labour. This can involve transferring from the
countryside to an urban centre within a state or from one
state to another. In other words, it is the same imperative to
work that makes this move happen, whether one crosses an
international border or not. In a capitalist system, it is hard
to survive without working and working implies moving or
being prepared to move. In other words, we are all in theory
migrants. Acknowledging this means that closing borders,
which involves fixing peoples’ status as ‘good’ or ‘bad’
economic migrants, is based on two illusions revealed by
Marxism and should therefore be questioned and
reconsidered. The first is the distinction between domestic
and international. Capitalism is an expanding international
system and allows domestic borders only in so far as it can
transcend them economically. The second illusion is the
distinction between categories of people as real and fixed.
Capitalism allows the elite to transcend borders economically
but also allows the potential to close them politically. Thus,
it allows certain people (the most wealthy) to decide that
others (the least wealthy) cannot try and change their
situations.
The role of theories and knowledge more generally is
to reveal what is real and what is an illusion. Historical
materialism – the theory that drives Marxism – tries to
apply this advice by grounding the understanding of
international relations in the ways in which people have
transformed the land, produced things on it and are ultimately
dependent on its resources for shaping political institutions
such as the state and international organisations. Marxism
has made several inroads in the development of the
discipline of IR by being intrinsically concerned with the
ways in which people – and groups – interact and produce
things across borders, as well as how they organise themselves
through institutions to manage and contest the production
and distribution of things across the world. More specifically,
it argues that the construction of modern borders is
determined by, or linked in various ways to, the development
of capitalism. Therefore, it makes us question the natural or
inevitable character we tend to ascribe to our economic and
political systems. In other words, if a system is not as real
and fixed as we first thought, because it has a particular and
relatively short history in the broader course of humanity,
then it becomes much easier for us to imagine the various
ways it is challenged and how it could be transformed to a
 16 International Relations and Area Studies
system that, Marxists hope, will better redistribute the wealth
of the world. Marx himself wrote that philosophy is often
too concerned with interpreting the world, when the real
point is to change it. Marxism as a theory of IR has certainly
answered that call and, regardless of variations within the
theory family, to be a Marxist always means to challenge
one’s ideas about the world.
CRITICAL THEORY
Critical theory incorporates a wide range of approaches all
focused on the idea of freeing people from the modern state
and economic system – a concept known to critical theorists
as emancipation. The idea originates from the work of
authors such as Immanuel Kant and Karl Marx who, in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, advanced different
revolutionary ideas of how the world could be reordered
and transformed. Both Kant and Marx held a strong
attachment to the Enlightenment theme of universalism –
the view that there are social and political principles that
are apparent to all people, everywhere. In the modern era,
both authors became foundational figures for theorists
seeking to replace the modern state system by promoting
more just global political arrangements such as a federation
of free states living in perpetual peace (Kant) or communism
as a global social and economic system to replace the
unequal capitalist order (Marx). Critical theory sets out to
critique repressive social practices and institutions in today’s
world and advance emancipation by supporting ideas and
practices that meet the universalist principles of justice.
This kind of critique has a transformative dimension in the
sense that it aims at changing national societies, international
relations and the emerging global society, starting from
alternative ideas and practices lingering in the background
of the historical process.
The Basics of Critical Theory
Although critical theory reworks and, in some ways,
supersedes Kantian and Marxian themes, both authors remain
at the base of the theory’s lineage. Through critical
philosophy, Kant discussed the conditions in which we
make claims about the world and asserted that the increasing
interconnectedness of his time opened the door for more
cosmopolitan (i.e. supranational) political communities.
Marx’s critical mode of inquiry was grounded on the will
to understand social developments in industrialised societies,
including the contradictions inherent in capitalism that
would lead to its collapse, the suppression of labour
exploitation and the setting up of a more just system of
global social relations. This way, the writings of Kant and
Marx converge to demonstrate that what happens at the
level of international relations is crucial to the achievement
of human emancipation and global freedom. Consequently,
the tracing of tangible social and political possibilities or
change (those stemming from within existing practices and
institutions) became a defining feature of the strand of
critical thought entering IR via authors reworking Marxian
and Kantian themes during the twentieth century.
Of course, neither Marx nor Kant were IR theorists in
the contemporary sense. Both were philosophers. We must
therefore identify two more recent sources for how critical
theory developed within the modern discipline of IR. The
first is Antonio Gramsci and his influence over Robert Cox
and the paradigm of production (economic patterns involved
in the production of goods and the social and political
relationships they entail). The second is the Frankfurt school
– Jürgen Habermas in particular – and the influence of
Habermas over Andrew Linklater and the paradigm of
communication (patterns of rationality involved in human
communication and the ethical principles they entail). There
are two themes uniting these approaches that show the
connective glue within the critical theorist family. First,
they both use emancipation as a principle to critique, or
assess, society and the global political order. Second, they
both detect the potential for emancipation developing within
the historical process, but consider that it may not be
inevitable. The paradigms of redistribution and recognition
relate to what Nancy Fraser (1995) has called the two main
axes of contemporary political struggle. While redistribution
struggles refer directly to the Marxist themes of class
struggles and social emancipation, recognition struggles
have to do with aspirations to freedom and justice connected
to gender, sexuality, race and national recognition. Therefore,
while Cox focuses on contemporary redistribution struggles,
Linklater turns to questions of identity and community as
more significant than economic relations in today’s quest
for emancipation.
Cox sets out to challenge realism’s assumptions, namely
the study of interstate relations in isolation from other social
forces. He stresses the need to see global politics as a
collective construction evolving through the complex
interplay of state, sub-state and trans-state forces in
economic, cultural and ideological spheres. His purpose is
to pay attention to the whole range of spheres where change
is needed in contemporary global politics. For example,
when realism focuses only on great powers and strategic
stability, it ends up reinforcing a set of unjust global relations
stemming from power and coercion. For this reason, Cox
challenges the idea that ‘truth’ is absolute – as in realism’s
assertion that there is a timeless logic to international
relations, or liberalism’s assertion that the pursuit of global
capitalism is positive. Instead, he asserts that ‘theory is
always for someone and for some purpose’ (Cox 1981).
Drawing on Gramsci, Cox comes up with a picture of the
world political system brought into being by the hegemony
and hierarchies of power manufactured in the economic
arena. Therefore, power is understood in the context of a set
of globalised relations of production demanding the

transformation of the nation-state, and depends on the
combination of material elements and ideas for acquiring
legitimacy (Cox and Jacobsen 1977). Cox explores the
economic contradictions spurring change in power relations
and guiding transitions towards a fairer world order, even if
acknowledging that emancipation is not inevitable.
As Hutchings (2001) points out, the critical project
connecting Linklater to Cox sets out to uncover all sorts of
hegemonic interests feeding the world order as a first step
to overcome global systems of exclusion and inequality.
Linklater’s critical project aims at reconstructing
cosmopolitanism, drawing not from some abstract or utopian
moral principle but from non-instrumental action and ideal
speech (open and non-coercive communication) assumptions
developed by Habermas. Ideal speech is the critical tool
used in the reconstruction of political communities (from
local to global levels) through open dialogue and non-
coercive communication, a process whereby all affected by
political decisions put forward their claims and justify them
on the basis of rational and universally accepted principles
of validity. This method poses questions of the ‘good life’
(what a society ought to be like) and questions of justice
(fairness in the way members of a society choose what their
society ought to be like).
Thus, emancipation is conceived not with reference to
an abstract universal idea but based on a process of open
discussion about who can be excluded legitimately from
specific political arrangem ents and what kinds of
particularities (gender, race, language) entitle people to
special sets of rights. For Linklater, the historical
development of citizenship attests to both the potential and
the limitations of such a process of open discussion about
rights – who is entitled to what in the context of the state
system. Citizenship has been the critical concept and set of
practices permitting the enjoyment of universal rights inside
a community (freedom of conscience, freedom of movement,
freedom of association), but also the protection of vulnerable
minorities by granting them particular rights in order to
avoid or mitigate the effects of discrimination. On the other
hand, however, citizenship has divided humanity into
national groupings and has therefore been a barrier to the
universal fulfilment of human freedom.
According to Linklater then, emancipation demands
global interactions guided by open, inclusive and non-
coercive dialogue about the ties that bind communities
together. This also extends to our obligations to strangers
and how fair it is to restrict outsiders from the enjoyment
of rights granted to insiders. For Linklater, the answer lies
in the potential for a more universal concept of citizenship,
refashioned through open dialogue among those affected
by the global processes that are changing the world. These
processes are issues like non-state forms of violence (such
as sexual violence and terrorism), forced migration, climate
change and resource depletion. Therefore, critical theory
International Relations and Area Studies 17
can be seen as an instrument of the powerless to advance
more equitable types of global relations. More importantly
for us, within IR theory it combats the traditional approaches,
mainly liberalism and realism, and shines a light on how
they feed the imbalances of an unjust global order by failing
to question (or critique) their foundational claims. Linklater’s
work is marked by the awareness that modernity is an
unfinished project in its potential for accomplishing human
freedom, namely through the transformation of the
competitive system of separate states into a global
community.
By admitting that immediate security needs press
humans to set up bounded communities and to act according
to national loyalties, Linklater recognises the limits to
cosmopolitan politics. At the same time however, he
underlines that there is a growing awareness that global
interconnectedness and vulnerabilities impose their
consequences on how communities define themselves and
live side by side with others. Proximity with strangers
prompts, for instance, a heightened sense of sharing a finite
planet and finite resources and leads individuals to question
exclusive obligations to the state in favour of a degree of
cosmopolitan responsibility towards those who do not
belong to one’s national community.
Accordingly, Linklater explores the moral tensions
emerging between humanity and citizenship (‘humans’ and
‘citizens’) in order to devise practical possibilities for
creating more inclusive communities, with a civilising effect
upon the conduct of international relations. Linklater does
not underestimate the historical movement towards the
creation of bounded moral communities (nation-states) but
also sees potential within the historical process to enhance
the expansion of rights and duties beyond the state. The
fact that it has been possible for states in the modern
international system to agree upon the protection of human
rights and the political relevance of avoiding human wrongs
is a sign of the relevance of these ideas.
What unites critical theorists like Cox, Linklater and
others, then, is a political inquiry with an explicit
emancipatory purpose. It aims at uncovering the potential
for a fairer system of global relations resulting from already
existing principles, practices and communities that expands
human rights and prevents harm to strangers.
POSTSTRUCTURALISM
Poststructuralism encourages a way of looking at the world
that challenges what comes to be accepted as ‘truth’ and
‘knowledge’. Poststructuralists always call into question
how certain accepted ‘facts’ and ‘beliefs’ actually work to
reinforce the dominance and power of particular actors
within international relations. Poststructuralism doubts the
possibility of attaining universal laws or truths as there is
no world that exists independently of our own interpretations.
This viewpoint is underscored by Foucault’s (1984) assertion
2105 (MA–IR)—3
 18 International Relations and Area Studies
that ‘we must not imagine the world turns towards us a
legible face which we would only have to decipher’. For
this reason, poststructuralists encourage researchers to be
sceptical of universal narratives that attempt to offer an
objective worldview, as these assumptions are heavily
influenced by pre-existing assumptions of what is true –
and usually underlined by the views of those in power. This
renders poststructuralism openly critical of any theory that
claims to be able to identify objective fact – as truth and
knowledge are subjective entities that are produced rather
than discovered. Therefore, by design, poststructuralism
conflicts with the bulk of other IR theories as it finds them
unable (or unwilling) to fully account for the true diversity
of international relations.
The Basics of Poststructuralism
Poststructuralists argue that ‘knowledge’ comes to be
accepted as such due to the power and prominence of certain
actors in society known as ‘elites’, who then impose it upon
others. Elites take on a range of forms and occupy many
different roles in contemporary society. For instance, they
include government ministers who decide policy focus and
direction for a state, business leaders who leverage vast
financial resources to shape market direction, and media
outlets that decide how a person is portrayed while reporting
a story. Additionally, elites are often also categorised as
‘experts’ within society, giving them the authority to further
reinforce the viewpoints that serve their best interests to a
wide audience. Jenny Edkins (2006) uses the example of
famines to show that when elite actors refer to famine as a
natural disaster, they are removing the event from its political
context. Therefore, the ways that famines occur as a result
of elites taking particular forms of political action, through
processes of exploitation or inaction due to profits on
increased food prices, are lost when they are presented as
unavoidable natural disasters.
Although great emphasis and focus is placed upon the
authority of the elite actors to decide what we count as
valid know ledge and assum ptions w ithin society,
poststructuralism asserts that the way in which this power
is achieved is through the manipulation of discourse.
Discourses facilitate the process by which certain information
comes to be accepted as unquestionable truth. Discourses
which augment the power of elites are called dominant or
official discourses by poststructuralists. The strength of
dominant discourses lies in their ability to shut out other
options or opinions to the extent that thinking outside the
realms set by the discourse is seen as irrational.
An example of this can be found in the security versus
liberty debate. The wish to increase security levels across
society – in response to crime, irregular migration and
terrorist threats – has been presented as a sliding scale
whereby if a state wishes to be secure then the public must
endure a reduction in personal freedoms. Personal freedoms
– such as the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly
– have been placed as the limit against which security
exists. In this discursive construct, then, people are presented
with the choice between a state that respects civil liberties
but is left potentially insecure or a state that must curb
personal freedoms in order to be secure and protected. In
practice, the dominant discourse of securing the state often
works to silence any concerns about enhanced state power.
An elite programme to restrict civil liberties can be justified
to a society conditioned by the ‘expert’ repetition of this
discourse by appealing to the objective logic it asserts and
discounting all other interpretations. Therefore, the move to
achieve increased levels of security without the infringement
upon personal or civil liberties is excluded from the
argument, as the two are constantly being positioned in
direct opposition to each other.
For poststructuralists, language is one of the most crucial
elements for the creation and perpetuation of a dominant
discourse. Through language, certain actors, concepts and
events are placed in hierarchical pairs, named binary
oppositions, whereby one element of the set is favoured
over the other in order to create or perpetuate meaning. The
power relation that is embedded within this relationship (for
example, good versus evil or developed versus undeveloped)
serves to reinforce the preferred meaning within the
discursive construct. International Relations as a discipline
is full of these oppositions and they are used by elites to
both create favourable meaning out of certain events and to
allow for this meaning to be easily absorbed and accepted
by the wider public. One of the most common binary
oppositions is to establish different groups or countries in
terms of ‘them’ versus ‘us’.
If we look to the aftermath of the events of 11 September
2001 (commonly known as 9/11) we can see these categories
of differentiation and their influence begin to manifest
themselves. President George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq
and North Korea as an ‘axis of evil’ – making these countries
the ‘them’ that were rhetorically and politically positioned
as international pariahs in contrast to the innocent ‘us’ of
the United States and its allies. Hence, this binary opposition
enabled Bush to claim that the United States was opposite
to all that this trio represented and would be justified in
taking various actions during a global campaign against
states that were judged to sponsor or harbour terrorists.
If we look to the work of one of the leading scholars
of poststructuralism, Michel Foucault, then the concepts of
elites, discourses and the power of language and binary
oppositions all tie together to create what he labels a ‘regime
of truth’. This model applies to the ruling discourse that
operates unquestioned within society, masquerading as the
truth or fact. A regime of truth, then, is constituted by the
dominant discourse, elite actors and the language that is
used to create and sustain meaning and truth that serves the
interest of the favoured actors.
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The importance of poststructuralism is to highlight
existing regimes of truth and show that conventional ways
of thinking and analysis in international relations are unable
to point out how certain other possibilities are excluded by
these discourses from the very start. Butler (2003) builds
upon this idea of discourses excluding other possibilities
by proposing that certain lives, in certain conflicts or terrorist
atrocities, are deemed as more ‘grievable’ than others. Butler
argues that thousands of people are lost to conflict in
countries such as Palestine and Afghanistan, often at the
hands of Western powers, and yet these people are not
mourned or memorialised or even heard of within Western
reports of war.
This hierarchy of grief can also be seen in the outpouring
of sympathy for victims of terrorist attacks in Paris in
November 2015 and Nice in July 2016. Yet, similar attacks
in Beirut and Nigeria in November 2015 and Baghdad in
July 2016 (to name but a few) went largely unnoticed and
were silenced within regimes of truth that mourned for, or
favoured, the ‘innocent’ Western victim.
Poststructuralism and Media
Representations of Rerrorists
The media is a prime example of a site where discourses
within regimes of truth are (re)produced and can be identified.
How we receive information and the way that news events
are presented to a society shapes how we conceptualise and
react to political events. As such, if we want to observe how
people have come to conceive and frame both terrorism and
terrorists, the poststructuralist can analyse media accounts
in order to analyse the discursive construction of these
political actors and associated terrorist events.
As the defining global terrorist attack of the twenty-
first century, the attacks of 11 September 2001 on the
United States can be used to convey how dominant
discourses, instigated by governmental elites, were
perpetuated and reinforced by the media.
In newspaper reports – specifically, in the week after
the attacks – the terrorists were presented as evil and
irrational, their stated political motivations were effaced
and instead terrorists were repeatedly spoken of as crazed
and apolitical. The terrorists were plagued by ‘inexplicable
neurosis’ and driven by ‘ethnic, superstitious and tribal
madnesses’ (Toynbee 2001). Additionally, these terrorists
were set apart as different from more traditional forms of
terrorism that the world had previously witnessed through
the highlighting of the lethality and deadliness of mass
murdering transnational terrorism – a move which
heightened the emotions of fear and anxiety further.
To underscore this link to death and destruction, the
media narrative also consistently linked both the acts and
actors of 9/11 to images and metaphors of pestilence and
disease. In contrast to this, was the cultivation of the idea
of ‘American innocence’ (Boswell 2001) that was ‘vulnerable
International Relations and Area Studies 19
to hate’ (Boyd 2001), coupled with the persistent repetition
and reminder of the suffering of the victims of 9/11 and the
heroism of the first responders. Interspersed with this, the
widespread international outcry to the attacks simultaneously
worked to further emphasise the immorality and inhumanity
of these actors. Themes of patriotism and civility were
deployed within the media to further distance the cohesive
‘us’ from the generic barbarian terrorist. The reactions of the
public that gathered together to pray, support each other,
volunteer and eventually join the military juxtaposed
radically with the destructive actions of the terrorists.
Moreover, the emotions that the narratives of these actions
evoked related back to feelings of love, empathy and altruism
that the media utilised to engender further cohesion in
society against the ‘other’ of the terrorist.
The importance of the recognition of this discourse is
not to attempt to present these political actors – the terrorists
– in a better light, but to recognise how the consistent and
universal portrayal of them as evil and irrational made
certain reactions and foreign policy actions more amenable
and immediately cut off other methods of responding to
these terrorist attacks. From this, poststructuralism critically
questions what purpose did the construction, by both the
media and the government, of a dominant discourse that
posited the terrorists and the society that they belonged to
as evil and barbaric serve? How did the positing of an
unbridgeable chasm between the civilised society and the
primeval terrorist, within this regime of truth, favour elite
agendas? One answer has been the identification of how
this ‘good versus evil’ construct prepared and almost rallied
the American public for war. It certainly prevented the
chance of dealing with these attacks through diplomacy, as
the overarching discourse stated that these terrorists merely
wanted to destroy the world before them. While some may
support the wars in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) that
followed these attacks, the poststructuralist contribution
deconstructs how this militaristic and aggressive response
to 9/11 was legitimised by the discursive construction of
the terrorists, the emotions that were manipulated and the
divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’ that was fashioned.
The pervasion of this discourse also served to conflate
the motivations and acts of these terrorists with the
construction of a wider Muslim and Arab society. With the
simplistic interpretation of the historical relations between
the ‘West’ and ‘East’ that was encouraged in this discursive
construction, the regime of truth played upon and amplified
the notion of the Muslim or Arab world as backward and
primordial. Within the regime of truth of the War on Terror,
then, this emotive discourse was extended to every Muslim,
every Arab, and, eventually, every non-Westerner.
With the passage of time, we are also able to trace the
gradual disruption to and destabilising of this regime of
truth. As the United States was drawn further into destructive
and protracted conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the public
 20 International Relations and Area Studies
opinion that had supported intervention began to wane.
Over time, the discursive construction of terrorists by the
media was not strong enough to override the concurrent
media accounts of large numbers of casualties resulting
from the intervention. Along with these fatalities, as the
media began to report on the abuses that were carried out,
the regime of truth that had been centred on the foreign
policy directives of the Bush presidency started to falter.
Thus, the official discourse regarding terrorism and
intervention was changing and this shift can be identified
by a shift to more clandestine forms of intervention in the
Middle East from 2009 onwards – watermarked by the
presidency of Barack Obama. The increased use of special
forces and drone strikes allowed Obama to continue to exert
influence over the region without overtly declaring war –
while also distancing his administration from the military
intervention that defined that of his predecessor.
The official discourse across an event, although
powerful, never fully accounts for the reading of the entire
situation. While the presentation of terrorists as irrational
and evil has found solid ground and the dominant
perceptions of terrorism and terrorists are of an illogical and
apolitical act and actor, there always will be deviation from
this conceptualisation. As such, the official discourse as
crafted by elites never fully accounts for or subsumes the
whole of a society. For example, despite the warmongering
in the wake of 9/11, there were large-scale anti-war protests
by members of the public across many nations. This messy
entanglement of the everyday and the elite shows that a
plethora of discourses can coexist and craft the view of
international relations that we are offered. From this we
must recognise that elite and everyday discourses co-exist
and, although one assumes a dominant position, there are
still many other competing discourses at play that shape
international relations and have the potential to contribute
to understandings commonly seen as ‘knowledge’ and ‘truth’.
The impact of poststructuralism within IR theory comes
from its ability to not only identify and uncover power
relations that dictate political events but also make space
for alternative discourses to emerge that can also affect the
course of events. By examining elite actors, we can see how
commonly accepted facts about the political system are not
‘natural’ but, instead, constructed in order to favour a
dominant discourse. Furthermore, by tracing the rise and
fall of regimes of truth as they take on new forms and favour
new actors, poststructuralism shows how discourses can
change over time and be destabilised. Most importantly,
poststructuralism allows you to become carefully attuned to
– and interrogate – the many ways that power is exercised.
FEMINISM
From the outset, feminist theory has challenged women’s
near complete absence from traditional IR theory and
practice. This absence is visible both in women’s
marginalisation from decision-making and in the assumption
that the reality of women’s day-to-day lives is not impacted
by or important to international relations. Beyond this,
feminist contributions to IR can also be understood through
their deconstruction of gender – both as socially constructed
identities and as a powerful organising logic. This means
recognising and then challenging assumptions about
masculine and feminine gender roles that dictate what both
women and men should or can do in global politics and
what counts as important in considerations of international
relations. These assumptions in turn shape the process of
global politics and the impacts these have on men and
women’s lives. Rather than suggest that traditional IR was
gender-neutral – that is, that gender and IR were two separate
spheres that did not impact on each other – feminist theory
has shown that traditional IR is in fact gender-blind.
Feminist scholars therefore takes both women and gender
seriously – and in doing so it challenges IR’s foundational
concepts and assumptions.
The Basics of Feminism
If we start with feminism’s first contribution – making women
visible – an early contribution of feminist theorists is
revealing that women were and are routinely exposed to
gendered violence. In making violence against women
visible, an international system that tacitly accepted a large
amount of violence against women as a normal state of
affairs was also exposed. For example, former UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon’s ‘UNiTE’ campaign to end violence
against women estimated that up to seven out of ten women
will experience violence at some point in their lives – and
that approximately 600 million women live in countries
where domestic violence is not yet considered a crime.
Violence against women is prevalent globally and is not
specific to any particular political or economic system.
Jacqui True (2012) has demonstrated the links between
violence against women in the private sphere (for example,
domestic violence) and the kinds of violence women
experience in public, in an increasingly globalised workplace
and in times of war. In short, nowhere do women share the
same economic, political or social rights as men and
everywhere there are prevalent forms of gendered violence,
whether this be domestic violence in the home or sexual
violence in conflict. In looking at violence against women
in such a way, it is possible to see a continuum of gendered
violence that does not reflect neat and distinct categories of
peace, stability and so on. Many societies are thought of as
predominantly peaceful or stable despite high levels of
violence against a particular portion of the population. It
also presents a very different image of violence and insecurity
to that viewed through the security agendas of states, which
is characteristic of traditional IR viewpoints.
In making women visible, feminism has also highlighted
women’s absence from decision-making and institutional
structures. For example, in 2015 the World Bank estimated

that globally women made up just 22.9% of national
parliaments. One of the core assumptions of traditional
perspectives that feminism has challenged is the exclusionary
focus on areas that are considered ‘high’ politics – for
example, sovereignty, the state and military security. The
traditional focus on states and relations between them over-
looks the fact that men are predominantly in charge of state
institutions, dominating power and decision-making
structures. It also ignores other areas that both impact global
politics and are impacted by it. This is a gendered exclusion
as women contribute in essential ways to global politics
even though they are more likely to populate those areas
not considered high politics and their day-to-day lives may
be considered peripheral. Traditional perspectives that ignore
gender not only overlook the contributions of women and
the impact global politics has on them but also perpetually
justify this exclusion. If women are outside these domains
of power, then their experiences and contributions are not
relevant. Feminist theorists have worked to demonstrate
that this distinction between private and public is false. In
doing so they show that previously excluded areas are
central to the functioning of IR, even if they are not
acknowledged, and that the exclusion and inclusion of
certain areas in traditional IR thinking is based on gendered
ideas of what counts and does not count.
This brings us to the second key contribution of
feminism – exposing and deconstructing socially constructed
gender norms. In making sense of IR in a way that takes
both women and gender seriously, feminism has demon-
strated the construction of gendered identities that perpetuate
normative ideas of what men and women should do. In this
regard, it is important to understand the distinction between
‘sex’ as biological and ‘gender’ as socially constructed. Not
all gender considerations rest on the analysis of women, nor
should they, and gender relates to expectations and identities
attached to both men and women. Gender is understood as
the socially constructed assumptions that are assigned to
either male or female bodies – that is, behaviour that is
assumed to be appropriate ‘masculine’ (male) or ‘feminine’
(female) behaviour. Masculinity is often associated with
rationality, power, independence and the public sphere.
Femininity is often associated with irrationality, in need of
protection, domesticity and the private sphere. These socially
and politically produced gender identities shape and
influence global interactions, and IR as theory – and global
politics as practice – also produces such gendered identities
in perpetuating assumptions about who should do what and
why. These gender identities are also imbued with power,
in particular patriarchal power, which subordinates women
and feminine gender identities to men and masculine gender
identities. What this means is that socially constructed
gender identities also determine distributions of power,
which impact where women are in global politics. Whereas
men can be feminine and women masculine, masculinity is
expected for men and femininity of women.
International Relations and Area Studies 21
Cynthia Enloe (1989) asked the question ‘where are the
women?’, encouraging IR scholars to see the spaces that
women inhabit in global politics and demonstrating that
women are essential actors in the international system. She
focused on deconstructing the distinctions between what is
considered international and what is considered personal,
showing how global politics impacts on and is shaped by
the daily activities of men and women – and in turn how
these activities rest on gendered identities. Traditionally,
the military and war making have been seen as masculine
endeavours, linked with the idea that men are warriors and
protectors, that they are legitimate armed actors who fight
to protect those in need of protection – women, children
and non-fighting men. In practice this has meant that the
many ways that women contribute to conflict and experience
conflict have been considered peripheral, outside the realm
of IR’s considerations. For example, the issue of sexual and
gendered violence in conflict has only recently entered the
international agenda. Comparatively, the mass rape of women
during and after the Second World War was not prosecuted
as the occurrence was either considered an unfortunate by-
product of war or simply ignored. This has since changed,
with the 2002 Rome Statute recognising rape as a war
crime. However, this recognition has not led to the
curtailment of conflict related sexual violence and this form
of violence remains endemic in many conflicts around the
world, as does impunity for its occurrence.
In turn, these issues highlight the importance of
intersectionality – understanding that IR is shaped not only
by gender but also by other identities, such as class, race or
ethnicity. Intersectionality refers to where these identities
intersect, and in turn how different groups of people are
marginalised, suggesting that we must consider each in
tandem rather than in isolation. In examining wartime rape,
Lori Handrahan (2004) has shown the intersection of gender
and ethnic identities, where the enemy’s women become
constructed as ‘other’ and violence against them
consequently comes to represent the ‘expansion of ethnic
territory by the male conqueror.’ This rests on gendered
constructions, which occur at the intersections with other
forms of identity, such as ethnicity or race. Gendered
constructions that see women characterised as protected
mean that conquering them – through rape or sexual violence
– is representative of power and domination over one’s
enemy. Applying feminist theory to the issue of male wartime
rape also shows the gendered logics that inform its
occurrence, in particular that the rape of male opponents is
seen to ‘feminise’ (that is, humiliate, defeat) opponents.
This again highlights the contribution of feminism in
understanding how gender influences IR and how the
feminine is undervalued or devalued.
As discussed above, feminism has exposed gender
violence and women’s marginalisation in global politics.
However, it also challenges gendered constructions of
women as inherently peaceful, as in need of protection or
 22 International Relations and Area Studies
as victims. Feminists see these constructions as further
evidence of gender inequality and also as contributing to
the exclusion of women from traditional IR perspectives in
the first instance. If women are assumed to be victims rather
than actors or as peaceful rather than aggressive or as only
existing in the domestic or private realm (rather than the
public sphere), then their experiences and perspectives on
global politics are more easily ignored and justified as
marginal. Accounts of women disrupting these gender
identities, such as being agents of political violence for
example, have challenged these assumptions. This is an
important contribution of feminism and one that challenges
the construction of gendered identities that do not reflect
the diversity of women’s engagements with IR and in
practice perpetuate women’s limited access to power.
Therefore, taking feminism seriously is not simply about
upending the historical marginalisation of women, it also
provides a more complete picture of global politics by
taking into account a broader range of actors and actions.
Feminism and Peacekeeping
Building peace after conflict is an increasingly central
concern of IR scholars – especially as conflicts become
broader and more complex. There are also questions
regarding how post-conflict societies are to be rebuilt and
how best to prevent relapses into conflict. Peacekeeping
missions are one way that the international community
seeks to institute sustainable peace after conflict and the
United Nation’s traditional peacekeeping role (understood
as acting as an impartial interlocutor or monitor) has
broadened considerably. Missions now frequently include a
laundry list of state-building roles, including re-establishing
police and military forces and building political institutions.
Feminist theorists have demonstrated the ways that
peacekeeping, as security-seeking behaviour, is shaped by
masculine notions of militarised security. Post-conflict
situations are generally characterised as the formal cessation
of violence between armed combatants, ideally transitioning
to a situation where the state has a monopoly on the use of
force. It is this shift that peacekeeping missions seek to
facilitate, conducting a wide range of tasks such as disarming
combatants, facilitating peace deals between various state
and non-state groups, monitoring elections and building
rule of law capacity in state institutions such as police
forces and the military.
However, as feminist IR scholars have shown, violence
against women often continues in the post-conflict period
at rates commensurate to or even greater than during the
conflict period. This includes rape and sexual assault,
domestic violence and forced prostitution, as well as those
selling sex to alleviate financial insecurity. The dominant
approach to keeping peace often obscures these kinds of
violence. Issues like gender equality and domestic violence
(and human rights) are considered ‘soft’ issues as opposed
to the ‘hard’ or real issues of military security. This
understanding of peace, then, is one in which women’s
security is not central.
In terms of structural and indirect violence, women are
generally excluded from positions of power and decision-
making in reconstruction efforts and have limited access to
economic resources. Donna Pankhurst (2008) has theorised
what she terms a post-conflict backlash against women, one
that is chiefly characterised by high rates of violence and
restrictions on women’s access to political, economic and
social resources post-conflict. The restriction of women’s
access to such resources – such as basic food, housing and
education – makes them more susceptible to gendered
violence. This often begins with women’s exclusion from
peace negotiations and deals, which instead focus on elite
actors who are predominantly men, often militarised men. In
peacekeeping missions, women are also under-represented.
As gender inequality has become increasingly acknowledged,
those involved in peacekeeping have paid more attention
to the causes and consequences of women’s insecurity in
post-conflict settings.
In October 2000 the UN Security Council devoted an
entire session to Women, Peace and Security – adopting
Resolution 1325 as a result. This resolution called for a
gender perspective to be ‘mainstreamed’ throughout peace
operations and for women to be included in peace agreements
and post-conflict decision-making – in addition to the
protection of women and girls during conflict. Resolution
1325 calls on all actors to recognise the ‘special needs’ of
women and girls in post-conflict societies, to support local
women’s peace initiatives, and advocates for the protection
of women’s human rights in electoral, judiciary and police
systems. However, consistent with the construction of a
gendered understanding of peace discussed above, there
remain limitations to the full implementation of Resolution
1325.
A United Nations study by Radhika Coomaraswamy
(2015) found that gender in peacekeeping continues to be
under-resourced politically and financially, and the gendered
elements of post-conflict reconstruction are still marginalised
in missions. Women still experience high rates of violence
post-conflict, are still excluded from peace processes and
still ignored in peace-building policy. This is demonstrated,
for example, in national and international attempts to disarm
former combatants after conflict and reintegrate them into
post-conflict society. This is a post-conflict policy area that
feminist scholars have routinely exposed as being highly
gendered and exclusionary of women who are former
combatants. Megan Mackenzie (2010) has attributed this to
constructed gender identities that minimise the idea that
women are agents in conflict or involved in war-making,
instead constructing them as victims with limited agency.
In other words, they are subject to war rather than war’s
actors.

This means not only that women are excluded from
disarmament programmes because of socially produced
gender norms but also that they are unable to access the
material and economic benefits that may flow from such
programmes – or the political and social gains they could
make from being recognised as legitimate veterans in post-
conflict societies. This example demonstrates the power
invested in gendered identities, the ways they can shape
policy and how gender inequality is perpetuated via such
policy.
Finally, international interventions such as
peacekeeping missions also contribute to the continuation
of violence post-conflict and are a site in which gendered
identities are produced. There have been numerous reports
of peacekeepers perpetrating sexual violence against women,
girls and boys while on mission. This issue gained much
attention in 2015 and into 2016, when a United Nations
whistle blower exposed not only reports of sexual abuse of
children in the Central African Republic by French
peacekeepers but also the United Nation’s inaction in the
face of these reports. From a feminist perspective, the
impunity that peacekeepers enjoy – despite rhetorical
commitments to zero tolerance – is a result of gendered
security imperatives in which militarised security and the
coherence of the institution (whether that be an international
organisation or a state) is prioritised over the welfare of the
individual.
Feminist research has demonstrated the value in taking
women’s experiences and contributions seriously and used
that as a base to demonstrate how IR rests on, and
perpetuates, gendered ideas about who does what, who
experiences what – and why – in global politics. Beyond
this there is also recognition that women are important
agents in political, economic and social processes. Despite
its designation, feminism does more than focus on women,
or what are considered women’s issues. In highlighting both
inequality and relations of power, feminism reveals gendered
power and what it does in global politics. Being concerned
with women’s subordination to men, gendered inequality
and the construction of gendered identities, feminism has
challenged a homogenous concept of ‘women’ in IR and
exposed gendered logics as powerful organising frameworks.
POSTCOLONIALISM
Postcolonialism examines how societies, governments and
peoples in the formerly colonised regions of the world
experience international relations. The use of ‘post’ by
postcolonial scholars by no means suggests that the effects
or impacts of colonial rule are now long gone. Rather, it
highlights the impact that colonial and imperial histories
still have in shaping a colonial way of thinking about the
world and how Western forms of knowledge and power
marginalise the non-Western world. Postcolonialism is not
only interested in understanding the world as it is, but also
International Relations and Area Studies 23
as it ought to be. It is concerned with the disparities in
global power and wealth accumulation and why some states
and groups exercise so much power over others. By raising
issues such as this, postcolonialism asks different questions
to the other theories of IR and allows for not just alternative
readings of history but also alternative perspectives on
contemporary events and issues.
The Basics of Postcolonialism
Postcolonialism has specifically drawn attention to IR
theory’s neglect of the critical intersections of empire, race/
ethnicity, gender and class (among other factors) in the
workings of global power that reproduce a hierarchical IR.
This hierarchy is centred not on striving for a more equal
distribution of power among peoples and states but on the
concentration of power.
A key theme to postcolonialism is that Western
perceptions of the non-West are a result of the legacies of
European colonisation and imperialism. Discourses –
primarily things that are written or spoken – constructed
non- Western states and peoples as ‘other’ or different to the
West, usually in a way that made them appear to be inferior.
In doing so, they helped European powers justify their
domination over other peoples in the name of bringing
civilisation or progress.
To better understand postcolonialism we can consider
the discourses that make certain power relations seem natural
or even inevitable. Postcolonialism views key issues in
International Relations as constituting discourses of power.
This notion of a discourse allows scholars to utilise a frame
of reference for thinking about the world and its problems
that does not merely reside in the empirically verifiable and
‘fact’-based inquiry that drives traditional IR theories such
as realism and liberalism. Take, for example, the issue of
global inequality. Postcolonialism suggests that in order to
better understand how global class relations emerge and are
maintained we must address ideas about why these relations
appear normal. This approach points to how characterisations
of global poverty are often accompanied by images and
narratives of non-Western governments and societies as
simultaneously primitive, hyper-masculine, aggressive,
childlike and effeminate. In short, postcolonialism argues
that addressing and finding solutions to poverty and global
inequality come up against representations of the other that
make it difficult for Western policymakers to shed their
biases and address the underlying global structural factors
such as how capital and resources are accumulated and flow
around the world generating inequality. For this reason,
solutions often focus only on intervening to support a
seemingly less developed state, rather than addressing the
underlying causes of global inequality.
In analysing how key concepts such as power, the state
and security serve to reproduce the status quo,
postcolonialism proposes a more complex view of such
 24 International Relations and Area Studies
concepts than is characteristic of traditional theories. For
example, the concept of sovereignty, and with it the contours
of the modern state, were imposed on the colonial world by
European powers. Yet it is a concept that is usually taken
for granted by scholars of realism and liberalism. Postcol-
onialism also challenges the Marxist perspective that class
struggle is at the root of historical change – instead
demonstrating how race shapes history. Analyses that focus
only on class fail to consider how the identification of the
‘Third World’ (a term developed during the Cold War to
describe those states unaligned to the United States or the
Soviet Union) as ‘backward’, ‘primitive’ or ‘non-rational’
are linked to persistent economic marginalisation. Similarly,
while mainstream IR theories see the international system as
an anarchy, postcolonial scholars see it as a hierarchy.
Colonialism and imperialism fostered a long process of
continued domination of the West over the rest of the world
and cultural, economic and political domination still
characterise global politics.
Postcolonialism also demonstrates how Western views
about Islam and its adherents are a manifestation of the
West’s own insecurities. The rise of political Islam across
the Muslim world – watermarked by Iran’s Islamic
Revolution in 1979 – not only confronted neo-imperialist
interventions but also revealed the impacts of core cultural
and social shifts accompanying a more interconnected global
economy. In the West, however, the view of this resurgence
has been interpreted by prominent policymakers and
academics as heralding a ‘clash of civilizations’ (Huntington
1993) and worse, constituting a direct threat to Western
civilization. Edward Said (1997) showed how Western media,
film, academia and policy elites rely on a distorted lens or
framework used to describe the history and culture of Arab
peoples and adherents of Islam. He called it Orientalism
because it constructs a particular idea of the so-called ‘Orient’
that is distinct from the West and that in a binary or dualistic
way of thinking ascribes to the Orient and its inhabitants
characteristics that are essentially the opposite of the West.
For instance, people of the Orient may be characterised as
being exotic, emotional, feminine, backward, hedonistic,
non-rational and so forth. This is in contrast to the more
positive attributes usually associated with the West such as
rationality, masculinity, civilization and modernity.
Many postcolonial scholars emphasise how orientalist
discourses are still visible in Western representations today.
Representations and perceptions matter to postcolonial
theorists because they dictate what comes to be seen as
normal or as making sense.
Postcolonialism owes a significant debt to Edward Said
for his work on developing Orientalism. Yet Said himself
was influenced by the writing of anti-colonial and nationalist
thinkers such as Frantz Fanon (1967) and Albert Memmi
(1991) whose works discuss the power of ‘othering’. For
example, Fanon shows how race shapes the way that the
coloniser relates to the colonised and vice versa by capturing
how some people under colonial rule began to internalise
– that is, identify with – ideas of racial difference that saw
‘others’ as inferior to white Europeans. Fanon explains that
the ‘black man’ is made to believe in his inferiority to the
‘white colonisers’ through psychological aspects of
colonisation, such as the imposition of the coloniser’s
language, culture, religion and education systems. Through
such impositions, the colonised come to believe they are a
culturally inferior other. This internalisation made it easier
for colonisers to justify and m aintain their rule.
Postcolonialism thus brings into focus how racial binaries
– that is, how races are constructed as different, opposite or
‘other’ – continue even after the end of formal colonial rule.
It highlights how racialised othering frames not just history,
but contemporary debates such as national security, nuclear
politics, nationalism, culture, immigration, international aid
and the struggle for indigenous rights.
An example of racialised othering can be found in
discourses around nuclear non-proliferation. In such
discourses, countries and their leaders in the Global South
are usually deemed not to be trusted with nuclear weapons.
These dominant discourses construct these states as
dangerous, unpredictable or unaccountable and as violating
basic norms on human rights. One need only look at how
North Korea and Iran, two states that have pursued nuclear
proliferation, are portrayed as rogue states in US foreign
policy discourse. Yet, for decades, the West’s disregard for
human rights may be seen in uranium mining that has often
taken place on lands that are populated by indigenous
peoples around the world – including in the United States
– and has caused death, illness and environmental
degradation. Most importantly, what is often missing from
the nuclear debate is the fact that the United States is the
only power to have ever used nuclear weapons (aside from
testing), when it dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese
cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945, with horrific and
devastating loss of life.
Therefore, for postcolonial scholars such as Shampa
Biswas (2014), the notion that some states can be trusted
with nuclear weapons while others cannot because they are
less developed, less mature in their approach to human life
or less rational is a racialised discourse. In debates such as
these, postcolonialism asks not who can be trusted with
such weapons, but rather who determines who can be trusted
– and why? Simply looking at the competition between
states to accrue nuclear weapons will not tell us enough
about the workings of power in international relations –
such as how a nuclear arms race is underpinned by the
power of some states to construct other states so that
they are deemed not capable of having any such weapons
at all.

Postcolonialism and the Marginalisation
of Women of Colour
As with all theories of IR, there are internal debates among
postcolonial scholars and in this case also a significant
overlap with feminism – especially ‘third wave’ feminism
that became prominent in the 1990s. Bell Hooks (Gloria
jean Watkins) (2000) observed that the so-called ‘second
wave’ of feminism of the mid-to late twentieth century had
emerged from women in a position of privilege and did not
represent African American women such as herself who
remain on the margins of society, politics and the economy.
She called for an alternative, critical and distinctive feminist
activism and politics.
For example, does a black woman from a poor
neighbourhood on Chicago’s south side experience sexism
in the same way as a white woman from its wealthier suburbs?
Women who share the same ethnic identity might experience
sexism in different ways because of their class. The same
might be true for women of colour and white women from
the same social class. Women of colour and white women
in the United States experience ‘heteropatriarchy’ – a societal
order marked by white male heterosexual domination –
differently even if they come from the same social class. An
illustration of how this works may be found in the video of
Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ which not only draws on how sexism
is filtered through this patriarchal order but also explores
how race, gender, class and sexuality are intimately
intertwined in the history of black women.
The fact that some black women may be more privileged
in relation to class may not take away from their experience
of racism. For this reason (and others), feminist postcolonial
scholars (see Chowdhry and Nair 2002) call for more
attention to the intersections of race and/or ethnicity,
nationality, class and gender. By doing so they address the
ways that different aspects of one’s identity, such as race,
gender, class, sexuality and so forth, intersect to create
multiple and distinct forms of oppression so that no one
aspect can be privileged over another in understanding
oppression. Instead, various identities must all be understood
as intersecting in producing one’s experience of oppression.
This idea of ‘intersectionality’ is central to third-wave
feminist approaches.
Postcolonial feminists share a desire to go beyond simply
analysing the impacts of patriarchy, gender inequality and
sexual exploitation. Instead, they highlight the need to
fight not only patriarchy (broadly understood as the power
of men over women) but also the classism and racism that
privileges white women over women of colour. They
question the idea of universal solidarity in women’s
movements, arguing that the struggle against patriarchy as
well as social inequality must be situated in relation to
racial, ethnic and sexual privilege. For example, while
Western feminism has often portrayed the veil as a symbol
of oppression of women, many Algerian women adopted the
International Relations and Area Studies 25
veil, standing alongside men, when protesting French rule.
To them, it was a symbol of opposition to white, colonial
patriarchy. In many other parts of the colonised world,
women stood shoulder to shoulder with men in nationalist
movements to overthrow colonial rule, showing that women
in different cultural, social and political contexts experience
oppression in very different ways. Postcolonial feminists are
committed to an intersectional approach that uncovers the
deeper implications of how and why systemic violence
evident in war, conflict, terror, poverty, social inequality
and so forth has taken root. Understanding power thus
requires paying attention to these intersections and how
they are embedded in the issue at hand.
Postcolonial feminism asserts that women of colour are
triply oppressed due to their (1) race/ethnicity, (2) class
status and (3) gender. An example can be found in the
employment conditions of the many women in the Global
South who work in factories producing textiles, semi-
conductors, and sporting and consumer goods for export to
the West. In one such factory in Thailand, the Kader Toy
Factory, a fire in 1993 killed 220 female factory workers
and seriously injured over 500 more. The doors to the
building were locked at the time of the fire. The tragedy
revealed the exploitation and deplorable working conditions
of these women, who were employed by local contractors of
American companies to make toys and stuffed animals for
sale in Western markets. Despite decades of such abuses,
there was little attention given to the conditions in these
factories, or to the tragedy of the fire, in the mainstream
Western media. One opinion piece captured the shocking
disregard for these women’s lives,
These executives know that their profits come
from the toil of the young and the wretched in
the Far East; they can live with that – live well,
in fact. But they do not want to talk about dead
women and girls stacked in the factory yard like
so much rubbish, their bodies eventually to be
carted away like any other industrial debris
(Herbert 1994).
In another tragedy, the Rana Plaza – a garment factory
in Dhaka, Bangladesh – collapsed, killing 1,135 garment
workers, mostly women. It threw a spotlight on the workings
of the global garment industry. Popular Western clothing
lines profit from low wages, exploitation and sweatshop
conditions by producing their clothes in countries with lax
building codes and regulations and non-existent (or
inadequate) labour standards. The clothing lines do not
then hold the factories to account for working conditions or
safety. Postcolonial scholars argue that the deeply
exploitative conditions and the disregard for the safety of
these workers show that lesser value is ascribed to brown
bodies compared to white ones.
While there was much more coverage of this industrial
accident in the Western media and the brands whose clothing
2105 (MA–IR)—4
 26 International Relations and Area Studies
was being made at the Rana Plaza did suffer some
momentary bad publicity, there has been little sustained
effort to right the wrongs in the operations of multinational
firms. The quest for the highest possible profit margins
forces developing countries into a ‘race to the bottom’ in
which they compete to have the cheapest labour and
production costs in order to attract investment from
multinational corporations.
The results are low wages, exploitation and low safety
standards. Post-colonial scholars explains the failure to
change these conditions by exposing how race, class and
gender come together to obscure the plight of these workers,
meaning that the factory overseers, like the owners of the
Rana Plaza and Kader operations, are not held accountable
until tragedy strikes. Even when they are held accountable,
the punishment does not extend to the Western corporations
further up the chain who sub-contract the task of exploiting
workers – and ultimately killing some of them in these
cases. It is almost impossible to imagine that a tragedy of
a similar scale in a Western state would prompt so little
action against those responsible or allow the conditions
that caused it to continue virtually unchecked.
Postcolonialism interrogates a world order dominated
by major state actors and their domineering interests and
ways of looking at the world. It challenges notions that
have taken hold about the way states act or behave and
what motivates them. It forces us to ask tough questions
about how and why a hierarchical international order has
emerged and it further challenges main-stream IR’s core
assumptions about concepts such as power and how it
operates. Postcolonialism forces us to reckon with the
everyday injustices and oppressions that can reveal
themselves in the starkest terms through a particular moment
of crisis. Whether it has to do with the threat of nuclear
weapons or the deaths of workers in factories churning out
goods for Western markets, postcolonialism asks us to
analyse these issues from the perspectives of those who lack
power. While postcolonialism shares some common ground
with other critical theories in this regard, it also offers a
distinctive approach. It brings together a deep concern with
histories of colonialism and imperialism, how these are
carried through to the present – and how inequalities and
oppressions embedded in race, class and gender relations on
a global scale matter for our understanding of international
relations. By paying close attention to how these aspects of
the global play out in specific contexts, postcolonialism
gives us an important and alternative conceptual lens that
provides us with a different set of theoretical tools to unpack
the complexities of this world.
GREEN THEORY
In the 1960s there was public recognition of the global
environmental crisis arising from the ‘tragedy of the
commons’, which is the idea that as self-interested
individuals, humans will overuse shared resources such as
land, fresh water and fish. In the 1970s the first United
Nations conference on the subject was held and by the
1980s green political parties and public policies had
emerged. This coincided with a demand for a green theory
to help explain and understand these political issues. By
the 1990s, International Relations had come to recognise
the natural environment as an increasingly significant source
of questions for the discipline, requiring theoretical as well
as practical attention – especially in the wake of mounting
evidence that human actions were significantly changing
our global climate and presenting security problems as well
as ecological ones.
The Basics of Green Theory
Ecological thought addresses the interests of nature itself
rather than only the interests of humanity in nature. Green
theory captures this orientation in political terms of value
and agency (Goodin 1992) – what is to be valued, by whom
and how to get it. Green theory belongs to the critical
theory tradition, in the sense that environmental issues evoke
questions about relations between and among ourselves and
others in the context of community and collective decision-
making. In turn this has always raised the question of where
the boundaries of political community are. For environmental
problems, which transcend boundaries, these questions take
the form of asking at what level of political community we
should seek a solution. For green theorists, the answers are
found in alternative ideas about political association based
on our ecological relationships.
The introduction of environmental issues into IR has
had some influence, but their theoretical significance and
practical policy implications may be viewed either as
compatible or as irreconcilable with traditional assumptions
and current practices. If viewed traditionally, then
environmental issues can simply be added to the list of
issues dealt with by existing means, for existing ends. If
viewed alternatively, then these issues may lead to
theoretical and practical transformation. Because theory and
practice are linked, when environmental issues challenge
existing practice they also raise new questions that IR theory
must contend with. The obvious practical challenges of
environmental change have not yet transformed IR theory
– or even practice very much. The continued prevalence of
competitive state relations is not conducive to environmental
cooperation or encouraging to green thought. However,
there has been theoretical development and some practical
progress and a wide-ranging literature has emerged viewing
a variety of environmental issues from different theoretical
perspectives. If this doesn’t amount to a single clear vision,
it certainly represents a longer-term view about humankind’s
common future.
Typically, environmental issues are buried in IR texts
under other headings and with little acknowledgement of
their unique theoretical significance. Environmentalism-

themed scholarship is generally accepting of the existing
framework of political, social and economic structures of
world politics. While there are of course established forms
of critical thought, these address relations within and between
human communities, rather than human relations with the
non-human environment. For example, liberalism emphasises
individual rights of choice and consumption but is not
fundamentally concerned with the environmental
consequences of that consumption. Consequently, most
forms of environmentalism seek to establish theoretical
positions and practical solutions through existing structures,
or in line with existing critiques of such structures. If less
critical in orientation, then these views are likely to be
compatible with a liberal position in IR (view ing
international cooperation as being of general benefit to
states). If more critical in orientation, then environmentalism
may align itself to a critique of the capitalist world system
(maldistribution of benefits to people), if not challenging
its commitment to production and consumption per sec. An
environmentalist perspective, while identifying
environmental change as an issue, attempts to find room for
the environment among our existing categories of other
concerns, rather than considering it to be definitional or
transformational.
Those frustrated by the lack of recognition of the
environmental challenge in international relations turned to
the interdisciplinary science of ecology. Political ecology
has allowed both an ecological perspective to inform
political thought and a political understanding of our
environmental circumstances. In particular, our
circumstances have long been determined by a particular
developmental path that depends on the over-consumption
of natural resources. Specifically, our political-economic
practices of production, distribution and consumption are
intended to meet our immediate human needs and desires.
However, these practices are reflected in a growth-dependent
global market economy that is not designed to achieve
environmental sustainability or recognise ecological limits.
This economy has provided material development of a kind,
but with such uneven benefits and widespread collateral
damage – including to the environment – that it has not
provided human development in an ecological context.
From an ecological perspective, there has been a general
criticism of development and even apparently progressive
sustainable development practices. The well-known model
of the ‘tragedy of the commons’ (Hardin 1968), in which
our short-term, individual, rational choices destroy our
environmental resources, has thus been applied to the planet
as a whole. It is tragic because we can see it coming but
seem unable or unwilling to do anything about it. That
inability is more than a practical problem; it is a profound
theoretical challenge. Hardin pointed out that such issues
cannot be solved by technical means, but require a change
in human values.
International Relations and Area Studies 27
Moving beyond environmentalism and political
ecology, green theory more radically challenges existing
political, social and economic structures. In particular, it
challenges mainstream liberal political and economic
assumptions, including those extending beyond the
boundaries of existing political communities (for
conventional IR, this means states). Goodin (1992) suggests
that a distinguishing feature of green theory is its reference
to a coherent moral vision – a ‘green theory of value’ –
which operates independently of a theory of practices or
political agency. For example, a green morality might suggest
that human material development should be curtailed in the
interest of preserving non-human nature. This would limit
our freedom to consume however much we can acquire. The
need to put some limits on traditional liberties suggests an
approach that puts nature before people. Green theory, in
this sense, is ecocentric.
Ecocentrism (ecology-centred thought) stands against
anthropocentrism (human-centred thought). This is not
because ecocentrism ignores human needs and desires, but
rather because it includes those within a wider ecological
perspective. Ecocentrism prioritises healthy ecosystems
because they are a prerequisite to human health and
wellbeing. In contrast, anthropocentrism sees only the short-
term instrumental value of nature to humans. This ecocentric/
anthropocentric distinction is at the heart of green theory.
The holistic ecocentric perspective implies a rejection of
the split between domestic and international politics, given
that arbitrary boundaries between nations do not coincide
with ecosystems. For example, air and water pollution can
cross a border and climate change cuts across all borders
and populations. Simply, human populations are
ecologically interconnected. This impacts on how we
understand and deal with transboundary and global
environmental issues collectively, setting aside national
self-interest.
The traditional IR concern with the state, in an
international system of states, is a challenge to thinking
about environmental issues. As a central feature of the
historical Westphalian model of sovereign (self-determining)
nation-states, the concept of sovereignty (ultimate authority)
has been particularly troubling. Sovereignty neither describes
the modern reality of political control nor offers a reliable
basis for human identity or wellbeing. Global environmental
problems require global solutions. This requires that we
develop our understanding of the ‘global’ as an alternative
organising principle and perhaps look to green social
movements rather than states for theoretical insights. This
gives rise to the question of whether we need to give up on
the idea of countries with borders as still being relevant to
people’s lives, or recast them in some more ecologically
appropriate way with reference to how people live in relation
to their environment. This will likely entail a more global
than local kind of ethics. In part this hinges on our view of
the need for political structures (big government, small
 28 International Relations and Area Studies
government or no government) and the level or extent of
their development. For example, we could promote
centralised global political structures, such as an institution
for governing environmental issues (Biermann 2001), or
allow a variety of decentralised, even anarchical,
interconnected local structures to emerge as circumstances
require (Dyer 2014).
Decentralisation, or the transfer of authority and
decision-making from central to local bodies, has certain
attractive features, such as self-determination and democratic
accountability. Ecologically there seem to be advantages as
well, since small communities may depend more on
immediate local resources and so be more likely to care for
their environment. Local communities are more likely to
conceive of the natural environment and their relationship
to it in less instrumental terms, viewing it more as their
home, thus addressing one of the key reasons for the
environmental crisis.
For example, the concept of ‘bioregionalism’, where
human society is organised within ecological rather than
political boundaries, raises intriguing issues of knowledge,
science, history, culture, space and place in an ecological
context (McGinnis 1999). For instance, our sense of identity
might derive more from familiar environmental surroundings
than from the idea of nationality, such that we have greater
inherited knowledge and understanding of our local
environment than of our political location. However, there
are also a number of objections to decentralisation, or greater
localisation of decision-making. These include the concern
that it would not promote cross-community cooperation as
it is too parochial (too exclusively local; the problem of
nationalism), and this would mean little chance of developing
effective mechanisms to deal with global problems. In effect,
it might just reproduce a troublesome sovereign-state model
of politics on a smaller scale.
To date IR theory has show n concern with
transformations in our political communities but somewhat
less concern with transformations in our ecological
communities. Perhaps this is because we are not yet sure
how a cosmopolitan global sense of community colours our
local relationships.
Green Theory and Climate Change
Climate change is the dominant environmental issue of our
age, caused by our dangerous reliance on fossil fuels. Green
theory helps us to understand this in terms of long-term
ecological values rather than short-term human interests.
These interests are generally pursued by states through
investments in technology, but there is no easy technical
solution to human-induced climate change. From the
perspective of green theory, this technical impasse requires
a change in human values and behaviour and therefore
presents an opportunity for political innovation or even a
transformative shift in global politics. IR theory can explain
why climate change is a difficult problem for states to solve
because of economic competition and disincentives to
cooperation. However, it cannot provide an alternative
framework to explain how this might be addressed. IR
remains overly focused on states and their national interests
rather than other actors that may be more cooperative, such
as cities and communities or non-governmental organisations
and green social movements.
A green theory perspective on climate change
understands it as a direct consequence of human collective
choices. Specifically, these choices have led to historically
anthropocentric economic practices of historically arbitrary
political groups (states), who have exploited nature in their
own short-term interests. Climate change presents a clear
case of injustice to both present and future humans who are
not responsible for causing it and to the ecosystem as a
whole. Therefore, a solution requires an ecocentric theory of
value and a more ethical than instrumental attitude to human
relations in our common future. Green theory helps us to
redefine issues such as climate change in terms of long-term
ecological values rather than short-term political interests.
At the international level efforts have been underway
since before the 1992 United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development in Rio, which gave rise to
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) and other environmental agreements. As with
many issues caught up in the direct tension between
environmental goals and developmental goals, any bargains
struck are inadequate compromises.
For green theory there is no such tension in an
ecological path to development, even if that path seems
more costly in the short term. This is not least because some
countries have developing still to do and hold already
developed countries historically responsible for climate
change – and no national actor is willing to bear global
costs. After faltering efforts to address climate change
through the terms of the UNFCCC’s Kyoto Protocol, an
outline agreement was eventually achieved in the Paris
Accords of December 2015. Whether or not this effort will
actually address the sources and consequences of climate
change remains to be seen, but green theory suggests that
a focus on human values and choices in communities is
better than a focus on bargaining between states.
In a world of states with primary responsibilities to
their own citizens, finding acceptable trade-offs between
immediate economic wellbeing and longer-term ecological
wellbeing is difficult. There is some prospect of powerful
states (like China) or groups of states (like the European
Union) leading the way and altering the structural parameters.
However, the common ground available from an IR
perspective of competing states is unlikely to be anywhere
near the common ground envisioned by green theory. More
fundamentally, it is unlikely to meet the challenge of climate
change. Even with some political agreement, there remain

significant differences about responsibility for historic
climate change and the costs of adapting to an already
changing climate that is affecting the least developed
populations hardest. While it is possible for states to
cooperate in order to make helpful environm ental
commitments, this is not directly related to action or change.
In any case, while international agreements are formally
implemented by governments and other constitutional
bodies, the key agents of change are a much wider range of
non-state actors, smaller groups and individuals, which may
suggest a kind of anarchy rather than hierarchy. In sum, a
green solution to climate change could involve global
governance institutions and communities working together
– largely bypassing the state – in order to reduce damaging
emissions, protect the climate and preserve the planetary
ecology on which humans depend.
Green theory equips us with a new vantage point for
analysing these developments. It also allows a broader
ecological perspective on our common human interests and
emphasises choices made within the ecological boundaries
of climate change, rather than the political boundaries of
economic advantage.
For IR, the contribution of green theory helps us re-
examine the relationship between the state, the economy
and the environment. IR normally sets this in the context
of globalisation viewed from the limited perspective of
states and markets – but globalisation also involves
opportunities for developing shared global ecological values.
Green theory has the potential to radically challenge the
idea of sovereign nation states operating in competition
and is thus part of the post-Westphalian trend in IR thought.
Of course, the greater contribution of green theory, or its
capacity for critical engagement with IR, lies in its very
different origins – taking planetary ecology as a starting
point and looking beyond our current political-economic
structures. Green theory is thus able to offer not just an
alternative description of our world but also a different
logic for understanding it – and how we might act to change
it. IR theory is likely to be disrupted and re-oriented by
green theory, not so much because greens will win the
arguments but because IR theorists will inevitably have to
provide a coherent account of how we all live sustainably
on our planet. This means that at some point we may have
to stop theorising about the state-centric ‘international’ and
find another political point of reference in human
relationships, such as policy networks or social movements.
GLOBAL JUSTICE
Global justice is a theory that exists within the broader
school of cosmopolitanism, which focuses on the importance
of the individual as opposed to the state, community or
culture. Cosmopolitans take the individual as their starting
point because they believe that all human beings have
equal moral worth and therefore have the right to equal
International Relations and Area Studies 29
moral consideration. In this sense, even if cosmopolitans
disagree on how to ensure that individuals are the subject
of equal moral concern, the focus of these differing
approaches is the value of the individual. This focus on the
moral importance of the individual has led some
cosmopolitan scholars to critically engage with theories of
justice, which are traditionally confined to the state and
contained within the realm of political (not international)
theory. This endeavour has led to the theory of global
justice, which seeks to investigate the question of how best
to secure a just life for all individuals on Planet Earth,
regardless of their nationality or status.
The Basics of Global Justice
Justice, at its core, concerns itself with who deserves what
and why. True to their cosmopolitan roots, contemporary
global justice scholars concern themselves with the moral
worth of the individual, regardless of place of birth, and
focus on problems of global cohabitation in which
individuals are not yet treated as morally equal or where the
moral focus has traditionally been on states. To engage with
such problems, global justice scholars usually focus on
what individuals across the world deserve and how
distribution of these entitlements can be achieved. The
answers to these types of questions vary significantly
depending on which problem is being addressed.
John Rawls’ (1971) Theory of Justice set out a theory
that political structures (typically states) can determine who
deserves what and why due to the power to make laws, raise
taxes and dispense public spending. Therefore, such
structures should be built carefully to ensure a just
distribution of rights and duties between all citizens. Hence,
Rawls’ idea was one of distributive justice. Rawls was not
advocating for communism, where all wealth is shared
equally, but for a society where inequality was moderated
so that those who were disadvantaged (for whatever reason)
were at least able to live a decent life. Rawls theorised that
such a structure could only exist within a democratic society,
or in other words, a specific type of state. Therefore, Rawls’
account of justice describes the potential for a just human
existence for those fortunate enough to live within such a
state – but his theory was not designed to apply
internationally as no such formal structure of global
distributive justice exists.
Cosmopolitan scholars take issue with Rawls’ state-
centric approach to justice and argue that questions of
justice must include all humans, regardless of state
association. For example, Charles Beitz (1975) argues that
limiting questions of justice to the national level in the
modern global era is morally inappropriate, because we now
have global institutions that may be able to perform some
of the basic functions of the state, such as collect forms of
taxation or make laws. Thomas Pogge (1989) stresses that
global inequalities between individuals call for a global
approach to justice that can effectively respond to these
 30 International Relations and Area Studies
inequalities. Although these scholars ground their arguments
in different ways, they both advocate for a widening of the
scope of justice to the global level. These types of arguments
are where the term ‘global justice’ originates and provide
the bedrock for its emergence as a theory of IR.
When discussing global poverty, Thomas Pogge (2001)
and Gillian Brock (2010) argue that poverty alleviation
should focus on redistributing wealth and resources between
rich and poor individuals. When analysing humanitarian
intervention, scholars such as Mary Kaldor (2010) and
Daniele Archibugi (2004) make the case that individuals
must be prioritised over state-centric non-intervention laws.
Furthermore, scholars such as Garrett Brown (2012) analyse
the issue of global health and argue that the health of
individuals is determined by global structures to make the
case for reform. Contemporary global justice scholars focus
on problems as diverse as gender inequality, immigration
and refugees, warfare and climate change. This implies that
the question of who deserves what, and why, covers a wide
range of topics, most of which are contemporary international
relations problems. This is why the discipline of global
justice is so relevant to IR, because global justice scholars
concern themselves with analysing and assessing
fundamental problems caused by global cohabitation. In
this sense, it is a modern theory that will continue to be
relevant as long as global problems exist.
Although global justice scholars usually assert that
individuals must be the central unit of moral concern when
exploring global problems, it is important to note that these
scholars often prioritise different goals in order to ensure
that individuals are the subject of equal moral concern. For
example, some scholars emphasise human rights, some
discuss the importance of institutions operating fairly
(referred to as procedural justice), some emphasise the
importance of human capability, while others are concerned
with fair global social processes. It is important to keep this
diversity in mind when studying global justice. No two
scholars have the exact same aims, which implies a healthy
diversity of ideas within the field. This is true even within
more narrow subjects, such as climate justice, where authors
have many different ideas on how to achieve a just response
to the problem of climate change.
While you might assume that an approach that seeks to
treat all humans on Earth better is popular, or logical, global
justice also attracts some notable criticisms. David Miller
(2007) argues that national borders are more important than
cosmopolitan global justice. Miller believes that coming to
an agreement on principles of justice requires a common
history and culture and that defining global principles is
not possible because of national differences on conceptions
of what is ‘good’ or ‘right’. Thomas Nagel (2005) and
Michael Blake (2001) both argue that global justice cannot
be achieved without the backing of powerful global
institutions. However, global institutions that have power
over individuals and states simply do not exist (yet),
rendering discussions about global principles of justice
futile. Finally, Iris M arion Young (2011) regards
cosmopolitanism as a Western-centric theory that does not
have the global appeal it purports to have. After all, global
justice is based on the importance of the individual and
often makes appeal to human rights and other liberal norms,
which some perceive as Western ideals, not universal ones.
These criticisms do not take away from the importance of
global justice: like all theories of IR, its theoretical
development is spurred on by answering its critics.
Global Justice and Climate Change
Climate change requires actors from around the world to
come together and agree on how to move forward. As
temperatures continue to rise and the global response lags
behind what scientists recommend, global justice scholars
are becoming increasingly interested in climate change and
its global (mis)management. Spurred on by the global nature
of the problem and the injustices it presents, global justice
scholars have also turned their attention to climate change
for several important reasons.
First, climate change is undoubtedly a global problem
and global justice scholars are keen to engage with such
problems. Greenhouse gas emissions cannot be confined
within a state, they rise into the atmosphere and cause
global temperature changes within and outside of their
original state borders. Although it is difficult to establish
direct blame or fault, it is nonetheless undeniable that
virtually all individuals, states and corporations contribute
to some degree to climate change. In this sense, the global
nature of the climate change problem defies conventional
assumptions about state sovereignty and justice, which is
what makes it so interesting to global justice scholars.
Second, climate change requires a global solution, which
suits global justice scholars who are interested in providing
recommendations for problems of global cohabitation. No
one state can stop climate change on its own. There is no
doubt that combatting climate change will require a
collaborative effort, implying the need for global agreements.
Coming to such agreements will inevitably involve
discussion about which actors must lower emissions and by
how much or even which actors should contribute to the
costs of climate change – such as helping certain populations
adapt to rising sea levels or extreme weather. These are, by
their nature, questions of distributive justice and are therefore
of interest to global justice scholars.
Third, climate change presents an unfair distribution of
benefits and burdens between morally equal individuals,
who are the key concern of global justice scholars. Climate
change will most negatively affect those living in less
developed countries who have done the least to contribute
to the causes of climate change, while those living in
developed countries, who have contributed the most

emissions, will likely suffer the least. This is because less
developed countries are more often located in areas which
will bear the brunt of the problems associated with climate
change. Furthermore, developing states typically do not
have as many resources as developed states to adapt to
dangerous weather patterns. For example, the Solomon
Islands has already lost five small islands as a result of
climate change and yet it is one of the lowest emitting
countries in the world. Paul Harris (2010, 37) argues that the
climate change problem ‘cries out for justice’ because the
effects of climate change fall disproportionately on people
who are already vulnerable, cannot adequately protect
themselves and have not significantly contributed to the
problem.
Although global justice scholars agree that climate
change will affect individuals and are therefore concerned
with addressing the problem, these scholars have different
ideas on what exactly is at stake and what should therefore
be prioritised. For example, Simon Caney (2010) defines
three distinct rights that are predicted to be threatened by
climate change: the right to life, the right to food and the
right to health – and any programme combatting climate
change should not violate these.
Tim Hayward (2007) defines a right specific to the
climate change problem: ecological space – a human right
to live in an environment free of harmful pollution adequate
for health and wellbeing. Hayward’s approach differs from
Caney’s because his priority is not protecting human rights
that already exist in international law but rather creating
new climate related rights that must be defended.
Patrick Hayden’s (2010) conception of rights
encompasses both environment specific substantive and
procedural rights. Hayden’s substantive rights include the
right to be protected from environmental harm and his
procedural rights include the right to be fully informed
about the potential effects of environmental hazards, the
right to participate in democratic procedures for climate
policymaking and the right to complain about existing
conditions, standards and policies (Hayden 2010, 361–362).
In this sense, Hayden is concerned not merely with basic
rights but also with fair procedures.
The debate about rights is important because defining
who deserves what can help guide a discussion on what
should be done about climate change and who should be
responsible for climate change action. For example, if the
right to health must be protected, this could imply that
lowering emissions is not enough and that populations
must be protected from disease in other ways – for example,
by inoculating vulnerable people against certain diseases or
providing clean drinking water in drought-prone areas.
The question of who is responsible for climate change
action is another key point of discussion amongst global
justice scholars. The discipline of IR is traditionally
concerned with relationships between states. Some scholars
International Relations and Area Studies 31
following this tradition and these debates usually focus on
which states should contribute how much to climate change
action.
Henry Shue (2014) advocates for the Polluter Pays
Principle, which is based on examining who caused the
problem to determine who should pay (and how much) for
climate change action – and the Ability to Pay Approach,
which asserts that the responsibility should be borne by the
wealthy. Thomas Risse (2008) takes issue with these
approaches and advocates for an index that measures per
capita wealth and per capita emission rates, then groups
countries into categories.
In this sense, the debate concerns how responsibility
for climate change should be allocated, which is important
for international relations as it reflects ongoing discussions
between states, most recently when putting together the
2015 Paris Agreement. Other scholars are keen to include
non-state actors in their conceptions of climate justice and
responsibility.
Paul Harris points out that cosmopolitanism is
traditionally concerned not only with states but also with
individuals. For this reason he studies how individuals are
affecting climate change and discovers that it is rich
individuals who produce the most greenhouse gases,
regardless of which state they live in. As he puts it, ‘affluence
is the primary and disproportionate cause of global
environmental degradation’ (Harris 2010). These individuals
have responsibility to act on climate change by (for example)
travelling less, reducing meat consumption and buying fewer
luxury items. Simon Caney (2010) argues that all agents
(not just the wealthy) who contribute to emissions and have
the means of lowering these, including individuals, states,
corporations, sub-state political authorities and international
financial institutions, should be held accountable.
These debates about the climate responsibilities of non-
state actors are important to IR theory, which is traditionally
concerned with how states relate to one another. By
discussing which other actors might be responsible for
climate change, global justice scholars are able to move the
discipline of International Relations in a new direction.
International relations theory has traditionally been
overly concerned with global (dis)order. Global justice
scholars have contributed to widening the scope of IR theory
by shifting the focus to individuals, on a planetary scale,
and thereby approaching problems of global cohabitation
in a new way. Yet despite signs of progress in academia,
states seem to be more focused on managing conflict, distrust
and disorder than on reaching global agreements and treating
one another fairly. For that reason, global justice as an issue
has been underrepresented in policy and global justice
scholarship has not yet reached the same prominence as
mainstream IR theories such as realism or liberalism.
Nevertheless, in times of transnational terrorism, rising global
inequalities, migration crises, pandemic disease and climate
 32 International Relations and Area Studies
change – considerations of global cooperation, fairness and
justice are more important than ever.
QUEER THEORY
Queer theory offers a significant avenue through which to
deconstruct and then reconstruct established IR concepts
and theories. Stemming from various fields that transcend a
narrow view of IR, queer research applies an interdisciplinary
outlook to advance new critical perspectives on sexualities,
gender and beyond. A single viewpoint in a field as diverse
as IR would unnecessarily limit the range of scholarly
viewpoints. It would also preclude a nuanced debate about
the contents and forms of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) perspectives, queer scholarship and
queer scholarly politics in IR. Due to these themes, and
because of its diversity, it is difficult to define queer theory
precisely. Indeed, a narrow definition of it would not be in
line with queer theoretical tenets. Queer theory is not just
confined to sexualities or sexual rights. It also questions
established social, economic and political power relations
– and critically interrogates notions of security.
The Basics of Queer Theory
Queer theory’s origins are in LGBT studies – which focus
on sexuality and gender. It soon distanced itself from those
approaches due to disagreements with the stable identities
that LGBT studies suggest. Queer theory emphasises the
fluid and humanly performed nature of sexuality – or better,
sexualities. It questions socially established norms and
dualistic categories with a special focus on challenging
sexual (heterosexual/homosexual), gender (male/female),
class (rich/poor), racial (white/non-white) classifications. It
goes beyond these so-called ‘binaries’ to contest general
political (private/public) as well as international binary
orders (democratic/ authoritarian). These are viewed as over-
generalising theoretical constructs that produce an either/or
mode of analysis that hides more than it clarifies and is
unable to detect nuanced differences and contradictions.
But queer theory also analyses and critiques societal and
political norms in particular as they relate to the experience
of sexuality and gender. These are not viewed as private
affairs. Just as feminists perceive of gender as a socially
constructed public and political affair, so queer theorists
argue with regards to sexuality and gender expression.
As the word ‘queer’ was used to describe homosexuals
in the nineteenth century, queer theory traces its lineage
from the study of sexuality in its private and public forms.
A commonplace meaning attributed to the term revolves
around being non-conforming in terms of sexuality and
gender, thus adding an ambiguous notion to being or acting
queer. Hence a queer approach towards sexual equality
complicates identity-based LGBT advocacy, as queer
thinking expresses a more challenging, fluid perspective.
This split has become even more pronounced as the
international politics of sexual orientation and gender
identity receives an ever-increasing degree of public
attention. Some states have implemented substantial equality
provisions in order to prove that they are ‘modern’ or
‘Western’ enough, while others have responded with
pushback in the form of homophobic legislation and
persecution. Sexual orientation and gender identity rights,
which themselves are questioned by queer theorists as overly
reliant on Western liberal norms of human rights and
democracy, have become points of political contention,
eliciting domestic culture wars as well.
Consider the debate in the United States over whether
transgender individuals should be free to use the toilet of
their personal choice. The status of sexuality and gender
politics in IR has clearly been elevated via cases such as
this which can quickly transcend domestic politics and
enter the international realm. In addition, it has also impacted
apparently unrelated policies such as defence policies, health
care and labour market regulations and thus created new
avenues for the re-construction of conventional IR concepts.
As a result, new perspectives are needed to explain this
inherent part of the social and political world. Queer theory
does not assume a uniform access to reality, but rather
acknowledges that subjective knowledge(s) about sexuality,
gender and other social aspects are constructed rather than
pre-existent, fluid rather than stable, and not always in line
with societal norms. In this sense, queer theory has moved
beyond focusing simply on the experience of sexuality and
gender.
Sexuality politics and the queer scholarship connected
to it arrived late on the theoretical scene in part because
sexuality and gender initially were anchored in the private,
rather than the public, spheres. Scholars advanced critical
and feminist viewpoints emerging from the writings of
Michel Foucault (1976), Judith Butler (1990) and Eve
Kosofsky Sedgwick (1990) among others. Foucault’s
groundbreaking linking of sexuality and knowledge to
political power, and Butler’s rejection of stable sexual
orientation and gender identities in favour of everyday
performed ones remain foundational notions. Kosofsky
Sedgwick’s calling attention to the discursive definition of
homo/ heterosexuality in society further defined queer
thinking. These scholarly statements were hardly accepted
in mainstream political science because they rejected
objectivity and highlighted the conditional and unstable
human nature of social and political orders, including IR
questions of security and governance. Hence queer theory
evolved largely in literature, philosophy, sociology and
queer studies programmes without making substantial inroads
into IR theorising.
Despite the distinct emergence of queer theory from
these wider origins, some questions remain. One of the
major issues is to what extent ‘queer’ should be adopted as
a label for transgressive (socially unacceptable) forms of

thinking and acting – as this would in turn create a queer/
mainstream binary. This is something that queer scholars
argue against. Another issue lies in the vague definition of
queer theoretical tenets and terms, leading to uncertainty
about how a queer theoretical lens can best be deployed in
various disciplines by a wide range of individuals. In its
application to IR, queer theory challenges many assumptions
about world politics unrelated to sexuality and gender. It
aims to deconstruct established simplistic binaries – such as
insecurity/security or war/peace – and recognises the
inherent instability of political and social orders. Instead, it
embraces the fluid, performative and ambiguous aspects of
world politics. Hence, it criticises those approaches to
politics and society that assume natural and moral hierarchies.
It problematises, for instance, the way in which non-
traditional sexualities have become normalised according
to ‘hetero-normative’ standards, including the aspiration
towards marriage and child rearing. Queer theorists argue
that this results in a societal integration of sexual minorities
into mainstream consumer society – making them less willing
(or able) to contest deeper political inequalities.
Queer theory perceives sexuality and gender as social
constructs that shape the way sexual orientation and gender
identity are displayed in public – and thereby often reduced
to black-and-white issues that can be manipulated or
distorted. With regard to more classical IR topics, it critically
assesses the assumption that all societies find themselves at
different points along a linear path of political and economic
development or adhere to a universal set of norms. Hence
it embraces ambiguity, failure and conflict as a counterpoint
to a dominant progressive thinking evident in many foreign
or development policies. As a scholarly undertaking, queer
theory research constitutes of ‘any form of research
positioned within conceptual frameworks that highlight the
instability of taken-for-granted meanings and resulting power
relations (Nash and Browne 2012).
Weber (2014) highlights a lack of attention to queer
theory by decrying the closed-mindedness of standard IR
theories, arguing that queer scholarship in IR exists but is
not recognised. The invisibility of queer theory is slowly
changing, with case-study work on state homophobia (Weiss
and Bosia 2013) or collective identity politics (Ayoub and
Paternotte 2014) and the increasing relevance of
transnational LGBT rights discourses for IR scholarship.
But if empirical work in this area concentrates mainly on
the agency of groups in their surrounding political structure,
what is ‘queer’ about LGBT advocacy perspectives? These
works offer comparative case studies from regional, cultural
and theoretical peripheries to identify new ways of theorising
the political subject by questioning the role of the state as
we have come to accept it. They add to IR by broadening
the knowledge about previously under-recognised
perspectives that critically examine IR’s apparently obvious
core concepts (or ‘myths’, as Weber calls them) such as
International Relations and Area Studies 33
sovereignty, power, security and nationalism. They do so
from the vantage point of the outsider and infuse these well-
worn IR concepts with critical considerations and
interpretations. Importantly, they contest existing dualistic
binaries in mainstream IR – such as state/system, modern
liberalism/premodern homophobia, and West/Rest. Queer
IR scholars look for the contribution queer analysis can
provide for re-imagining the political individual, as well as
the international structure in which people are embedded.
Reflecting on the possible futures of queer theory, there
are various important aspects to consider. Progress in LGBT
politics is mainly limited to the Global West and North and
evokes culture wars about how hetero-normative such
advocacy should be. And, it elicits international (homo)
colonialist contentions about the culturally intrusive manner
by which LGBT rights are promoted. This becomes clear
when powerful transnational groups, governments or
international organisations propose to make foreign aid
disbursement conditional on equality reforms in certain
countries. At the same time, they do not sufficiently recognise
that their explicit LGBT support increases the marginalisation
of minorities in certain states. It has to be mentioned though,
that many LGBT organisations have a better understanding
of local contexts and often act with the cooperation of local
activists, though typically in a weaker position than the
intergovernmental institutions they are allied with. LGBT
politics and queer IR research can inspire and parallel each
other as long as sexual advocacy politics does not fall prey
to overly liberal, patronising politics. No matter if in the
domestic or international arenas a number of problematic
issues remain with the alleged progress of LGBT politics:
if predominantly gay and lesbian rights such as marriage
and adoption equality are aimed for, can one speak of true
equality while transgender individuals still lack healthcare
access or protection from hate crimes? And if the
normalisation of Western LGBT individuals into consuming,
depoliticised populations leads to a weakening of solidarity
with foreign LGBT activists and appreciation of their
difference, what effects does this have on global LGBT
emancipation? Queer theory is an important tool for helping
to better appreciate the complexity of these debates.
Queer Theory and Sexual Equality in Europe
Globalisation has equipped queer theorists and activists
with an expanded terrain for intervention. With reference to
LGBT advocacy politics, the emergence of numerous
Western-organised non-governmental organisations but also
local LGBT movements with the significant publicity they
generate – be it positive or negative – expands transnational
politics to a previously unknown degree. Both chip away
at the centrality of the state in regulating and protecting its
citizens. A key place this can be detected is within debates
in the European Union (EU), which is an international
organisation with supranational (law-making) powers over
its member states.
2105 (MA–IR)—5
 34 International Relations and Area Studies
The inclusion of LGBT individuals not as abject
minorities but as human rights carriers with inherent dignity
and individual rights of expression may transform the
relationship between a marginalised citizenry and
governmental authority – both at the state and EU level.
But queer theory does not always align comfortably with
the predominant political strategies advanced through
transnational LGBT rights advocacy in Europe. It disputes
many existing socio-political institutions such as neoliberal
capitalism or regulatory citizenship that form the bedrocks
of European politics. LGBT advocacy is, at times, viewed
by queer theory as conforming, heteronormative, stereotyping
and even (homo)nationalistic in its particular value-laden
Western overtones. This is because it assumes that striving
for Western standards of equality and inclusion is universally
applicable and leads to liberation and inclusion. These
become evident in the pressuring of more conservative
European states to adopt certain policies, which often
produce counter-productive tensions and expose vulnerable
minorities. LGBT advocacy is aimed at inclusion within
existing forms of representation rather than the appreciation
of difference that queer theory strives at. Thus, LGBT
organisations often appear ‘de-queered’ for political purposes
to gain approval by the rest of society, which often leads
to internal debates about their representation and goals.
Tensions between mainstream advocacy and radical
queer approaches signify the need to rethink simplistic IR
analytical approaches. Political tensions in the ‘real’ world
prompt the queer IR theorist to question generally accepted,
established conceptions of international governance. In
doing so, queer theorists use existing literature or audio-
visual material such as movies or even performances to go
beyond the apparently obvious to deconstruct and then
reconstruct IR events and processes. They often exhibit a
critical perspective towards naturally assumed conditions of
space and time that tend to conceal and flatten differences
among actors and interpretations of international events.
For example, Cynthia Weber (2016) uses Hillary Clinton’s
sexual rights speech at the United Nations in 2011 and
contrasts it with Conchita Wurst’s winning performance at
the Eurovision song contest in 2014 to highlight a ‘queer
logic of statecraft’ that contests traditional, gendered and
binary approaches to governance. Weber highlights how
despite transforming the notion of the homosexual from
deviant into normal rights-holder in her speech, Clinton
still produced an international binary of progressive versus
intolerant states. On the other hand, Conchita Wurst – a
character created by Thomas Neuwirth – challenged accepted
notions of what is considered normal or perverse by
performing in drag with a beard. In the course of this, Wurst
destabilised racial, sexual, gendered and geo-political
notions of what it means to be a European. Taken together,
both cases show how seemingly stable ideas in international
relations are far from natural. Instead, they are intentionally
created, normalised, challenged and reconfigured.
Looking deeper at issues within Europe, the EU’s
justification of sexual non-discrimination on neoliberal
market policies highlights the ambiguous positioning of
the EU when it advocates limited equality provisions (Thiel
2015). This anti-discrimination policy is being implemented
in the EU’s complex multi-level governance system that
includes EU institutions as rights ‘givers’, member states as
not always compliant ‘takers’, and LGBT groups somewhere
in the middle. In addition to this potentially problematic
setting, the EU’s anti-discrimination policy package applies
only to employment-related discrimination. But Europe’s
largest LGBT advocacy group, the International Lesbian,
Gay, Trans, Bisexual and Intersex Association (ILGA Europe),
together with many other groups has been pressing the case
for a broader anti-discrimination law covering all areas of
life. This is complicated by the fact that a few powerful
states do not want to broaden the existing market-based law
and by EU hesitancy to reach beyond its focus on economic
rights and freedoms.
It becomes evident that the dominance of neoliberalism
as the EU’s main rationale limits the rights attainment of
LGBT individuals because it restricts alternative critical
views. Given the EU’s orientation, non-governmental
organisations are pressured to prioritise market-principles
such as labour participation, while becoming more dependent
on governmental or EU funding. At the same time, this
increase in non-governmental advocacy coincides with a
retreat of governments in social and welfare sectors. This
diminishes the potential for contesting existing policies
and potentially their legitimacy, as groups have to link
anti-discrimination activities with more societal and labour
market inclusion if they want to retain funding from the EU.
Such reorientation around neoliberal EU objectives produces
a hierarchy of rights which risks putting social inclusion
and a wider sense of equality at the bottom.
This case study thus questions the cooperation of non-
governmental advocacy organisations with a supranational
governance system that is at least partly responsible for
constraining national welfare policies. Moreover, the EU’s
valuation of rights is problematic because inalienable rights
are being made an object of economic value and output.
Yet it cannot be criticised in a system in which EU policy
planning is protected by its supposed non-political
regulatory, expert-led nature – reminding us of Foucault’s
knowledge–power linkage. It also implies that a reflection
of norms is needed, in the way neoliberal heteronormativity
is desired by political actors in the EU policy process and
accordingly (re)produced or challenged by gender/sex-based
rights groups. The feminist contribution to IR highlights
uneven gendered power relations, but a critical political
economy perspective that merges concerns about structural
injustice with the thoughtful critique of queer theory’s view
on civil society inclusion adds profound insights into the
politics of sexual rights recognition. This is most relevant
2105 (MA–IR)—5-II

here when considering queer theory’s theoretical tenets such
as taking seriously the distinct positions of political actors
and the often troubling content of public policy.
The development of queer theory in IR suggests that
more rigorous questions of the impact of LGBT issues in
international politics have begun to be successfully
answered. It highlights the valuable contribution to
analysing IR through until now unrecognised perspectives
on sexual and gender expression. Queer theory has also
proven to be theoretically inclusive in ways that LGBT and
feminist scholarship sometimes has not. A question that
remains is whether queer theorists can recognise – and
perhaps transcend – their own racial, class and Western-
centric orientations. Such broadening would also make it
easier to find common cause with other affected minorities
– not least to move from a purely critical or deconstructive
mode to a more transformative and productive one. Precisely
because queer theory is able to transcend the focus on
sexuality and gender through general analytical principles,
it lends itself to interrogating a wide range of IR phenomena.
In a time when IR is often accused of being parochial, queer
theory is a necessary corrective to powerful myths and
narratives of international orders.
SECURITISATION THEORY
Securitisation theory shows us that national security policy
is not a natural given, but carefully designated by politicians
and decision-makers. According to securitisation theory,
political issues are constituted as extreme security issues to
be dealt with urgently when they have been labelled as
‘dangerous’, ‘menacing’, ‘threatening’, ‘alarming’ and so on
by a ‘securitising actor’ who has the social and institutional
power to move the issue ‘beyond politics’. So, security
issues are not simply ‘out there’ but rather must be articulated
as problems by securitising actors. Calling immigration a
‘threat to national security’, for instance, shifts immigration
from a low priority political concern to a high priority issue
that requires action, such as securing borders. Securitisation
theory challenges traditional approaches to security in IR
and asserts that issues are not essentially threatening in
themselves; rather, it is by referring to them as ‘security’
issues that they become security problems.
The Basics of Securitisation Theory
The end of the Cold War sparked a debate over ideas of
security in IR between ‘narrowers’ and ‘wideners’. The
narrowers were concerned with the security of the state and
often focused on analysing the military and political stability
between the United States and the Soviet Union. Dissatisfied
with this, wideners sought to include other types of threat
that were not military in nature and that affected people
rather than states. This expanded the security agenda by
including concepts such as human security and regional
security – together with ideas of culture and identity.
International Relations and Area Studies 35
Feminism had an important role in widening the agenda by
challenging the idea that the sole provider of security was
the state and that gender was irrelevant in the production
of security. On the contrary, the state was often the cause
of insecurities for women. Widening the agenda from a
feminist perspective brought gender into focus by placing
gender and women as the focus of security calculations and
by demonstrating that gender, war and security were
intertwined. It was an important development in the rise of
a wider perspective on security. Whether one agrees with
the wideners or the narrowers, the end of the Cold War
indicated that security was an essentially contested concept
– ‘a concept that generates debates that cannot be resolved
by reference to empirical evidence because the concept
contains a clear ideological or moral element and defies
precise, generally accepted definition’ (Fierke 2015). By
pointing at the essentially contested nature of security,
critical approaches to security argue that ‘security’ is not
necessarily positive or universal, but context and subject
dependent and even negative at times.
Because some administer security while others receive
security, security produces uneven power relations between
people. For example, in the context of the Global War on
Terror, a person who looks Arab has been regarded with
suspicion as a dangerous ‘other’ and there has been an
increase in surveillance operations in Muslim communities
on the presumption that because they fit a certain profile,
they may be connected to terrorism. Viewed in this light,
surveillance becomes a security apparatus of control and a
source of insecurity. It is by questioning the essence of
security in cases such as this that securitisation theory
developed and widened the scope of security to include
other referent objects beyond the state. A referent object, a
central idea in securitisation, is the thing that is threatened
and needs to be protected.
Securitisation theorists determined five sectors: the
economic, the societal, the military, the political and the
environmental sector. In each sector, a specific threat is
articulated as threatening a referent object. For example, in
the societal sector, the referent object is identity, while the
referent objects in the environmental sector are the ecosystem
and endangered species. It is only in the military sector that
the referent object remains the state. By ‘sectorialising’
security, we understand that existential threats are not
objective but instead relate to the different characteristics of
each referent object. This technique also highlights the
contextual nature of security and threats. Suicide bomb
attacks, for example, are a greater source of anxiety for some
people today than they are for others. Yet we often hear
suicide terrorism framed as a ‘global’ threat. Securitisation
shows that it is incorrect to talk about issues such as terrorism
as if they concern everyone around the world equally. By
talking about referent objects we can ask: Security for whom?
Security from what? And security by whom?
 36 International Relations and Area Studies
Central to securitisation theory is showing the rhetorical
structure of decision-makers when framing an issue and
attempting to convince an audience to lift the issue above
politics. This is what we call a speech act – ‘by saying the
words, something is done, like betting, giving a promise,
naming a ship’ (Baean, Waever and de Wilde 1998).
Conceptualising securitisation as a speech act is important
as it shows that words do not merely describe reality, but
constitute reality, which in turn triggers certain responses.
In the process of describing the reality we see, we also
interact with that world and perform an action that will
greatly contribute to seeing that reality in a different way.
For example, referring to an immigration camp in Calais as
‘the Jungle’ is not simply describing what the camp really
is, but portraying it as a lawless and dangerous place. Hence,
threats are not just threats by nature, but are constructed as
threats through language. In order to convince an audience
to take extraordinary measures, the securitising actor must
draw attention and often exaggerate the urgency and level
of the threat, communicate a point of no return, i.e. ‘if we
do not tackle this problem, everything else will be irrelevant’,
and offer a possible way out (lifting the issue above politics)
– which is often framed in military terms. In so doing, the
securitising actor makes some actions more intelligible than
others and enables a regime of truth about the nature of the
threat and about the referent object’s nature.
An issue becomes securitised when an audience
collectively agrees on the nature of the threat and supports
taking extraordinary measures. If the audience rejects the
securitising actor’s speech act, it only represents a
securitising move and the securitisation has failed. In this
respect, the focus on the audience and on process requires
considerably more than simply ‘saying security’. This has
generated criticism from some scholars, who recommend
understanding securitisation as a long process of ongoing
social constructions and negotiation between various
audiences and speakers. Any security issue can be presented
on a spectrum ranging from non-politicised (the issue has
not reached public debate) to politicised (the issue has
raised public concerns and is on the agenda) to securitised
(the issue has been framed as an existential threat). When
an issue is securitised, actions are often legitimised under
the language of ‘urgency’ and ‘existential threats’ and are
measures that may be deemed undemocratic in normal
situations. Security measures in the War on Terror, such as
the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the use of torture, the
increased surveillance of citizens, extraordinary renditions
and secretive drone strikes, illustrate the logic of
exceptionality. Had the War on Terror not been framed in
a context in which a suspension of normal politics was
permissible and necessary, these security measures would
probably not have existed – nor would they have endured
to the present day.
A successful securitisation places ‘security’ as an
exceptional realm, investing securitising actors (nominally
states) with the power to decide when the democratic
framework should be suspended and with the power to
manipulate populations. For Waever (2015 and 2000),
securitisation theory was built to protect politics against the
disproportionate power of the state by placing the success
and failure of securitisation in the hands of the audience,
rather than in the securitising actor. Waever also voiced his
preference for ‘desecuritisation’ – a return to normal politics.
After all, audiences are not complete dupes at the mercy of
the securitising actor, and by making the process more
transparent, securitisation theory endows the audience with
agency and responsibility. In this context, the role of the
security analyst moves from objectively analysing the threat
to studying the processes by which securitising actors
construct a shared understanding of what is collectively
recognised as a threat. Securitisation theory is thus not so
much involved with answering ‘why’ an issue has been
securitised. It is more important that we be concerned with
the conditions that have made the securitisation possible by
asking ‘how’ questions: how has a specific language enabled
the actor to convince the audience of the threat?
Securitisation Theory and the Islamic
State Group in Europe
Following attacks in a range of European cities, the Islamic
State group (also known as Daesh, ISIS or ISIL) became a
high priority on security agendas from 2015 onwards. The
group has been presented as a threat to the security of the
state, to the security of individuals in Western Europe and
more broadly as a threat to the Western way of life. This
means that the securitisation of the Islamic State group
affects at least three sectors: the societal, the military and
the political. Securitisation theory observes that sometimes
in a democracy the government must justify the suspension
of normal politics to the public. Hence, if the Islamic State
group is securitised in European states, which are regarded
as democratic, we should be seeing securitising moves from
government officials – a rhetorical justification of why
intervention, for instance, is the only way to remove the
threat of the Islamic State.
It is important to note that securitising actors are not
limited to politicians. Security professionals like the police,
intelligence services, customs, immigration services, border
guards and the military all play an important role in defining
the security landscape. They operate within a field of
security characterised by competition over the ‘right’
knowledge over the threat and other risks associated, as
well as competition over the ‘right’ solution. Although
disagreements and confrontation occur between security
professionals, Bigo, Bonditti and Olsson (2010) argue that
they are still guided by a set of common beliefs and practices.
Securitising actors take security threats objectively and seek
to solve them by undertaking various missions. In addition,
there are also functional actors who can influence the
dynamic of the field of security but who do not have the

power to move an issue above politics. Functional actors
are paramount since they help frame storylines about the
existentially threatening nature of the issue, often creating
divides between ‘us’ and ‘them’ – and often implicated in
‘othering’ processes. Examples of functional actors can be
the media, academia, non-governmental agencies and think
tanks. It can also include individuals themselves, by telling
and sharing stories between friends, families and colleagues.
For example, extreme claims made in tabloid newspapers
across Europe create a narrative in which the Islamic State
group is infiltrating society and working to bring on the
demise of the democratic state.
Noticeable examples of securitising moves in the United
Kingdom can be found during the House of Commons
debate on the motion for British military action in Syria on
2 December 2015. British Prime Minister David Cameron
argued that ‘we face a fundamental threat to our security’
from the threat of the Islamic State group, who ‘attack us
because of who we are, and not because of what we do’ (this
was the presentation of the nature of the threat and
establishment of a regime of truth). He then said that ‘we
should not wait any longer’ to reduce the threat (this was
the point of no return). Finally, he pointed out that it is ‘not
about whether we want to fight terrorism but about how best
we do that’ (this was the solution provided).
It is more evident in France, when, after the Paris attacks
of 13 November 2015, President Francois Hollande declared
that ‘France is at war’ against an army of jihadists that ‘has
attacked France because France is a country of liberty’
(again, focus on ‘what and who we are’). In this framing, the
French people are ‘a people that is fierce, valiant and
courageous’ and are victims of such attacks for simply
‘being alive’. At the other end of the spectrum is ‘them’, ‘an
army of jihadists’, of ‘coward murderers’ who constitute an
‘abomination’ and ‘vile attack’ that can only be characterised
by ‘horror’. A point of no return is invoked when Hollande
claims that the Islamic State group is an organisation that
‘threatens the whole world’ and that this ‘is the reason why
the destruction of Daesh is a necessity for the international
community’. Finally, the solution, lifting the issue ‘above
politics’ is offered: ‘immediate border controls and a state
of emergency have been commanded’ (Hollande 2015).
The grammar of the security speech act is discernible.
The speech points to the existentially threatening nature of
the Islamic State group, a point of no return and a solution
which breaks free of the normal democratic processes. In the
months after the Paris attacks, Hollande increased French
military strikes in Syria and ordered a state of emergency
that gave French security forces controversial domestic
powers. Hence, we have a case of successful securitisation.
It is important to note that when arguing that the Islamic
State group is securitised, securitisation theorists do not
challenge the existence of the group, or that the group has
indeed coordinated attacks in Europe. Instead, securitisation
International Relations and Area Studies 37
questions the processes by which this group has come to be
viewed as a threat and argues that by naming the group a
threat, leaders of European states such as France and the
United Kingdom are also implicated in the making of war.
In that sense, securitisation highlights how Hollande’s
securitising speech act does not merely describe a state of
affairs ‘out there’, but constitutes the attacks as an act of war
and by doing so, brings war into being. Describing the
threat of the Islamic State group is thus not impartial or
objective, rather it is in an action in and of itself, and one
that should be viewed as a political act.
Using securitisation theory shows that the politics of
terrorism and counterterrorism is about threat magnification
and that the symbolic violence caused by attacks is out of
proportion to the number of deaths it is responsible for. For
example, the number of victims in Western Europe was
higher in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of groups such as
the IRA than the number that can be attributed to Islamic
terrorists in recent times. Yet leaders of European countries
claim that the world has never faced such ‘barbarity’, ‘horror’
and ‘atrocity’. This threat magnification demonstrates the
exceptionality of the threat, which, in turn, requires urgent
and extraordinary responses. Thinking of terrorism in this
way is not only detrimental to the deliberative process but
also limits our understanding of terrorism more generally.
Securitisation is a useful tool for students in IR as it
contests traditional approaches to security that are overly
focused on the security of the state, rather than on other
referent objects. Adopting a securitisation framework entails
challenging hegemonic and taken-for-granted ideas about
the universality and objectivity of security and emphasises
the ways in which knowledge is not merely ‘out there’ but
is driven by interests. Securitisation theory reminds us that
securitisation is not a neutral act but a political one. From
that starting point we are able to dig deeper and investigate
the various insecurities that are found in international
relations.
PROTOCOLS / CONVENTIONS /
TREATIES
India joins The Hague Code of Conduct
India has joined The Hague Code of Conduct against
Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC). India’s joining the
Code signals its readiness to further strengthen the global
non-proliferation regimes.
About HCoC
 HCoC is a global ballistic missile proliferation regime
established in 2002.
 It is a voluntary legally non-binding multilateral body
aimed at preventing the spread of ballistic missiles
that can deliver weapons of mass destruction.
 38 International Relations and Area Studies
 It is the only multilateral code in the area of
disarmament which has been adopted over the last
years.
 The HCoC does not ban ballistic missiles, but it does
call for restraint in their production, testing, and
export. Presently, there are 137 signatories.
 The Code is meant to supplement the Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
 Under the Code, States make politically binding
commitments to curb the proliferation of WMD-
capable ballistic missiles and to exercise maximum
restraint in developing, testing, and deploying such
missiles.
 The Code also introduces transparency measures such
as annual declarations and pre-launch notifications
regarding ballistic missile and space launch programs.
 Austria is the administrative Central Contact of the
Code, coordinating the information exchange under
HCoC.
Shangri-La Dialogue
The dialogue, also called as IISS Asia Security Summit, was
launched in 2002 by British think tank the International
Institute for Strategic Studies and the Singaporean
government. This annual dialogue brings together defence
ministers and military chiefs from 28 Asia-Pacific countries
to talk about security in the region. It gets its name from the
location of the meeting, the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore.
Why is the Shangri-La Dialogue Important?
 The dialogue gathers military representatives from
some of the world’s most powerful countries to discuss
pressing and significant defence and security issues.
 The meeting is a chance for defence ministers,
military chiefs and high-ranking defence officials to
hold bilateral meetings on its sidelines.
 It is also attended by legislators, academic experts,
journalists and business delegates from around the
globe, making it a vehicle for public policy
development and discussions on defence and security
in the Asia-Pacific.
Raisina Dialogue
Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference held in New
Delhi. It is India’s flagship conference of geopolitics and
geo-economics. The conference is held jointly by Ministry
of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation
(ORF), an independent think tank based in India. The name
of conference comes from Raisina Hill which is the elevation
in New Delhi where Rashtrapati Bhavan is located. The first
edition of the conference was held in March 2016 with the
theme ‘Asia: Regional and Global Connectivity’. It is
organized on the lines of the Shangri-La Dialogue held in
Singapore. It is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-
sectorial conclave, involving policy and decision makers,
including cabinet ministers from various Governments, high-
level Government officials and policy practitioners, leading
personalities from business and industry etc.
Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP)
The RCEP is among the proposed three mega Free Trade
Agreements (FTAs) in the world so far – the other two being
the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership, led by the US) and the
TTIP (Trans -Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
between the US and the EU). The agreement is proposed
between the ten member states of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma
(Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states
with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China,
India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand). RCEP
negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at
the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.
Ulaanbaatar Declaration
The 11th edition of the Asia-Europe Meeting Summit
(ASEM11) was recently concluded in Ulaanbaatar, capital
of Mongolia. The theme of the Summit is ‘20 Years of
ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity’.
Ulaanbaatar Declaration was adopted as an outcome
document of the Summit, in which the participating leaders
from Asia and Europe renewed their political will and strong
resolve to work together to promote mutually beneficial
partnership and co-operation between the two continents,
with a view to building a better future for the peoples of
Asia and Europe.
Highlights
 The declaration has reaffirmed ASEM’s commitment
for greater partnership through informal political
dialogue and initiatives in economic and socio-
cultural fields.
 It also has expressed its commitment for united fight
against terrorism and violent extremism.
 The declaration will also focus on maritime security
and cyber security.
ASEM
 The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal
process of dialogue and cooperation bringing together
the 28 European Union member states, 2 other
European countries, 21 Asian countries and the
ASEAN Secretariat.
 The ASEM dialogue addresses political, economic
and cultural issues, with the objective of
strengthening the relationship between the two

regions, in a spirit of mutual respect and equal
partnership.
 It was officially established on 1 March 1996 at the
first summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
Hague Abduction Convention
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction or Hague Abduction Convention is a
multilateral treaty developed by the Hague Conference on
Private International Law (HCCH). It provides an expeditious
method to return a child internationally abducted by a
parent from one member country to another. The Convention
was drafted to ensure the prompt return of children who
have been abducted from their country of habitual residence
or wrongfully retained in a contracting state not their country
of habitual residence. The Convention applies only to
children under the age of 16. The United States has urged
India to join ‘Hague Abduction Convention’ to safeguard
the rights of children born to Indian-American couples.
Why?
 Almost a hundred children born to Indian-American
couples are facing an uncertain future due to the
trauma of separation of their parents and the complex
legal issues involved.
What is Inter-country Parental Child Abduction?
 Inter-country parental child abduction is a situation
that is attained when one parent takes a child or
children to a foreign country to prevent the other
parent from seeking custody of the child.
India’s Response
 The Union government has decided that India will
not ratify the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects
of International Child Abduction.
 Signing the convention would require all those women
who have escaped bad marriages abroad to send back
their child to the country of father’s residence.
Sendai Framework
The “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-
2030” was adopted during the Third UN World Conference
on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan in March,
2015. It is the first major agreement of the post-2015
development agenda, with seven targets and four priorities
for action. It was endorsed by the UN General Assembly
following the 2015 Third UN World Conference on Disaster
Risk Reduction (WCDRR). The Framework is for 15-year.
It is a voluntary and non-binding agreement which
recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce
disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with
other stakeholders including local government, the private
International Relations and Area Studies 39
sector and other stakeholders. The new Framework is the
successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action
(HFA) 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and
Communities to Disasters.
The Four Priorities for Action under the
Framework
 Understanding disaster risk.
 Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage
disaster risk.
 Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience.
 Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response
and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation
and reconstruction.
Vienna Convention
It’s a treaty that came into force in 1964, which lays out the
rules and regulations for diplomatic relations between
countries as well as the various privileges that diplomats
and diplomatic missions enjoy. One of these privileges is
legal immunity for diplomats so that they don’t have to face
prosecution as per their host country’s laws.
International Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is a multilateral
treaty that bans chemical weapons and requires their
destruction within a specified period of time. CWC
negotiations started in 1980 in the UN Conference on
Disarmament. The convention opened for signature on
January 13, 1993, and entered into force on April 29, 1997.
The CWC is implemented by the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is
headquartered in The Hague. The OPCW receives states-
parties’ declarations detailing chemical weapons-related
activities or materials and relevant industrial activities. After
receiving declarations, the OPCW inspects and monitors
states-parties’ facilities and activities that are relevant to the
convention, to ensure compliance. The CWC is open to all
nations and currently has 192 states-parties. Israel has signed
but has yet to ratify the convention. The non-signatories
include Egypt, North Korea, Palestine and South Sudan. In
1993, when Russia signed the CWC, the country declared
that it possessed 40,000 tons of toxic chemicals.
 Russia has indicated that it will destroy all of its
chemical weapons by the end of 2017 – a year earlier
than previously announced.
The Chemical Weapons Convention Prohibits
 Developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, or
retaining chemical weapons.
 The direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons.
 Chemical weapons use or military preparation for
use.
 40 International Relations and Area Studies
 Assisting, encouraging, or inducing other states to
engage in CWC-prohibited activity.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS /
GROUPINGS
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
It is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation
which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of
China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and
Uzbekistan. These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had
been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after
the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed
the organisation. The SCO is seen as a counter to the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). With observer states
included, its affiliates account for about half of the world’s
population. The SCO has established relations with the
United Nations, where it is an observer in the General
Assembly, the European Union, Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Commonwealth of Independent
States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. India
and Pakistan were accepted as full members of the
organization in July 2015. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and
Mongolia enjoy observer status.
International Seabed Authority (ISA)
The International Seabed Authority (ISA ) is an
intergovernmental body based in Kingston, Jamaica, that
was established to organize, regulate and control all mineral-
related activities in the international seabed area beyond
the limits of national jurisdiction, an area underlying most
of the world’s oceans. It was established in 1994. It is an
organization established by the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). ISA governs
non-living resources of seabed lying in international waters.
The Authority obtained its observer status to the United
Nations in October 1996.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional
economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing
interdependence of the Asia-pacific.
Functions
 APEC works to help all residents of the Asia-Pacific
participate in the growing economy.
 APEC projects provide digital skills training for rural
communities and help indigenous women export their
products abroad.
 Recognizing the impacts of climate change, APEC
members also implement initiatives to increase energy
efficiency and promote sustainable management of
forest and marine resources.
 The forum deals with important new challenges to
the region’s economic well-being. This includes
ensuring disaster resilience, planning for pandemics,
and addressing terrorism.
Members
 APEC’s 21 member economies are Australia; Brunei
Darussalam; Canada; Chile; Hong Kong, China;
Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia;
Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The
Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore;
Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America;
Vietnam.
In APEC, all economies have an equal say and decision-
making is reached by consensus. There are no binding
commitments or treaty obligations. The APEC process is
supported by a permanent secretariat based in Singapore.
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multinational body
concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling
the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable
to nuclear weapon development and by improving
safeguards and protection on existing materials. The NSG
was set up in 1974 as a reaction to India’s nuclear tests to
stop what it called the misuse of nuclear material meant for
peaceful purposes. NSG’s members are allowed to trade in
and export nuclear technology. Currently, it has 48 members
and works by consensus.
Once Admitted, an NSG Member State
 Gets timely information on nuclear matters.
 Contributes by way of information.
 Has confirmed credentials.
 Can act as an instrument of harmonization and
coordination.
 Access to the advance technology.
China has remained the last major obstacle in the way
of India’s membership bid in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even
one country’s vote against India will scuttle its bid.
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
MTCR was established by G-7 countries in 1987. The
voluntary MTCR aims to limit the spread of ballistic missiles
and other unmanned delivery systems that could be used for
chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks. The MTCR regime
urges its 34 members, which include most of the world’s
key missile manufacturers, to restrict their exports of missiles
and related technologies capable of carrying a 500-kilogram
payload at least 300 kilometers or delivering any type of
weapon of mass destruction. India became the 35th full
member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
China is not a member of MTCR.

Benefits for India
 India’s entry into the MTCR is a step closer to its
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership.
 The entry into this group will shape the future of
India’s engagement with not just the MTCR but also
the broader global non-proliferation community.
 Admission to the MTCR would open the way for
India to buy high-end missile technology.
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an international
organization based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The
PCA was created in The Hague by treaty in 1899. It is not
a court and does not have permanent judges. The PCA is a
permanent bureaucracy that assists temporary tribunals to
resolve disputes among states (and similar entities),
intergovernmental organizations, or even private parties
arising out of international agreements. The cases span a
range of legal issues involving territorial and maritime
boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international
investment, and international and regional trade. The
organization is not a United Nations agency.
International Criminal Court (ICC)
The International Crim inal Court (ICC) is an
intergovernmental organization and international tribunal
that sits in Hague, Netherlands. The ICC has the jurisdiction
to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. ICC is
not a substitute for national courts. ICC may exercise its
jurisdiction when national courts are unwilling or unable to
prosecute criminals or when the United Nations Security
Council or individual states refer investigations to the Court.
It was established by the Rome Statute which was adopted
in July 1998 and entered into force in July 2002. Currently
there are 124 members of the ICC. India and China are non
party and non-signatory states. Russia signed the Rome
Statute in 2000 and recently exited from the ICC.
Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar
Economic Corridor (BCIM)
The Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar Economic Corridor
is a sub-regional economic cooperation within the BCIM.
The multi-modal corridor will be the first expressway
between India and China and will pass through Myanmar
and Bangladesh. The project will link Kolkata with
Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan province, passing
through Myanmar and Bangladesh, with Mandalay and
Dhaka among the focal points. The economic advantages of
the BCIM trade corridor are: access to numerous markets in
Southeast Asia, improvement of transportation infrastructure
and creation of industrial zones. This interconnectedness
would facilitate the cross-border flow of people and goods,
minimize overland trade obstacles, ensure greater market
access and increase multilateral trade.
International Relations and Area Studies 41
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN)
Initiative
The Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) Initiative is
a sub regional architecture of countries in South Asia. The
BBIN agreement was signed on June 15, 2016 in Thimphu,
Bhutan to facilitate cross border movement of both
passengers and cargo vehicles for overall economic
development of the region. India is in a bilateral motor
vehicle agreement with Nepal and Bangladesh, but a
multilateral pact would go a long way in boosting trade in
the region.
Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)
The Asia Pacific Trade Agreement or APTA (formerly the
Bangkok Agreement) is an initiative under the United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (UN ESCAP) for trade expansion through exchange
of tariff concessions among developing country members of
the Asia Pacific Region. The current membership of APTA
consists of six countries namely, Bangladesh, China, India,
Laos, South Korea, and Sri Lanka. Signed in 1975, it is the
oldest preferential trade agreement between countries in the
Asia-Pacific region. APTA’s key objective is to hasten
economic development among the six participating states
opting trade and investment liberalization measures. APTA
is open to all members of the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, which serves as
the APTA Secretariat. APTA is also the ONLY operational
trade agreement which links India and China.
MERCOSUR
Mercosur is a sub-regional bloc. Its full members are
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Mercosur
suspended Venezuela from it for violating the bloc’s
democratic principles and failing to meet its basic standards.
Its associate countries are Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia,
Ecuador and Suriname. It was established in 1991 and its
headquarters are located at Montevideo (Uruguay). Its
purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of
goods, people, and currency. Brazil urges India to broaden
MERCOSUR presence:
 Brazil has asked India to expand its commercial and
multilateral footprints in South America.
 India at present has over 450 tariff lines with
MERCOSUR. But, the plan now is to raise the tariff
line to 4000.
BRICS
BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major
emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as
“BRIC” before the induction of South Africa in 2010. The
BRICS members are all leading developing or newly
industrialized countries. All five are G-20 members.
2105 (MA–IR)—6
 42 International Relations and Area Studies
Jaipur Declaration
The meeting of women Parliamentarians from BRICS nations
concluded recently in Jaipur. At the end of the meeting,
‘Jaipur Declaration’ was adopted. The Declaration calls upon
international financial institutions to extend support to
developing and least developed countries and help them
gain easier access to new and affordable technologies as
envisaged under the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the Paris Agreement. The Declaration mentions
the need to address climate change and protection of
ecological system and forest as well as food security,
expeditious parliamentary approval of SDG related
legislation and adequate budgetary resources. It also
emphasizes on plans for incorporating gender concerns and
greater involvement of women parliamentarians in
integrating citizens in the development process.
BRICS Young Scientists Conclave
The Department of Science & Technology (DST),
Government of India, under the BRICS framework hosted
the 1st BRICS Young Scientists Conclave. It was held in
Bengaluru. The meet provided a platform for engaging,
connecting and networking among young scientists to hold
discussions and find solutions to some of the common
challenges and problems being faced in BRICS countries.
BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement
BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement has become
operational. This arrangement is being seen as a crucial
economic mechanism to help BRICS member nations deal
with economic crisis, like balance of payments pressures.
The BRICS CRA proposes to provide short-term liquidity
support to the members through currency swaps to help
mitigating BOP crisis. It would also contribute to
strengthening the global financial safety net and complement
existing international arrangements (from IMF) as an
additional line of defence. So far IMF support is the primary
safety net that is available to India in case any BOP crisis
situation arises.
African Asian Rural Development
Organization (AARDO)
The AARDO, which has its headquarters in New Delhi, is an
autonomous, inter-Governmental organization established
in 1962 with the objective of promoting cooperation among
the countries of the African – Asian Region in the direction
of eradicating thirst, hunger, illiteracy, disease and poverty
in the region. AARDO currently has 31 countries of the
African – Asian Region under its fold. India is one of the
Founder Members of the Organization and is the largest
contributor in terms of membership contribution,
scholarships for Human Resource Development Programme
and for Capacity Building Programmes of AARDO for the
benefit of Member Countries.
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC)
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical
and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international
organization involving a group of countries in South Asia
and South East Asia. The BIMSTEC comprises of seven
countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Thailand. The main objective of BIMSTEC is
technological and economical cooperation among South
Asian and South East Asian countries along the coast of the
Bay of Bengal. The headquarters of BIMSTEC is in Dhaka.
What this Grouping Means in Numbers?
 The BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.5 billion
people which constitute around 22% of the global
population.
 The region has a combined gross domestic product
(GDP) of $2.7 trillion.
 In the last five years, BIMSTEC member states have
been able to sustain an average 6.5% economic growth
trajectory despite global financial meltdown.
Indian Ocean Rim Association for
Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)
Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
(IOR-ARC) is an international organisation consisting of
coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean. The IORA is
tripartite in nature, bringing together representatives of
Government, Business and Academia, for promoting co-
operation and closer interaction among them. The group
came into being in March 1995 in Mauritius. The
Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is located at Ebene,
Mauritius. It is based on the principles of Open Regionalism
for strengthening Economic Cooperation particularly on
Trade Facilitation and Investment, Promotion as well as
Social Development of the region.
Members
 The IOR-ARC, which is the only pan-Indian ocean
grouping, has 20 members.
SAARC
SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation. It is a geopolitical cooperation maintained for
mutual benefits between eight south Asian nations: India,
Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan,
and Maldives. SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8th
December, 1985. SAARC Summits are held annually. There
have been, however, times when the summits skipped a
year. The diplomatic summits can only take place when all
the members of SAARC are present. SAARC Secretariat is
based in Kathmandu. It is responsible for monitoring the
activities of the cooperation. Apart from its members, SAARC

has nine countries with observer status: Australia, China,
Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea, the United
States, and the European Union. It is in permanent diplomatic
relations with the United Nation as an observer.
Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on
Housing and Urban Development
The Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and
Urban Development has adopted the New Delhi declaration.
This was the first such meeting held to discuss ways of
realising the New Urban Agenda that was finalised during
the United Nations-Habitat III conference in Quito in October
2016.
What is Urban Plus Approach?
 This approach will address ways to make urban
expansion sustainable and manageable. This would
mean an emphasis on planning for urban and its
adjoining peri-urban and rural areas in an integrated
manner.
About the New Delhi Declaration
 It is a global document and it will be localised as per
the specific needs of the region and the country.
 The declaration also stresses on the need to review
existing policies and draft new ones that will take
forward the aims of the New Urban Agenda.
 Noting governance as the key to sustainable
development, the Declaration stressed on the need
for effective governance structures in urban areas.
Heart of Asia Conference
The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process presents a new vision of
cooperation and confidence building for the region with
Afghanistan at its centre. The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process
was launched in 2011 and the participating countries include
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan,
Turkey, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates. The
Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process articulates a set of principles,
such as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and
promoting cooperation in the areas of common challenges
and shared interests in the region. It provides a platform for
discussing key regional issues among participating states.
Since its inception in 2011, the Heart of Asia-Istanbul
Process has been lead by two co-chairs: Afghanistan as a
permanent co-chair, and one of the Heart of Asia countries
hosting the annual ministerial meeting as the co-chair. The
6th Ministerial Conference (2016) of Heart of Asia summit
was held in Amritsar, India.
Amritsar Declaration
 The declaration recognises terrorism as the biggest
threat to peace and security.
International Relations and Area Studies 43
 The declaration states the urgency to respond to the
nexus between drug menace and its financial support
for terrorist entities in Afghanistan.
 The declaration welcomes the MoU on Jointly
Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st
Century Maritime Silk Road between China and
Afghanistan.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC)
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) is a group of oil-producing nations that was first
established in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1961. OPEC is one of the
most powerful international organizations in the world and
was a major player in the shift towards state control over
natural resources. It helped ensure that private companies
could not unilaterally cut prices throughout the world. Before
OPEC was formed, the oil market was dominated by a group
of multinational companies. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
and Venezuela are the founding Members of the
Organization. Today, OPEC is comprised of 13 members
and still has a massive impact on oil production and price
around the world. As of January 2017, OPEC’s members are
Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya,
Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (the de facto leader), United
Arab Emirates and Venezuela. As of 2015, the 13 countries
accounted for an estimated 42 per cent of global oil
production and 73 per cent of the world’s “proven” oil
reserves, giving OPEC a major influence on global oil prices.
Islamic Military Alliance to Fight
Terrorism (IMAFT)
The Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT)
was created by Saudi Arabia in December 2015 to combat
the Islamic State and other groups. Currently, it has
39 members. It is based at a command centre in Riyadh. The
coalition was envisaged to serve as a platform for security
cooperation, including provision of training, equipment and
troops, and involvement of religious scholars for dealing
with extremism. The coalition includes countries like Turkey,
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Sudan,
Malaysia, Egypt, and Yemen among others. Former Pakistan
Army chief Raheel Sharif has been made the head of the
Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT).
CLMV conclave
4th India – CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and
Vietnam) Business Conclave was recently held in Jaipur.
The CLMV conclave is an annual feature which provides an
opportunity for Indian business leaders to interact with
government and business stakeholders representing the four
countries. Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam
collectively, are the third largest economy in ASEAN,
followed by Indonesia and Thailand. Due to close proximity,
 44 International Relations and Area Studies
India is looking to boost trade and investment with the
CLMV region as part of the ‘Act East’ policy.
Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade
Agreement (APTTA)
The Afghanistan–Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (also
known as APTTA) is a bilateral trade agreement signed in
2010 by Pakistan and Afghanistan that calls for greater
facilitation in the movement of goods amongst the two
countries. The 2010 APTTA allows for both countries to use
each other’s airports, railways, roads, and ports for transit
trade along designated transit corridors. The agreement does
not cover road transport vehicles from any third country, be
it from India or any Central Asia country. The APTTA
agreement allows Afghan trucks to transport exports to India
via Pakistan up to the Wagah crossing point, but does not
offer Afghanistan the right to import Indian goods across
Pakistani territory.
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, at one time known as British
Commonwealth, is an organisation of fifty three states that
were principally below the colonial rule of British
Government. They came into existence with the proclamation
of sovereignty of the state from the colonial rule of British
Empire and were later given self-governance. It proclaims
that the Commonwealth nations are “free and equal.” The
insignia of this Commonwealth Association is Queen
Elizabeth II who is considered the Supreme of the
Commonwealth nations. The member states of the
commonwealth are not legally liable or bound to each
other. They are rather united by language, history, culture,
likeness of the democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
The last two countries to join The Commonwealth are
Rwanda and Mozambique. Former British mandates that
did not become members of the Commonwealth are Egypt,
Transjordan, Iraq, British Palestine, Sudan, British
Somaliland, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United
Arab Emirates. The most recent departure was the Maldives,
which severed its connection with the Commonwealth on
13 October 2016.
Wassenaar Arrangement
The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for
Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies
is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 41
participating states. The Wassenaar Arrangement was
established to contribute to regional and international
security and stability by promoting transparency and greater
responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-
use goods and technologies. It is the successor to the Cold
War-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export
Controls (COCOM). A Secretariat for administering the
agreement is located in Vienna, Austria. India is not a
member of Wassenaar Arrangement.
Australia Group
The Australia Group is an informal group of countries (now
joined by the European Commission) established in 1985
(after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help
member countries to identify those exports which need to
be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical
and biological weapons. It now has 42 members, including
the European Commission, all 28 member states of the
European Union, Ukraine, and Argentina. The name comes
from Australia’s initiative to create the group. Australia
manages the secretariat. India is not a member of Australia
Group.
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution
to make the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
a Related Organization of the UN. Making IOM as a related
organization to the UN is expected to play a vital role in
protecting the rights of the m igrants. IOM is an
intergovernmental organization in the field of migration
and works closely with governmental, inter-governmental
and non-governmental entities to promote humane and
orderly migration for the benefit of all. Its headquarters is
in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization was established
in 1951 in the wake of World War II to resettle refugees
from Europe. IOM was granted Permanent Observer status to
the UN General Assembly in 1992. India is one among the
165 member states of IOM.
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states
that are not formally aligned with or against any major
power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members.
The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961. The
idea of NAM was jointly conceived by India’s PM Jawaharlal
Nehru, Indonesia’s President Sukarno, Egypt’s President
Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah
and Yugoslavia’s President Josip Broz Tito. The first summit
was held in Belgrade in 1961. The NAM Summits are among
the largest gathering of countries, after the United Nations.
Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN)
ASEAN is a group of 10 South Asian nations which came
into existence on August 8, 1967 after ASEAN declaration
(also known as Bangkok declaration). It is a regional
organisation that aims to promote intergovernmental
cooperation and facilitates economic integration amongst
its members. Its Motto is “One Vision, One Identity, One
Community”. The 10 members are Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam. Founder countries of ASEAN are
Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand.
The Secretariat of ASEAN is at Jakarta, Indonesia.

G-7
The G-8, reformatted as G-7 from 2014 due to the ‘suspension
of Russia’s participation’, was an inter-governmental political
forum from 1997 until 2014. Initially it was G-7 but became
G-8 after joining Russia in 1997. Russia left the organisation
in 2014, so it again renamed as G-7. The first G-7 summit
was held at Rambonilet near Paris in November 1975.
Initially only 5 industrialised countries — USA, UK, West
Germany, France and Japan were its members. Later on,
Canada and Italy also joined it in 1976.
Currently the G-7 Countries include Britain, Canada
France, Germany, Italy, Japan and United States. The member
Countries of G-7 account for 49% of global exports, 51%
of industrial output and 49% of assets in the International
Monetary Fund.
G-15
G-15 is an organisation of 17 non-aligned developing
countries. It was established in September 1989 in Non-
aligned Summit (NAM) at Belgrade. The member countries
are: Mexico, Jamaica, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Argentina,
Senegal, Algeria, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Iran, India,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Kenya and Sri Lanka.
The Secretariat of G-15 is in Geneva. But its headquarter
is rotated to the country belonging to the Chairman of the
group.
All the countries except Brazil and Mexico in G-15
organisation are non-aligned countries. Actually speaking,
it is not a correspondingly opposite institution to G-7. It is
mainly an attempt to make G-77 (group of 77 developing
countries) more strong at international forum.
G-15 has initiated a number of projects. India had
suggested in its third summit to establish a professional
training institute in Africa. This recommendation was
accepted and this institution was established in Senegal
with the view to induce African people for developing
agriculture based industries, traditional handicrafts,
agriculture, water management etc. It was also decided that
the land, building and employees for this institute will be
arranged by the host country of Africa. India agreed to
supply equipments and expert services for two years for this
institution. After this period, the operational cost of the
institution will be borne by both India and Senegal.
On the recommendations of 4th Summit of G-15, a
Committee on Investment, Trade and Technology (CITT)
started its functioning for promoting investment, trade and
technology in member countries. The prime objective of
this committee is to strengthen mutual co-operation among
the member countries. The committee will have a meeting
atleast twice a year for deciding the agreement base among
member countries.
India, Malaysia, Senegal and Zimbabwe are such nations
who sent their State Heads in all Summits of G-15. In its 6th
International Relations and Area Studies 45
Summit G-15 raised their opposition to the attempts of
linking labour standards with international trade on
unilateral basis. This summit also considered the view of
making this group as G-23 by including 6 other countries–
South Africa, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Kenya and
China.
G-20
The Group of Twenty (G-20) was established in 1999 to
bring together Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors of systemically important industrialized and
developing economies to discuss key issues relating to the
global economy and financial stability. By contributing to
the strengthening of the international financial architecture
and providing opportunities for dialogue on national
policies, international co-operation, and international
financial institutions, the G-20 helps to support growth,
financial stability and development across the globe.
G-77
This group was constituted under the banner of UNO in
1964. G-77 includes 134 developing nations belonging to
Third World—Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is an
international economic community of developing countries
aiming at protecting economic interest of the member
countries.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD)
To rehabilitate the weak economies of Europe after Second
World War, U.S. Foreign Minister Mr. Marshall, proposed a
Plan in 1948 on the basis of which a Summit of European
countries was called in Paris. Organisation of European
Economic Cooperation (OEEC) was established in this
Summit. On September 30. 1961 is was renamed as OECD
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).
The 34 member countries of OECD are Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, Estonia,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxemburg,
Mexico, Netherland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovak
Republic, Stovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland,
Turkey, UK and USA. Its headquarter is in Paris (France).
The aim of the OECD is to co-ordinate the welfare policies
of the member countries and also to induce member countries
for promoting welfare activities in their respective
economies.
European Economic Community (EEC) or
European Common Market (ECM)
Six European countries known as ‘Inner Six’ (France,
Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemberg, W. Germany and Italy)
constituted EEC on the basis of Rome Treaty (1957). The
 46 International Relations and Area Studies
success of OECD played an important role in inducing
these countries to establish EEC. The aim of EEC was to
ensure complete free trade among member countries. On
January 1, 1973, Britain, Denmark and Ireland got its
membership. Greece, Spain and Portugal also became its
members. Thus, the total membership of EEC went upto 15
on January 1, 1995 after the induction of Austria, Finland
and Sweden to this Organisation. The ten nations in Eastern
Europe, officially joined world’s largest regional economic
community–European Union on May 1, 2004. They are
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta. Out of these
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are new States created by
disintegration of USSR; Poland, Hungary, The Czech
Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia are once-communist states;
while the Cyprus and Malta are Mediterranean Island.
Bulgaria and Romania also joined European Union. The
European Union, now world’s biggest trading entity, has a
population of 513 million. Its share would be 18–25% of
global GDP. After joining Croatia on July 1, 2013, the
membership of European Union became 28.
At present, it is the largest commercial community of
the world. Its Headquarter is at Brussels (Belgium).
European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
EFTA was established at Stockholm on May 3, 1960 by 7
countries. These countries were Britain, Austria, Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Portugal. It was constituted
on EEC pattern. These 7 countries were known as ‘Outer
Seven’ which were different from 6 member countries of
EEC at that time. The then 6 member countries of EEC were
known as ‘Inner Six’. EFTA was established with a view to
curtail custom duties and other tariffs among member
countries. Till December 31, 1996 all the tariffs among
member countries were fully removed. The second objective
of EFTA was to establish a market in West Europe, which
was fulfilled in 1972 by an agreement with EEC. The third
objective of EFTA is to promote World Trade. At present,
there are only 4 members of EFTA–Iceland, Liech-tenstein,
Norway and Switzerland. Former members who left EFTA
and joined EU/EEC are: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Portugal,
Sweden and United Kingdom.
Its Headquarter is at Geneva.
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA)
On August 12, 1992, a trilateral agreement between USA,
Canada and Mexico took place which declared North
American region as Free Trade Area. This agreement came
into force w.e.f. January 1, 1994. This agreement is known
as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). USA
played the dominant role in its establishment. NAFTA was
constituted mainly to meet the challenges of EEC and
Japanese economic policies. Before NAFTA, Free trade was
already taking place between USA and Canada but this free
trade facility was now extended to Mexico. ‘Rule of the
Origin’ was developed, which implied that the economic
resources of the countries in the political region should be
utilised for economic development of people belonging to
that country only. With NAFTA, it was planned to utilize
economic resources of North American region for developing
the area in a better way.
The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
was signed in 1994. It is a free trade area among the United
States of America, Canada and Mexico. This is the largest
and most important trading bloc of the world. This trade
bloc has special significance for India.
East Asia Summit (EAS)
The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a forum held annually by
leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast
Asian and South Asian regions. Membership expanded to
18 countries including the United States and Russia at the
Sixth EAS in 2011. EAS meetings are held after annual
ASEAN leaders’ meetings. Apart from the 10 ASEAN Member
states, East Asia Summit includes India, China, Japan,
Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, United States
and Russia. Since its inception in 2005, it has played a
significant role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic
evolution of East Asia. India, being a founding member of
the East Asia Summit, is committed to strengthening the
East Asia Summit and making it more effective for dealing
with contemporary challenges.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT)
During great depression of 1930s - the international trade
was badly affected and various countries imposed import
restrictions for safe-guarding their economies. This resulted
in a sharp decline in the world trade. In 1945, USA put
forward many proposals for extending international trade
and employment. On October 30, 1947, 23 countries at
Geneva, signed an agreement related to tariffs imposed on
trade. This agreement is known as General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT). It came into force on January 1,
1948. Initially GATT was established in the form of a
temporary arrangement but later on it took the shape of a
permanent agreement. GATT’s headquarter was in Geneva.
On December 12, 1995, GATT was abolished and
replaced by World Trade Organisation (WTO) which came
into existence on January 1, 1995.
Uruguay Round and Dunkel Proposals
The 8th round of GATT popularly known as Uruguay round
was started in September 1986. The negotiations were
expected to be concluded in 4 years but on account of
differences among participating countries on certain critical
areas, agreement could not be reached. To break this

deadlock Mr. Arthur Dunkel, Director General of GATT,
compiled a very detailed document, popularly known as
Dunkel Proposals. This proposal culminated into the Final
Act on December 15, 1993.
India signed this proposal on April 15, 1994. In all 124
countries signed on this agreement.
Uruguay Round contained the mandate to have
negotiations in 15 areas. Part I of the declaration contained
the following 14 are as:
1. Tariffs
2. Non-tariff measures
3. Tropical Products
4. National Resource Based Products
5. Textiles and Clothing
6. Agriculture
7. GATT-articles
8. Safeguards
9. Multilateral Trade Agreements and Arrangements
10. Subsidies
11. Dispute settlements
12. Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPs)
13. Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)
14. Functioning of GATT System
Part II of the declaration included trade in services and
re-classified the above 15 areas into 7 as below:
1. Market Access, 2. Agriculture, 3. Textiles, 4. TRIMs,
5. TRIPs, 6. Trade in Services, 7. Institutional Matters.
World Trade Organisation (WTO)
The Uruguay round of GATT (1986-93) gave birth to World
Trade Organisation. The members of the GATT signed on
an agreement of Uruguay round in April 1994 in Morocco
for establishing a new organisation named WTO. It was
officially constituted on January 1, 1995 which took the
place of GATT as an effective formal organisation. GATT
was an informal organisation which regulated world trade
since 1948. Like GATT, WTO’s headquarter is also at
Geneva.
Contrary to the temporary nature of GATT, WTO is a
permanent organisation which has been established on the
basis of an international treaty approved by participating
countries. It achieved the international status like IMF and
IBRD but it is not an agency of the UNO.
WTO has a General Council for its administration,
which includes one permanent representative of each member
nation. Generally, it has one meeting per month which is
held at Geneva.
The highest authority of policy making is WTO’s
Ministerial Conference which is held after every 2 years.
International Relations and Area Studies 47
At present the WTO has 164 members and 23 observer
governments. Afghanistan was the last country to join WTO
as 164th member. This includes China & Nepal whose
accession was approved by the WTO Ministerial Conferences
held in Doha & Cancun in November 2001 and September
2003 respectively. There are presently 30 countries in the
process of accession to the WTO.
There are number of important committees for
administration of WTO, out of which, 2 committees play the
pivotal role in WTO. They are:
1. Dispute Settlement Body — DSB.
2. Trade Policy Review Body — TPRB.
DSB considers the complaints of member countries
against violation of rules by any member country. This
body appoints a group of experts to investigate into such
complaints. This body meets twice a month for such cases.
TPRB reviews the trade policy of member countries.
The trade policy of all big trade powers of the World are
reviewed after every 2 years. All the members of WTO are
the members of TPRB.
Other important bodies of WTO are:
1. Council for Trade in Goods.
2. Council for Trade in Services.
3. Council for Trade related aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights.
Objective of WTO
1. To improve standard of living of people in the member
countries.
2. To ensure full employment and broad increase in
effective demand.
3. To enlarge production and trade of goods.
4. To enlarge production and trade of services.
5. To ensure optimum utilisation of world resources.
6. To accept the concept of sustainable development.
7. To protect environment.
UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATIONS
UN Specialized Agencies
Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working
with the United Nations. Specialized agencies may or may
not have been originally created by the United Nations, but
they are incorporated into the United Nations System by the
United Nations Economic and Social Council. At present
the UN has in total 15 specialized agencies that carry out
various functions on behalf of the UN.
The Specialized Agencies are Listed Below
 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
 48 International Relations and Area Studies
 International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD).
 International Labour Organization (ILO).
 International Maritime Organization (IMO).
 International Monetary Fund (IMF).
 International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).
 United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO).
 Universal Postal Union (UPU).
 World Bank Group (WBG).
 The International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD),
 The International Finance Corporation (IFC),
 The International Development Association (IDA),
 The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
(MIGA), and
 The International Centre for Settlement of
Investment Disputes (ICSID).
 World Health Organization (WHO).
 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
 World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
 World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Former Specialized Agencies
 The only UN specialized agency to go out of
existence is the International Refugee Organization,
which existed from 1946 to 1952.
 In 1952, it was replaced by the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees which is a
subsidiary organ of the United Nations General
Assembly.
UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
It is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations
system responsible for strengthening the promotion and
protection of human rights around the globe and for
addressing situations of human rights violations and make
recommendations on them. It meets at the UN Office at
Geneva. The Council is made up of 47 United Nations
Member States which are elected by the UN General
Assembly. The term of each seat is three years, and no
member may occupy a seat for more than two consecutive
terms. The council works closely with the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights and engages the United
Nations’ special procedures. The General Assembly can
suspend the rights and privileges of any Council member
that it decides has persistently committed gross and
systematic violations of human rights during its term of
membership. The suspension process requires a two-thirds
majority vote by the General Assembly. Russia, facing
allegations of war crimes in relation to its policies in Syria,
lost its seat on the UN Human Rights Council.
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
The International Maritime Organization – is the United
Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety
and security of shipping and the prevention of marine
pollution by ships. It has 171 Member States and three
Associate Members. The IMO’s primary purpose is to
develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework
for shipping and its remit today includes safety,
environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-
operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping.
IMO is governed by an assembly of members and is
financially administered by a council of members elected
from the assembly. Captain Radhika Menon, first woman
captain of the Indian Merchant Navy received IMO Award
for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.
UN Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD)
UNCTAD is an organ of UN General Assembly. The United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental
body. The organization’s goals are to: “maximize the trade,
investment and development opportunities of developing
countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the
world economy on an equitable basis.” The conference
ordinarily meets once in four years; the permanent secretariat
is in Geneva. The first conference took place in Geneva in
1964, second in New Delhi in 1968. The 14th UNCTAD
conference (July 2016) took place at Nairobi Kenya.
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
ICJ is the primary judicial branch of the United Nations
(UN). Seated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands,
the court settles legal disputes submitted to it by states. It
provides advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to
it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and
the UN General Assembly. Established in 1945 by the UN
Charter, the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to
the Permanent Court of International Justice.
Composition
 The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges elected to
nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the
UN Security Council from a list of people nominated
by the national groups in the Permanent Court of
Arbitration.
 Judges may be re-elected for up to two further terms.
 Elections take place every three years, with one-third
of the judges retiring each time.
 No two judges may be nationals of the same country.
 There is an informal understanding that the seats will
be distributed by geographic regions.

 The five permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council (France, Russia, China, the United
Kingdom, and the United States) always have a judge
on the Court.
Jurisdiction
 All 193 UN members are automatically parties to the
Court’s statute.
 Non-UN members may also become parties to the
Court’s statute under the Article 93(2) procedure.
New Secretary-General of UN
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has formally
elected Antonio Guterres as the new Secretary-General of
the United Nations. He will serve for five years starting from
January 1, 2017. The UN Secretary-General is the head of
the United Nations Secretariat and is de facto spokesperson
and leader of the UN.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction (UNISDR)
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
(UNISDR), created in December 1999, is the successor to
the secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster
Reduction. It was established to ensure the implementation
of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. It is
part of the United Nations Secretariat and its functions span
the social, economic, environmental as well as humanitarian
fields. UNISDR supports the implementation, follow-up and
review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
adopted by the Third UN World Conference on Disaster
Risk Reduction on 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan.
UNISDR’s vision is anchored on the four
priorities for action set out in the Sendai
Framework
 Understanding disaster risk.
 Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage
disaster risk.
 Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience.
 Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response
and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation
and reconstruction.
United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
India hosted the golden jubilee celebrations of United
Nations Com mission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL). UNCITRAL was established by the UN
General Assembly in 1966 to promote the progressive
harmonisation and unification of international trade law. It
is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the
field of international trade law. It also aims to modernize
International Relations and Area Studies 49
and harmonize rules on international business. The
Commission comprises 60 member States elected by the
United Nations General Assembly for a term of six years.
Membership is structured to ensure representation of the
world’s various geographic regions and its principal
economic and legal systems. India is a founding member of
UNCITRAL. India is only one of eight countries which
have been a member of UNCITRAL since its inception. In
2016 it was re-elected for a term of six years (2016-2022).
Indian Elected to UN International Law
Commission
Aniruddha Rajput, a young Indian lawyer, has been elected
to the UN International Law Commission. He bagged the
highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group.
Aniruddha Rajput is among 34 individuals elected by the
UN General Assembly as members of the International Law
Commission that is tasked with the progressive development
of international law and its codification. The five-year term
of the newly elected members commenced from January
2017. The members to the Geneva-based body have been
elected from five geographical groupings of Africa, Asia-
Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Caribbean and
Western Europe. The commission was established by the
UNGA in 1947.
UN Women: The United Nations Entity
for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women
UN Women is the UN entity dedicated to gender equality
and the empowerment of women. In July 2010, the United
Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United
Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment
of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part
of the UN reform agenda. It merges and builds on the
important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN
system, which focused exclusively on gender equality and
women’s empowerment:
 Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW).
 International Research and Training Institute for the
Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).
 Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and
Advancement of Women (OSAGI).
 United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM).
The Main Roles of UN Women are
 To support inter-governmental bodies in their
formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
 To help Member States to implement these standards,
provide suitable technical and financial support to
those countries that request it, and to forge effective
partnerships with civil society.
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 50 International Relations and Area Studies
 To hold the UN system accountable for its own
commitments on gender equality, including regular
monitoring of system-wide progress.
Union Cabinet has approved the signing of
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and
the United Nations Entity of Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).
World Food Programme (WFP)
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food assistance
branch of the United Nations and the world’s largest
humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting
food security. The WFP strives to eradicate hunger and
malnutrition, with the ultimate goal in mind of eliminating
the need for food aid itself. It is a member of the United
Nations Development Group and part of its Executive
Committee. Born in 1961, WFP pursues a vision of the
world in which every man, woman and child has access at
all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life.
The WFP is governed by an Executive Board which consists
of representatives from member states. The WFP operations
are funded by voluntary donations from world governments,
corporations and private donors. WFP food aid is also
directed to fight micronutrient deficiencies, reduce child
mortality, improve maternal health, and combat disease,
including HIV and AIDS.
INTERNATIONAL BANKS /
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
It is a regional development bank established on 22 August
1966 and is headquartered in Philippines. It aims to facilitate
economic development of countries in Asia. It also aims for
an Asia and Pacific free from poverty.
Membership and Voting
 The bank admits the members of the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly known as the United
Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far
East) and non-regional developed countries.
 Currently, it has 67 members – of which 48 are from
within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
ADB was modelled closely on the World Bank, and has
a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed
in proportion with member’s capital subscriptions.
Funding
 ADB raises funds through bond issues on the world’s
capital markets.
 ADB also rely on its members’ contributions, retained
earnings from its lending operations, and the
repayment of loans.
 Japan holds the largest proportions of shares at
15.67%.
 The United States holds 15.56%, China holds 6.47%,
India holds 6.36%, and Australia holds 5.81%.
Board of Governors
 It is the highest policy-making body of the bank.
 It is composed of one representative from each member
state.
 The Board of Governors also elect the bank’s President
who is the chairperson of the Board of Directors and
manages ADB.
Loans
 It offers both Hard Loans and Soft loans.
 The ADB offers “hard” loans from ordinary capital
resources (OCR) on commercial terms.
 The Asian Development Fund (ADF) affiliated with
the ADB extends “soft” with concessional conditions.
ADB focuses on five core areas of operations:
infrastructure; the environment, including climate change;
regional cooperation and integration; finance sector
development; and education.
BRICS’ New Development Bank
It is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS
countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). It
is seen as an alternative to the existing US-dominated World
Bank and International Monetary Fund. The N ew
Development Bank was agreed to by BRICS leaders at the
5th BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa in 2013.
The bank will be headquartered in Shanghai, China. Unlike
the World Bank, which assigns votes based on capital share,
in the New Development Bank each participant country
will be assigned one vote and none of the countries will
have veto power. BRICS’ New Development Bank headed
by eminent Indian banker K.V. Kamath.
What it Does?
 The New Development Bank will mobilise resources
for infrastructure and sustainable development
projects in BRICS and other emerging economies
and developing countries, to supplement existing
efforts of m ultilateral and regional financial
institutions for global growth and development.
The Union Cabinet has given its nod to Exim Bank of
India for entering into a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on general cooperation with the New Development
Bank (NDB).
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 The MoU is a non-binding umbrella agreement aimed
at establishing a cooperation framework in accordance
with the national laws and regulations, besides skills
transfer and knowledge sharing amongst the
signatories.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
The AIIB was established as a new multilateral financial
institution aimed at providing “financial support for
infrastructure development in the Asia – Pacific region.” It
was founded in October, 2014, with its headquarters in
Beijing. Its goals are also to boost economic development
in the region, create wealth, prove infrastructure, and promote
regional cooperation and partnership. The value of AIIB’s
authorized capital amounts to $100 billion, with almost
$30 billion invested by China. China, India and Russia are
the three largest shareholders of AIIB, taking 30.34%, 8.52%,
6.66% stake respectively. Their voting shares are 26.06%,
7.5% and 5.92% respectively. The share of non-Asian
countries is restricted to a maximum of 30 per cent. The
AIIB has a total of 57 members including 37 regional and
20 non-regional prospective founding members. India is the
founding member of AIIB.
African Development Bank (AfDB)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) was established in
1963. India became member of the African Development
Bank (AfDB) in 1983. Member governments are officially
represented at the AfDB by their Minister of Finance. The
Union Finance Minister and Secretary, Department of
Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance are the
Governor and Alternate Governor of the Bank respectively.
The AfDB’s mission is to fight poverty and improve living
conditions on the continent through promoting the
investment of public and private capital in projects and
programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and
social development of the region.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international
organisation headquartered in Washington, D.C. Working
to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial
stability, facilitate international trade, promote high
employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce
poverty around the world. Formed in 1944 at the Bretton
Woods Conference, it came into formal existence in 1945.
It now plays a central role in the management of balance of
payments difficulties and international financial crises.
Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system
from which countries experiencing balance of payments
problems can borrow money. India is the founding member
of IMF.
Executive Board
 24 Executive Directors make up Executive Board.
The Executive Directors represent all 189 member
countries in a geographically based roster.
International Relations and Area Studies 51
 Countries with large economies have their own
Executive Director, but most countries are grouped
in constituencies representing four or more countries.
 The IMF is led by a managing director, who is head
of the staff and serves as Chairman of the Executive
Board.
Voting Power
 Voting power in the IMF is based on a quota system.
 A member’s quota in the IMF determines the amount
of its subscription, its voting weight, its access to
IMF financing, and its allocation of Special Drawing
Rights (SDRs).
 United States has by far the largest share of votes
(approx. 16.5 per cent) amongst IMF members.
IMF Reforms
 The IMF reforms came into effect on January 27
which was approved by it in 2010.
 India’s voting rights increased to 2.6 per cent from
the current 2.3 per cent, and China’s, to six per cent
from 3.8.
 More than six per cent of the quota shares will shift
to emerging and developing countries from the U.S.
and European countries.
 The reforms bring India and Brazil into the list of the
top 10 members of IMF, along with the U.S, Japan,
France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, China
and Russia.
International Monetary and Finance
Committee (IMFC)
 The IMFC has 24 members, drawn from the pool of
187 governors.
 Its structure mirrors that of the Executive Board and
its 24 constituencies. As such, the IMFC represents
all the member countries of the Fund.
 The Committee discusses matters of common concern
affecting the global economy and also advises the
IMF on the direction its work.
 There is no formal voting at the IMFC, which operates
by consensus.
 Although the IMFC has no formal decision-making
powers, in practice, it has become a key instrument
for providing strategic direction to the work and
policies of the Fund.
International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD)
IBRD and its associate institutions as a group are known as
the World Bank. The Second World War damaged
economies of the most of the countries particularly of those
who were directly involved in the war. The global war had
completely dislocated the multilateral trade and had caused
 52 International Relations and Area Studies
massive destruction of life and property. In 1945, it was
realised to concentrate on reconstructing these war affected
economies. Besides, it was also given a thought to develop
underdeveloped economies in a planned way. IBRD was
established in December 1945 with the IMF on the basis of
the recommendation of the Bretton Wood Conference. That
is the reason why IMF and IBRD are called ‘Bretton Wood
Twins’. IBRD started functioning in June 1946. World Bank
and IMF are complementary institutions.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD) aims to reduce poverty in middle-
income and creditworthy poorer countries by promoting
sustainable development through loans, guarantees, risk
management products, and analytical and advisory services.
Established in 1945 as the original institution of the World
Bank Group, IBRD is structured like a co-operative that is
owned and operated for the benefit of its 189 member
countries.
IBRD raises most of its funds on the world’s financial
markets and has become one of the most established
borrowers since issuing its first bond in 1947.The income
that IBRD has generated over the years has allowed it to
fund development activities and to ensure its financial
strength, which enables it to borrow at low cost and offer
clients good borrowing terms.
India is a member of four constituents of the World
Bank Group i.e. IBRD, IDA, IFC and MIGA (i.e. Multilateral
Investment Guarantee Agency) but not of its fifth institute
ICSID (i.e., International Centre for the Settlement of
Investment Disputes). India is also the largest recipient of
loans from the world bank.
Objectives of World Bank
According to the Clause I of the Agreement made at the
time of establishment of World Bank, it was assigned the
following objectives:
1. To provide long-run capital to member countries for
economic reconstruction and development. World
Bank provides capital mainly for following purposes.
(i) To rehabilitate war ruined economies (this
objective is fully achieved).
(ii) To finance productive efforts according to
peace-time requirements.
(iii) To develop resources and production facilities
in underdeveloped countries.
2. To induce long-run capital investment for assuring
BOP equilibrium and balanced development of
international trade. (This objective was adopted to
increase the productivity of member countries and
to improve economic conditions and standard of
living among them).
3. To promote capital investment in member countries
by following ways:
(i) To provide guarantee on private loans or capital
investment.
(ii) If private capital is not available even after
providing guarantee, then IBRD provides loans
for productive activities on considerate
conditions.
4. To provide guarantee for loans granted to small and
large units and other projects of member countries.
5. To ensure the implementation of development
projects so as to bring about a smooth transference
from a war-time to peace economy.
IMF. Vs. World Bank
IMF and the World Bank are Bretton Woods Twins. Both
the institutions were established to promote international
economic co-operation but a basic difference is found in the
nature of economic assistance given by these two institutions.
World Bank provides long-term loans for promoting
balanced economic development, while IMF provides short-
term loans to member countries for eliminating BOP
disequilibrium. Both these institutions are complementary
to each other. The eminent World economist George Schultz
had suggested in Am erican Economic Association
Conference in January 1995, for the merger of IMF and the
World Bank.
Membership of the World Bank and the
Voting Right
Generally every member country of the IMF automatically
becomes the member of World Bank. Similarly, any country
which quits IMF is automatically expelled from the World
Bank’s membership. But under a certain provision a country
leaving the membership of IMF can continue its membership
with World Bank if 75% members of the Bank give their
vote in its favour.
Any member country can be debarred from the
membership of World Bank on following grounds:
1. Any member country can quit the Bank simply by
written notice to the Bank, but such country has to
repay the granted loans on terms and conditions
decided at the time of sanctioning the loan.
2. Any country working against the guidelines of Bank
can be debarred from membership by the Board of
Governors.
Like IMF, World Bank has also two types of members:
Founder members and General members. The World Bank
has 30 founder members who attained membership by
December 31, 1945. India is also among these founder
members. The countries joining the World Bank after
December 31, 1945, come under the category of general
members. As per status of end-September 2016, the total
membership of the World Bank is 189. The voting right of
member countries is determined on the basis of member
country’s share in the total capital of the Bank. Each member
has 250 votes plus one additional vote for each 1,00,000
shares of the capital stock held.
 International Relations and Area Studies 53

List of International Organizations and their Headquarters

International Organizations Headquarters

United Nations Organisation New York

United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) New York
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) New York
UN Women New York
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Washington DC
World Bank Washington DC
World Health Organisation Geneva
International Labour Organisation Geneva
International Committee of the Red Cross Geneva
World Trade Organisation Geneva
World Meteorological Organisation Geneva
World Intellectual Property Organization Geneva
International Organization for Standardization Geneva
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Paris
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Paris
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Vienna
International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Vienna
International Maritime Organisation London
Commonwealth of Nations London
Amnesty International London
Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Rome
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Brussels
Universal Postal Union Berne
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Jakarta
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Singapore
Transparency International Berlin
International Renewable Energy Agency Abu Dhabi (UAE)
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Kathmandu
Organization of Islamic Cooperation Jeddah
Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation Ebene, Mauritius
Worldwide Fund for Nature Gland, Switzerland
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Zurich, Switzerland
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Hague, The Netherlands
International Olympic Committee Lausanne, Switzerland
World Economic Forum Geneva, Switzerland
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Gland, Switzerland
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Paris, France
54 International Relations and Area Studies

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following dynamics of globalization 8. The 2000 Nice Treaty of EU:
have been mirrored by the developments in the EU? A. removed all non-tariff barriers.
A. EU integration has fed on and contributed to the B. led to the expansion of majority voting.
global trend towards neo-liberal economic policy C. destroyed the pound.
B. the trend towards greater social and cultural D. created the Common Market.
exchange has intensified
9. What is supranationalism?
C. Despite the growth of an integrated market there
A. Concept in integration theory that indicates that
is no real integrated civil society states remain in control of the process and that
D. All of the above
common of the process and that common
2. What is regionalism? institutions merely facilitate decision-making
A. Creation of a new polity bringing together a among state representatives
number of different constituent parts B. Concept in integration theory that implies the
B. Regular and sustained interaction between states creation of common institutions having
on policy issues independent decision-making authority and thus
C. Development of institutionalized cooperation the ability to impose certain decision and rules on
among states and other actors on the basis of member states
regional contiguity as a feature of global politics C. Concept in neo-functionalist integration theory,
D. Creation of institutions having independent indicating that there is a integration spillover
decision making authority D. None of the above
3. The 2004 EU Constitutional Treaty: 10. What is the role of intergovernmental conferences?
A. simplified the earlier treaties. A. It is where representatives of nations governments
B. creates the post of President of the Council and negotiate the legal framework within which the
EU Foreign Minister. EU institutions operate
C. incorporates the Fundamental Rights Charter. B. It is where EU officials meet to decide on economic
D. All of the above policy
C. It is where EU representatives convene for the
4. Which of the following is a Latin American regional
purpose of increased understanding between
institution?
nation-states
A. SAARC B. MERCOSUR
D. None of the above
C. APEC D. ASEAN
11. Which of the following countries refused to join
5. What is the European Court of Justice?
NPT?
A. EU’s highest court, ruling in dispute matters of
A. Israel B. Pakistan
EU law between member states
C. India D. All of them
B. EU’s court for human rights, ruling in human
rights violations in the EU 12. Of which nuclear treaty India is not yet a signatory?
C. A committee representing the laws of every country A. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
in the EU B. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
D. None of the above C. Both of these
D. None of these
6. What is the role of the European Commission?
A. Initiating, administering and overseeing the 13. Cuban missile crises which brought the world to the
implementation of EU policies and legislation brink of nuclear war ended with Soviet Union
B. Representatives of the EU investigating the promised to dismantle nuclear missiles in:
operations of other institutions A. 1961 B. 1962
C. Representing the views of national governments C. 1963 D. 1964
D. Determining the ultimate shape of EU legislation 14. When India Strategic Nuclear command was formally
7. What did the Single European Act of 1985 do? established?
A. Made a plan for a common market A. 1991 B. 1992
B. Removed all non-trade barriers to the mobility of C. 1994 D. 2003
goods, people, services and capital 15. When India “no-first-use” nuclear doctrine was
C. Reformed the commission and council in terms of released?
voting weights A. 1991 B. 1992
D. Economic and monetary union C. 1994 D. 1998
 International Relations and Area Studies 55

16. Two persons named Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were 27. China exploded its first nuclear bomb on:
executed in 1953 after being found guilty of steeling A. 16 October 1964 B. 16 March 1964
US nuclear secrets and passing them to: C. 16 March 1969 D. 17 April 1966
A. Soviet Union B. China 28. India also has large numbers of fighter-bomber
C. Germany D. France aircrafts. It is expected to rely heavily on Russian-
17. When Pakistan signed Lahore accords, with India, built aircraft such as:
agreeing a bilateral moratorium on nuclear testing? A. the MIG-29 for air defense in raid
A. 2000 B. 2001 B. the MIG-27 for long range bombing
C. 1998 D. 1999 C. multi-role sukhoi Su-30 MKI
D. all of these
18. Where was the first Nuclear Weapons Free Zone
applied? 29. India acceded to the:
A. Africa B. Antarctica A. Geneva Protocol in 1930
B. Biological Weapons convention on July 15, 1974
C. Latin America D. South East Asia
C. Chemical Weapons convention of September 3,
19. From which country India will buy “Backfire”, long 1996
range bombers missile? D. All of these
A. America B. France
30. Name the undeclared nuclear weapon state of the
C. Russia D. Germany
world:
20. Mention the range of Pirthvi-1 and Pirthvi-2, the A. Germany B. Japan
status of both is operational? C. South Korea D. Israel
A. 150 km and 350 km respectively 31. Who established India Nuclear strategic command?
B. 150 km and 250 km respectively A. Air Marshall Shastri
C. 220 km and 150 km respectively B. Air Marshall Asthana
D. 225 km and 300 km respectively C. Air Marshall Ashok jee
21. Ghauri-III is also called: D. Air Marshall Parkash Parbharkar
A. Hatf-7 B. Ghaznavi 32. Which country detonated its nuclear bomb in the
C. Tipu D. Abdali northwest coast of Australia in 1952?
22. When India was making efforts to isolate and purify A. USA B. Israel
the lithium - 6 isotope, a key requirement for the C. South Africa D. UK
production of thermonuclear device? 33. Which states are not signatories to the NPT?
A. 1980 B. 1989 A. Iraq B. Israel
C. 1985 D. 1988 C. Pakistan D. Both B and C
23. What is meant by ‘Atoms for Peace’? 34. What are some nuclear motivations?
A. It is an international NGO that seeks to ban atomic A. Pow er, security, and advancement of the
testing environment
B. It is the slogan of the IAEA B. Prosperity, survival, and economic leverage
C. The title of an Eisenhower speech which C. Strategic deterrence, political and prestige benefits
culminated on the creation of the IAEA D. All of the above
D. All of the above 35. USA exploded its first atomic bomb in the New
24. When Korea was divided into North Korea and South Mexico desert on:
Korea? A. 16th August, 1945 B. 16th July, 1945
A. 1947 B. 1948 C. 6th September, 1945 D. 25th September, 1945
C. 1949 D. 1950 36. Which Pakistan missile has range of 4,000 Km?
A. Hatf-7 B. Shaheen-III
25. Which is the first nuclear power country?
C. Tipu D. Babur-II
A. Britain B. USA
C. Soviet Union D. France 37. When Pakistan acceded Biological weapons?
A. 1974 B. 1975
26. Having a treat from India, since when Pakistan starts
C. 1976 D. 1977
its nuclear program?
A. 1960 B. 1965 38. During whose regime India exploded first nuclear
C. 1970 D. 1980 explosions?
56 International Relations and Area Studies

A. Nehru B. Vajpayee 49. What agreements exist that control export among
C. Indira Gandhi D. None of these suppliers to constrain the proliferation of missile
39. India is believed to have begun work on a ______ in technology?
1980. A. The Hague Code of Conduct
A. Atomic Weapon B. The Geneva Conventions
B. Hydrogen bomb C. The MTCR
C. Thermonuclear weapon D. A and C
D. Atomic bomb 50. When Pakistan acceded to the Geneva Protocol?
40. First Atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on 6th A. 15 April, 1960 B. 15 April, 1965
August, 1945 and second Atom bomb was dropped on C. 15 April, 1970 D. 15 April, 1975
Nagasaki on 51. What was the name of India’s underground test?
A. 10th August, 1945 B. 16th September, 1945 A. Operation Peaceful Buddha
C. 9th August, 1945 D. 19th June, 1945 B. Operation Integration Buddha
41. Shaheen’s range is 300 km. Mention it’s another C. Operation Mild Buddha
name? D. Operation Smiling Buddha
A. Hatf-3 B. Ghaznavi 52. Name the second series of tests suddenly carried out
C. Both of these D. None of these by India:
42. When India acceded to the Partial Test Ban Treaty? A. Operation Shakti
A. 1963 B. 1959 B. Operation Prithivi
C. 1971 D. 1978 C. Operation Smiling Buddha
43. When North Korea announced that it has nuclear D. None of these
weapons and will soon be carrying out a nuclear test 53. When Operation Shakti was carried out?
to demonstrate this capability? A. 11 May 1998 B. 13 May 1998
A. 25th March 2003 B. 25th April 2003 C. Both of these D. None of these
C. 15th July 2003 D. 28th August 2003
54. The device/s tested on 11 and 13 May 1998 by India
44. Babur missile has the range of: was/were:
A. 200 km B. 300 km A. two fusion devices
C. 400 km D. 500 km B. three low-yield devices
45. What are the criticisms of the nuclear non- C. one thermonuclear device (the “H-bomb”)
proliferation regime? D. All of these
A. It is not well-suited to the demands of the complex 55. Operation Smiling Buddha was conducted in the
and potentially more dangerous second nuclear Pokhran region of the northern Indian state of:
age A. Punjab B. Gujarat
B. It does not address the security motivation which
C. Haryana D. Rajasthan
leads states to acquire nuclear weapons in first
place 56. What does the category ‘WMD’ include?
C. It is unable to alleviate the security dilemma that A. Atomic explosive weapons
many states confront and it is discriminatory B. Machine guns
arrangement C. Lethal chemical and biological weapons
D. All of the above D. Both A and C
46. Which country exploded its first atom bomb on 29th 57. When did the USA withdraw from the ABM treaty?
August, 1949? A. in 1989, at the end of the Cold War
A. Soviet Union B. China B. When ballistic missiles were developed
C. France D. Germany C. in 2001
47. Which country exploded its atom bomb in the Sahara D. in 1948
desert on 13 February 1960? 58. Which nuclear treaty Pakistan signed on October 28,
A. Germany B. USA 1997?
C. France D. Britain A. Nuclear Weapons convention
48. When India conducted an underground nuclear test? B. Chemical Weapons convention
A. 1972 B. 1973 C. Missile Technology convention
C. 1974 D. 1975 D. None of these
 International Relations and Area Studies 57
59. Which country conducted underground nuclear test 70. Grants that can be used to buy certain products from
just days after the successful confirmation of the the donor state are:
NPT? A. grants-in-aid
A. Soviet Union B. China B. compensatory funds
C. France D. None of these C. credits
D. reciprocal development grants
60. When France conducted its 6th and final nuclear test?
A. 27th January 1996 71. Which of the following was NOT a European
B. 7th February 1995 colonizer?
C. 28th January 1995 A. France B. Portugal
D. 15th February 1996 C. Spain D. Switzerland
61. Which country exploded its first hydrogen bomb on 72. Which of these is NOT generally associated with
Christmas Island in Indian Ocean in 1957? “economic development”?
A. Britain B. USA A. capital accumulation
C. Soviet Union D. France B. rising per capita incomes
C. increasing levels of foreign aid
62. Pakistan began a program to develop nuclear D. increasing skills in the population
weapons in 1972 under the guidance of:
A. Gen Zia-ul-Haq B. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto 73. Government assistance that flows to third world
C. Gen Tikka Khan D. Yahya Khan countries through UN agencies is called:
A. unitary aid B. indirect aid
63. After North Korea’s nuclear explosion, what is the C. reciprocal aid D. multilateral aid
current number of nuclear states including Israel?
A. 10 B. 7 74. Which of the following is an accurate statement about
C. 8 D. 9 patterns of growth in the new century?
A. Although growth has been uneven, total rate of
64. One of the primary states from which illegal growth is basically equal between the North and
immigrants come to the United State is: South.
A. North Korea B. Australia B. Africa experienced negative economic growth.
C. Mexico D. Brazil C. South Asia still lags far behind China in growth
65. After World War II, a third form of dependency rate.
became more common in less-developed countries: D. The South now outpaces the North in growth rate.
penetration of national economics by: 75. World-system theory has a _______ orientation.
A. cartels B. MNCs A. Marxist B. capitalist
C. IGOs D. the WTO C. mercantilism D. neo-functionalist
66. Debt renegotiation means: 76. India’s economy was for decades based loosely on:
A. allowing an MNC to purchase the debt and invest A. capitalism, allowing private enterprise to dictate
in the country whose debt it has purchased. the rise and fall of major industries.
B. reworking the terms on which a loan will be repaid. B. Marxist values and central control of all means of
C. shifting debt from governmental creditors to production.
multilateral creditors. C. socialism and state control of agriculture and
D. taking out new loans to pay off old ones. consumer goods, but private capitalism for large
industries.
67. Multilateral foreign aid from the United Nations is D. socialism and state control of large industries but
managed by: on private capitalism in agriculture and consumer
A. UNDP B. USAID goods.
C. UNICEF D. UNESCO
77. What is the term used to describe the continuation of
68. The ability of a country to put investments to colonial exploitation without formal political
productive use is: control?
A. empowerment B. debt services A. post dependency B. neocolonialism
C. repatriation D. absorptive capacity C. colonialism D. mercantilism
69. _______ are agricultural goods produced for exports 78. The economic reforms that took place in China in the
for world markets. last 30 years are the responsibility of:
A. Subsistence crops B. Cash crops A. Mao Zedong B. Hu Jintao
C. Bumper crops D. Rotation crops C. Deng Xiaoping D. Sun Yat-Sen
2105 (MA–IR)—8
58 International Relations and Area Studies

79. State-to-state aid that goes directly from one 89. Artificially favorable terms on a loan are referred to as
government to another is called: A. interest relief B. macrocredit
A. reciprocal aid B. bilateral aid C. concessionary terms D. conditional relief
C. multilateral aid D. unitary aid
90. Why are developing countries dependent on export of
80. USAID stands for a few major products particularly vulnerable to
A. U.S. Agency for Integrated Decision-making corruptions?
B. U.S. Agricultural and International Development A. Those exports are typically controlled by a handful
Agency of large landowners.
C. U.S. Agency for International Development B. The revenue arrives in a very concentrated form
D. U.S. Aid Agency of large payments of hard currency.
81. “Structural adjustment programs” are a significant C. When the price for those exports drops on the
part of _______ policies directed toward the world market, local government officials seek to
government of developing countries. supplement their income by corrupt means.
A. WTO B. GATT D. It is nearly impossible to officially track the value
C. NIEO D. IMF and payment receipts for a few large exports in
developing countries.
82. Which of the following is a model of development
assistance? 91. A migrant:
A. The handout model, Oxfam model and disaster A. moves to a new country to be granted asylum.
relief model B. lives only in an urban area.
B. Oxfam C. flees his or her country to avoid a natural disaster.
C. Disaster relief D. moves to a new country in search of better
D. Handout economic opportunities.
83. What led industrial workers and even government 92. The distinctive aspect of the Oxfam model is that:
officials to join students in antigovernment protests at A. all of the aid distributed via this model comes
Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989? from countries of the global South.
A. opposition to the weakening of communist B. it relies on local communities to determine the
economic structures needs of their own people and to carry out
B. a desire for greater political freedoms development projects.
C. popular resentment over such problems as inflation C. it relies on simply giving food or money without
and corruption much through to the broader consequences.
D. opposition to a ban on exports to Western countries D. it cuts off aid if the recipient states or communities
84. Which of the following gained independence from do not show immediate progress in improving the
Great Britain through nonviolent resistance? provision of basic human needs.
A. Pakistan B. Australia
93. The Westphalian system was important for
C. Singapore D. The United States
nationalism because:
85. Of all of the forms of development assistance, ______ A. it created the modern state.
aid is one of the least efficient and most prone to B. it provided the base for Nationalism, in terms of
impede rather than help economic assistance. understanding of sovereignty and non-interference.
A. agricultural B. economic C. it provided the state with a new set of values.
C. military D. manufacturing D. Both A and B.
86. In the world system, the regions that mostly 94. Why are nations said to be ‘imagined communities’?
manufacture goods are referred to as the: A. Based on an idea of a group of people one knows
A. periphery B. core one is a part of, but all of whose members one can
C. semi-periphery D. lumpenproletariat never meet
87. Trade has been the primary focus of which newly B. Nations are where traditions and history are used
industrializing country? by intellectuals to create a sense of nationhood
A. Singapore B. Japan C. Because when a nation does not have set of
C. Thailand D. Hong Kong traditions they are invented
D. All of the above
88. Which OECD member gives the lowest percentage of
GNP in foreign aid? 95. “Deriving legitimacy from the claim to expression of
A. Luxembourg B. Austria the interests and values of the nation which it rules”
C. The United States D. Canada defines a:
 International Relations and Area Studies 59
A. Imagined community 102. What is ethnic nationalism?
B. Nation-state A. Nationalism that represents an already existing
C. Government community
D. Nation B. Nationalism based on ethnic diversity
C. Nationalism that’s created to forge a sense of
96. The difference between the nation and the state is: collective identity
A. That the state is a contested term whereas the D. Nationalism that represents immigrants
nation is not.
B. That states are ethnically defined whereas nations 103. British nationalism:
A. Has been attributed to Christianity, parliamentary
are civically defined.
institutions, and free trade.
C. None-they are identical.
B. Was resisted by colonial areas.
D. None of the options given is correct.
C. Can be characterized as state-strengthening, civic,
97. The theory that nations are primary groups and elite.
constituted by descent and/or culture, accompanied D. All of the options given are correct.
by the idea that nationalism arises from a prior sense 104. In the 20th century, war altered nationalism:
of national identity is called: A. By successfully suppressing nationalism across
A. Ethnic nationalism Europe.
B. Primordialism B. By giving rise to fascist variant.
C. Ethno-Symbolism C. By giving voice to the demands for self-
D. Pragmatism determination.
D. Both B and C.
98. Communists oppose nationalism because:
A. it is liberal 105. What is political nationalism?
B. it is the ‘opium of the masses’ A. Nationalism that represents an already existing
C. it facilities globalization community
D. None of the above B. Nationalism based on ethnic diversity
C. Nationalism that’s created to forge a sense of
99. What are Mazzini’s views on nationalism? collective identity
A. Nations are a given, with their national territory D. Nationalism that represents immigrants
and should have independence
B. Nationhood is based on a sense of community 106. German nationalism:
A. Completed between ethnic nationalism and a
and common history
liberal constitutional form.
C. The nation is strictly a political community
B. Became increasingly state-strengthening over time.
D. None of the above
C. Was facilitated by industrialization.
100. What are the consequences of nationalism for D. All of the options given are correct.
international relations? 107. Nationalism assumes:
(i) Nationalism provides a new set of values and A. The nation as the fundamental political unit.
system of legitimation for the system of states B. The nation as basis of political loyalty and
(ii) it has provided impetus for the redrawing of maps identity.
(iii) it serves as an important tool in state building C. The demand for self-determination.
(through the formation of a common identity and D. All of the options given are correct.
consciousness)
108. Indian nationalism came from:
A. Only (i) B. (i), (ii) A. A complex hybrid of elite civic nationalism,
C. (ii), (iii) D. (i), (ii), (iii) resistance to imperial Britain, and ethnically
101. The modern idea of nationalism is a combination of: fragmented national identities.
(i) Enlightenment and liberal concepts of self-ruling B. Post-colonial resistance to state formation.
community C. Ideology alone.
(ii) French revolutionary idea of community of equal D. None of the options given is correct.
citizens 109. How does the ‘justice versus order’ debate impinge on
(iii) German conceptions of a people formed by history, nationalism?
and culture A. Balance of power politics conflict with self-
(iv) Marxist understanding of class consciousness determination
A. (i), (ii) B. (i), (ii), (iii) B. Great powers carve out spheres of influence
C. (i), (iv), (ii) D. (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) antithetical to the freedom of nation states
 60 International Relations and Area Studies
C. Nationalist demands and disputes often lead to
conflict and injustice
D. All of the above
110. The end of the cold war:
A. Has led to discussion of forms of political
community beyond the nation-state.
B. Has broken up some multi-national states in
processes of state subversion.
C. Came hand in hand with globalization.
D. All of the options given are correct.
111. The historical claim that there have been cases of
nations and even nationalism before the modern
period is called:
A. Perennialism
B. Primordialism
C. Ethno-symbolism
D. None of the options given is correct
112. What are the core themes of nationalism ideology?
A. Humanity is naturally divided into nations
B. Each nation has a peculiar character
C. Loyalty to the nation state overrides other loyalties
D. All of the above
113. Norms of environmental protection include:
A. The precautionary principle
B. The polluter pays
C. Prior informed consent
D. All of the options given are correct
114. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
A. was set up in 1988 under the auspices of WMO
and UNEP
B. Focuses on climate science, impacts, and economic
and social dimensions of climate change
C. Has concluded that warming of the climate system
is unequivocal
D. All of the options given are correct
115. Air and water pollution are typically _____ problems.
A. multilateral B. regional
C. economic D. global
116. In which region is water scarcity a particular problem?
A. East Asia B. West Africa
C. South America D. the Middle East
117. The “precautionary principle”:
A. Is German in origin
B. Advocates for a higher standard for environmental
action
C. Has become increasingly popular
D. All of the options given are correct
118. The Qatar-based all-news satellite TV network
________ has become a major force in Middle East
politics.
A. al Rasheed B. al Kalipha
C. al Bassara D. al Jazeera
119. The second oil shock (1979) was the result of a
revolution in:
A. Iran B. Saudi Arabia
C. Iraq D. Egypt
120. The Montreal Protocol on CFCs:
A. has been successful, but is not projected to have
any significant effect on the hole in the ozone
layer
B. has been the most important success in global
efforts to coordinate environmental protection
C. is one of the most prominent failures of
international efforts to coordinate environmental
protection
D. has been ratified by most states and seem some
voluntary compliance, but has failed to win the
approval of some of the largest violators of CFC
emissions
121. Capacity building involves:
A. Arrangements for the transfer of funds, technology
and expertise
B. Environmental projects in developed countries
C. Both A and B
D. None of the options given is correct
122. What was created to monitor states’ compliance with
their promises made at the Earth Summit?
A. the Commission on Sustainable Development
B. Greenpeace
C. the Montreal Protocol
D. the UN Environmental Program
123. The regime under which the production and trading
of CFCs and other ozone depleting substances would
be progressively phased out is:
A. The Montreal Protocol
B. The Chloro Fluoro-Carbon Treaty
C. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
D. None of the options given is correct
124. The tragedy of the commons:
A. Results from an inherent tension between
collective and individual responsibility
B. Can always be resolved through privatization and
nationalization of the commons
C. Is independent of the carrying capacity of the
common
D. All of the options given are correct
125. What 1997 treaty adopted a complex formula for
reducing greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels in the
global North?
A. UNCLOS III
B. Framework Convention on Climate Change
C. Kyoto Protocol
D. UNEP
 International Relations and Area Studies 61
126. Increasingly, international organizations that D. Focus on the dissemination of environmental
specialize in technical and management aspects of the norms
environment overlap with epistemic communities,
134. The process whereby a commons is split into private
which are:
held pieces of property in order to manage resources
A. broader communities of experts from various states
responsibly is known as:
that structure the way states manage environmental
A. enclosure B. privatization
issues.
C. reclamation D. land division
B. broader management structures that coordinate the
diverse activities of international organizations. 135. “Estimating the area of productive land or aqua
C. state bureaucrats nominated or elected to deal system required to sustain a population at its
with environmental issues. specified standard of living” creates an:
D. groups of protesters or activists that have A. Epistemic Community
organized to oppose corporate interests. B. Global environmental common
C. Ecological footprint
127. Which global region has the highest energy D. Convention
consumption per person in the world?
A. the Middle East B. North America 136. The _______ river flows through Syria, Lebanon,
C. South America D. Europe Israel, and Jordan, adding to the conflict between
them.
128. Which of the following is characteristic of the final
A. Tigris B. Syrian
stage of demographic transition?
C. Jordon D. Nile
A. high death rates
B. high birthrates 137. The “global commons” refers to:
C. high birth rates and death rates that are close to A. the shared parts of the earth.
each other B. the parts of the Earth not accessible to any one
D. rapid population growth nation.
C. natural phenomena that affect all inhabitants of
129. The largest oil-exporting country in the world is:
the Earth.
A. Venezuela B. Norway D. all parts of nature that contribute to the health of
C. Russia D. Saudi Arabia the global environment.
130. Traditional environmental issues include: 138. _______ development refers to economic growth that
A. Natural resource conservation does not deplete resources and destroy ecosystems so
B. Climate change quickly that the basis of economic growth is itself
C. Pollution undermined.
D. Both A and C A. Sustainable B. Large-scale
131. Which of these countries has been the most reluctant C. Progressive D. Reliable
to agree to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions? 139. What are the main features of ‘Western’ culture:
A. China B. the United States A. Belief in universal rationality
C. Russia D. Great Britain B. Progress through empirical science
132. Which of the following is a possible consequence of C. Goals involving mastery of nature
global warming? D. All of the above
A. An increase in chlorofluorocarbons in the 140. Arrange the following events in chronological order:
atmosphere. (i) The Iranian revolution
B. A global temperature increase of three to ten (ii) The Algerian Civil War
degrees Fahrenheit. (iii) The outbreak of intifada and growth of HAMAS
C. An increase in ultraviolet radiation reaching the in Palestine
Earth’s surface. A. (i), (ii), (iii) B. (ii), (iii), (i)
D. A global temperature increase of ten to fifteen C. (iii), (ii), (i) D. (i), (iii), (ii)
degrees Celsius.
141. What is meant by multiculturalism?
133. Realist approaches to environmental politics: A. Culture drawing on many influences but still
A. Emphasize the role of institutions in regulating within the patriarchal and Eurocentric framework
the environment B. Culture drawing on multiple influences
B. Focuses on questions of state power and interest undermining patriarchal culture
C. Em phasizes the role played by epistem ic C. Listening to world music
communities of scientists D. Eating a big Mac in India
 62 International Relations and Area Studies

142. What is ‘Sharia’? 151. The international Convention on the Elimination of

A. Holy struggle Child Labour:
B. Islamic Law A. was a result of countries appearing as autonomous
C. Veiling women containers of political, social and economic activity
D. None of the above in that fixed borders separate the domestic sphere
from the world outside.
143. What is a ‘civilization’?
B. represents a process in which the organization of
A. The urban society
social activities is increasingly less constrained
B. The broadest construction of cultural identity
by geographical proximity and national territorial
C. A society which is intellectually accomplished
boundaries.
D. The rural society
C. involves a complex mix of homogenization and
144. What is religious fundamentalism? increased heterogeneity given the global diffusion
A. Extreme religious revivalism of popular culture, global media corporations, and
B. A type of political protest against the West or communications networks.
prevailing institutions D. was the product of a complex politics involving
C. A reaction to modernity public and private actors from trade unions,
D. All of the above industrial associations, humanitarian groups,
145. What are the main features of a culture? governments, and legal experts.
A. Customs and norms 152. The Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the
B. History and religion Berlin Wall:
C. Language and ethnicity A. were crises during the post-Cold War
D. All of the above B. were crises that led to World War II
C. were crises that followed the Vietnam War
146. For Huntington, the ‘clash of civilizations’ has drawn
D. were crises during the Cold War
from:
A. the relative decline of the West. 153. Which of these is NOT associated with the “collective
B. a population explosion in the Muslim world and goods problem” in IR?
resurgence of Islam. A. tragedy of the commons
C. the impact of expansion and transnational flows B. collective action
resulting from globalization C. free riding
D. All of the above D. hegemony
147. What was the effect of the 1978-79 Iranian 154. The Soviet policy of perestroika pursued:
Revolution? A. containment of American military power
A. A populist Islamic movement overthrew a powerful B. economic reform
secular state C. support of developing w orld com munist
B. The revolution caused the Iran-Iraq war revolutions
C. The language of Jihad and martyrdom had been D. detente with China
vindicated 155. State autonomy is challenged in the ‘post-
D. All of the above Westphalian order’ because:
148. Which country occupied Germany after World War II? A. countries appear as autonomous containers of
A. France political, social and economic activity in that
B. Soviet Union fixed borders separate the domestic sphere from
C. The United States the world outside
D. All these countries B. by comparison with the heyday of European
global empires the majority of the world’s
149. The “Sino-Soviet split” involved relationship population and countries in the South are now
between the Soviet Union and: much less integrated into the global system
A. United States B. Japan C. in a more interdependent world, simply to achieve
C. China D. Great Britain domestic objectives national government are
150. In ______ in 1994, the genocide of more than half a forced to engage in extensive multilateral
million civilians in a matter of weeks was virtually collaboration and co-operation
ignored by the international community. D. stare power, nationalism and territorial boundaries
A. Macedonia B. Bosnia are of growing not less importance in world
C. Iraq D. Rwanda politics.

156. The disaggregated state:
A. is the com plex which bring together the
representatives of governments, international
organizations, NGOs, and the corporate sector for
the formulation and implementation of global
public policy
B. is the formal and informal mechanism which link
government officials in one agency with their
foreign counterparts for purposes of policy
coordination, harm onization, dialog and
enforcement
C. is the tendency for states to become increasingly
fragmented actors in global politics as every part
of the government machine becomes entangled
with its foreign counterparts and others in dealing
proliferating trans-governmental and global policy
networks
D. is the rightful entitlement to exclusive, unqualified
and supreme rule within a delimited territory
157. In the first wave, the age of discovery (1450-1850),
globalization was:
A. a benign form of cosmopolitan democracy.
B. equally experienced across the world and amongst
different social groups
C. decisively shaped by European expansion and
conquest
D. saw the establishment of the international
Convention on the Elimination of Child Labour
158. In international relations, the principle of _______
underlies the great power system.
A. identity B. co-operation
C. dominance D. reciprocity
159. The ‘Post-Westphalian Order’ is characterized by:
A. the sovereign power and authority of national
government – the entitlement of states to rule
within their own territorial space – being
transformed but not necessarily eroded.
B. a real dilemma: in return for more effective public
policy and meeting their citizens demands, whether
in relation to the drugs trade or employment, their
capacity for self-governance - that is state
autonomy - is compromised.
C. a new geography of political organization and
political power is emerging, which transcends
territories and borders.
D. All of the above
160. What development wrecked France’s dream of
leading a unified European foreign policy?
A. Eastern Europe’s stated desire to remain politically
close to Russia
B. The division between Eastern and Western Europe
over expanding membership in NATO
C. Eastern Europe’s support of the U.S decision to
invade Iraq in 2003
International Relations and Area Studies 63
D. Western Europe’s rejection of high agricultural
subsidies in international world trade negotiations
161. In 1962, the United States and the USSR almost went
to war over the issue of Soviet nuclear weapons in:
A. North Korea B. Poland
C. East Germany D. Cuba
162. Which of these regions is NOT part of the larger
global region known as the global North?
A. North America B. Western Europe
C. The Middle East D. Japan
163. Sceptical accounts of globalization dismiss its
significance because they argue:
A. by comparison with the period 1870 to 1914 the
world is much less globalized economically,
politically and culturally
B. the vast bulk of international economic and
political activity is concentrated within the group
of OECD states
C. globalization is at best a self-serving myth or
ideology which reinforces western and particularly
US hegemony in world politics.
D. All of the above
164. Time-space compression is:
A. capitalism’s insatiable requirement for new
markets and profits, which lead inevitably to the
globalization of economic activity.
B. a shared ecology involving shared environmental
problems, from global warming to species
protection, alongside the creation of multilateral
responses and regimes of global environmental
governance.
C. central to any account of globalization since it is
a truism that without modern communications
infrastructures, in particular, a global system or
world-wide economy not be possible.
D. the technologically induced erosion of distance
and time giving the appearance a world that is in
communication terms shrinking.
165. The Cold War began:
A. immediately before World War I
B. immediately after the Korean War
C. immediately after World War I
D. immediately after World War II
166. Which of the following is NOT an example of an
Intergovernmental Organization (IGO)?
A. Amnesty International
B. NATO
C. the World Trade Organization
D. OPEC
167. How did the Korean War affect the overall Cold War?
A. It cemented communist military control over
Southeast Asia
 64 International Relations and Area Studies
B. It sparked a thaw in relations between the Soviet
Union and China
C. It hardened overall American attitudes toward
communism
D. It sparked a thaw in relations between China and
the United States
168. Which of these countries experienced a “Cultural
Revolution” during the Cold War?
A. China B. Japan
C. Great Britain D. the United States
169. The foreign policy adopted by the United States in
the early years of the Cold War to stop the expansion
of the Soviet Union was known as:
A. the Marshall Plan
B. containment
C. mutual assured destruction
D. peaceful coexistence
170. Which level of analysis considers the interactions of
states themselves without regard to their internal
makeup or the particular leaders who lead them?
A. inter-state B. individual
C. global D. national
171. Asymmetrical globalization is:
A. the way in which contemporary globalization is
equally experienced across the world and amongst
different social groups
B. the way in which contemporary globalization is
unequally experienced across the world and
amongst different social groups
C. the degree to which networks or patterns of social
interaction are formally constituted as
organizations with specific purposes
D. a process in which the organization of social
activities is increasingly less constrained by
geographical proximity and national territorial
boundaries
172. The second wave (1850-1945):
A. defined a new age in world history so today the
microchip and the satellite are icons of a globalized
world order
B. evidenced a major expansion in the spread and
entrenchment of European empires
C. saw the expansion of transnational and
international law from trade to human rights
D. saw the establishment of the international
Convention on the Elimination of Child Labour
173. The Berlin Wall separated:
A. Poland from East Germany
B. the Soviet Union from East Germany
C. West Germany from the Soviet Union
D. West Berlin from East Berlin
174. Which of these core principles provides incentives for
mutual cooperation?
A. reciprocity B. dominance
C. identity D. polity
175. The United States backed the Ethiopian government
in its conflict with Somalia in the 1970s as part of:
A. an attempt to secure its natural resources
B. an attempt to support the new Soviet policy of
glasnost
C. an attempt to prevent the Soviet Union from
gaining a seaport in the Horn of Africa
D. a proxy war with the Soviet Union
176. Globalization involves:
A. a stretching of social, political, and economic
activities across political frontiers
B. a growing magnitude of interconnections in almost
every sphere of social existence
C. an accelerating pace of global interactions and
processes associated with a deepening enmeshment
of the local and the global
D. All of the above
177. The term “banana republic” refers to the relationship
between poorer states and:
A. MNCs B. NGOs.
C. IGOs D. Substate actors
178. Wherever a river forms a delta before falling into the
Sea, it develop creeks on the coastal line. Where this
delta area is located in Pakistan and India?
A. South of Rann of Kutch
B. North of Rann of Kutch
C. West of Rann of Kutch
D. East of Rann of Kutch
179. What is the significance of Sir Creek for which India
and Pakistan are fighting for this Swampy land?
A. prospect of finding petroleum deposits
B. presence of schools of fish in the continental shelf
C. both of these
D. none of these
180. The resolution of 1914 demarcated the boundaries
between the two territories, included the Creek as part
of Sindh thus setting the boundary as the:
A. Western Flank of the Creek
B. Eastern Flank of the Creek
C. Southern Flank of the Creek
D. Northern Flank of the Creek
181. Pakistan maintains that the doctrine is not applicable
in the case as it only applies to bodies or water that
are:
A. Navigable B. Not Navigable
C. Partially Navigable D. Mostly Navigable
182. Which resolution demarcated boundaries between the
two territories, included the creek of part of Sindh?
A. Resolution of 1914 signed between government
of Sindh and Maharaja of Kutch
 International Relations and Area Studies 65
B. Resolution of 1925 signed between Sindh A. both countries should go for another arbitration
government and Maharaja of Kutch B. both countries should go for international
C. Both of them arbitration
D. None of them C. both countries should share creek equally
D. None of these
183. The dispute lies in the interpretation of the line
between Runn of Kutch and Sindh as depicted? 192. When was the last composite dialogue between India
A. 1914 map B. 1925 map and Pakistan on Sir Creek issue scheduled but ended
C. Both of them D. None of them in failure?
A. January 2004 B. January 2005
184. Which Doctrine in International Law India supports
C. January 2003 D. January 2006
its case according to which the river boundaries
between states are divided by the mid channel? 193. What is Pakistani stand about Sir Creek?
A. Thalweg Doctrine A. it should run on northern bank of Creek
B. Mari Doctrine B. it should run on eastern bank of Creek
C. B.P (Border Post) Doctrine C. it should run on southern bank of Creek
D. None of these D. it should run on western bank of Creek
185. During the British period, under whose administration 194. The present problem between India and Pakistan is on
the Rann of Kutch was? Sir Creek. India maintains that this line should run
A. British Government through:
B. Sindh Government A. the eastern edge of the Creek
C. Partly by Sindh Government and Partly by B. the western edge of the Creek
Maharaja of Rann of Kutch C. Through the middle of the Creek
D. Maharaja of Rann of Kutch D. The 3rd half of the Creek
186. When the well-known Rann of Kutch arbitration took 195. The boundary line which include the creek in Sindh
place? is known as?
A. 1947 B. 1958 A. Blue line B. Green line
C. 1960 D. 1965 C. Red line D. Yellow line
187. Which country proposed a seaward approach, viz, 196. Since when Pakistan and India have been fighting at
until the boundary is formalized in the Sir creek? Siachen glacier?
A. India B. Pakistan A. 1981 B. 1986
C. UNO D. USA C. 1984 D. 1983
188. Why Pakistan does not agree to the Thalweg 197. In 1950, who presented Karachi Agreement report to
Doctrine’s reference by India? UN?
A. This is India’s deviation from historical Indus A. Own Dixon B. John Henry
Water Traety C. Philip Own D. Hellary Dixon
B. This doctrine is applicable to navigable area and 198. How Siachan dispute originated?
creek is not navigable A. To safeguard the passage to Kashmir India needed
C. Creek is not regularly navigable a high post
D. None of these B. Boundary of Jammu and Kashmir was not fully
189. What is the total length of Sir Greek? demarcated
A. 35 miles B. 45 miles C. To cut off Pak India land connection India
C. 55 miles D. 60 miles occupied the glacier
D. None of these
190. According to whom, India and Pakistan would have
to demarcate the continental shelf by the year 2004 199. How much area of Siachen out of total is controlled
but the problem is still unsolved? by India?
A. US convention on the Law of Seas A. Only half B. Three fourth
B. UN convention on the Law of Seas C. One third D. Two third
C. India-Pakistan convention on the Law of Seas 200. Which operation was launched by Pakistan on
D. None of these Siachen glacier in 1984?
191. To solve the problem of Sir Creek, which proposal A. Operation Vidhara B. Operation Gibraltar
Pakistan gave to India that India has rejected? C. Operation Raman D. Operation Freedom
2105 (MA–IR)—9
 66 International Relations and Area Studies

201. Siachen Glacier is the great Himalayan watershed C. Concerned with economic development place.
that: D. Afraid terrorism will make the world a less secure
A. demarcates central Asia from Indian subcontinent place.
B. separates Pakistan from China in this region
211. Which of the following conflicts was collective
C. Both of these
security successful?
D. None of these
A. the breakup of Yugoslavia
202. When the Indian Army occupied Siachen Glacier B. It has never been successful.
region of Kashmir? C. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait
A. April 11, 1984 B. April 13, 1984 D. The genocide in Rwanda
C. April 15, 1984 D. April 17, 1984
212. _______ refers to the number of independent power
203. When was the first agreement signed on Siachen centers that exist in the international system.
Glacier? A. Power distribution B. Power center
A. 1950 B. 1971 C. Power shift D. Polarity
C. 1949 D. 1954
213. The fifth-century BCE political realist who said that
204. The dispute of Siachen arose over differing “the strong do what they have the power to do and the
interpretations: weak accept what they have to accept” was
A. of a provision of the 1949 ceasefire A. Thucydides B. Hobbes
B. subsequent 1972 Simla agreement that left a C. Ibn Kahaldum D. Machiavelli
portion of ceasefire line in Kashmir unidentified
214. Middle powers include:
C. Both of these A. Great Britain B. Colombia
D. None of these C. Iran D. Luxembourg
205. What does the word Siachen means ironically?
215. If liberal states don’t go to war with one another how
A. Place of red lilies
does this undermine Realism?
B. Place of wild roses A. Because this world challenge the realist claim
C. Place of white swans that periods of peace are just a preparation for
D. Place of red roses future wars.
206. Which area of the glacier is controlled by Pakistan? B. It does not undermine realism, since realism
A. Motorable pass and Kharadugla pass predicts they will not go to war with one another.
B. Glacial valley and Gyong La pass C. Because it would challenge the principle of self-
C. Sia Laand Bilfond La help, by which the structure of the system does
D. None of them not permit friendship, trust and honour.
D. Both A and C
207. Now, under the Karachi Agreement it was clear that
Siachen Glacier formed part of Baltistan in Northern 216. According to realists,
Areas of Pakistan. This reality was reflected in British A. states act like rational individuals who “think” in
and American maps including: pursuing national interests.
A. Britannica Atlas B. nations think multilaterally in most situations.
B. National Geographic Society’s Atlas of the world C. human nature is essentially good.
C. Times Atlas of the world and historical Atlas of D. a state’s power is best determined by the size of
south Asia its territory.
D. All of these 217. _______ is the ability to convert one element of
208. Which is the highest battle ground on earth? power into another.
A. Siachen glacier B. Lhotse A. Hegemony B. Power conversion
C. Mt Logan D. Monte Rosa C. Relative power D. Fungible capability
209. What term describes the ease with which alliance 218. The Munich Agreement of 1938 with Adolph Hitler
members hold together an alliance? is synonymous with:
A. burden sharing B. collective security A. the policy of containment.
C. alliance cohesion D. balance of power B. realist philosophy.
210. Realists are: C. neo-realist strategy.
D. the policy of appeasement.
A. Advocates of aggressive foreign policy and war.
B. Supporters of war when it is necessary to further 219. What is the “ethic of responsibility” and how does it
a rational understanding of the national interest. relate to world politics?
2105 (MA–IR)—9-II

A. It is the responsibility realists have towards the
world; this creates a more realistic scene in world
politics.
B. It marks the limits of ethics in international
relations, this results in decision-makers weighing
up consequences and sometimes expecting
positive outcomes of amoral actions.
C. It is a vow politicians take, which requires them
to take responsibility for the ethics of their
international actions.
D. None of the options given are correct.
220. Which of the following is true of Japan’s military
posture?
A. Japan maintains a small and weak army by world
standards.
B. Japan public opinion restrains militarism and
precludes the development of nuclear weapons.
C. Japan has only recently begun to develop nuclear
weapons.
D. Japan’s economy could not support a much larger
military force than it currently does.
221. What do realists see as the most important element of
national power in the short term?
A. population B. real GDP
C. geography D. military force
222. What reasons do we have to think that the 21st
century will be a realist century?
A. Africa is still plagued by civil conflict.
B. Europe continues to be as divided by national
interest.
C. Human rights assumptions are increasingly seen
as a Western agenda backed by economic dollars
and military divisions.
D. Both B and C
223. How does Realism understand the concept of power?
A. Power is based on economic strength.
B. Power is a relational concept.
C. Power is a relative concept.
D. Power is a relational and a relative concept.
224. Which of these authors or theorists would NOT be
considered a realist?
A. Thucydides B. Machiavelli
C. Hobbes D. Woodrow Wilson
225. How important is the security dilemma for realist
understandings of world politics?
A. Very important, as it determines how, or if, a
balance of power emerges.
B. Very important, as it determines if balance of
power emerges naturally or must be constructed.
C. Important, but not crucial to realist understandings
of world politics.
International Relations and Area Studies 67
D. Very important because it determines how, or if,
a balance of power emerges and it determines if
balance of power emerges naturally or must be
constructed.
226. The most important traditional norm behaviour in the
international system is:
A. sovereignty B. reciprocity
C. linkage D. territorial respect
227. The threat to punish another actor if that actor takes
a certain negative action (such as an armed attack) is:
A. fractionation B. deterrence
C. compellence D. escalation
228. How is “the national interest” defined/determined by
Realists?
A. States define national interest depending on its
people’s priorities
B. States prioritize national interest insofar as they
guarantee the state’s survival
C. Realists see national interest as homologous to
regional interests
D. National interest is determined by its degree of
economic profitability
229. What is the state of war?
A. A state that is aggressive and always building up
its military.
B. The conditions when there is no actual conflict
but a permanent cold war that could become a
“real” war at any time.
C. A situation in which several or neighbouring states
are at war.
D. None of the options given are correct.
230. Great powers include:
A. Brazil B. Pakistan
C. Saudi Arabia D. France
231. What is the Realist image of the state?
A. The state is the m ost important actor of
international politics and sovereignty is its
distinguishing trait.
B. The state will always seek to ensure its survival
in a perilous international environment.
C. The state behaves morally and in accordance to
what its population’s values are.
D. The state is the m ost important actor of
international politics, sovereignty is its
distinguishing trait and the state will always seek
to ensure its survival in a perilous international
environment.
232. All of the following are members of NATO, EXCEPT:
A. Canada B. Ukraine
C. Iceland D. Spain
233. Which of these is generally the most fungible of
capabilities?
 68 International Relations and Area Studies

A. military spending B. geographic size A. All poststructuralists are uniform in their

C. population D. money agreement that it is impossible to create such a
methodology.
234. What is understood by “survival”?
B. All poststructuralists are uniform in their
A. The need to provide shelter, nutrition and
agreement that there is only one possible
education in a state.
methodology.
B. It is the supreme national interest to which all
C. Post-structuralists have divergent views on both
political leaders must adhere.
what such a methodology would look like and
C. The primary objective of all states.
indeed whether it is at all possible.
D. Both B and C.
D. Rita Floyd argues that the scholar Derrida would
235. The fact that there is no world government to enforce have argued in favour for a uniform methodology.
rules is referred to as: 242. ‘Anti-foundationalism’ holds that:
A. hegemonic stability. A. Every theory poses different questions and
B. anarchy. therefore, what counts as ‘fact’ and ‘truth’ differs
C. the Prisoner’s Dilemma. in every case.
D. chaos. B. All truth claims can be judged true or false, usually
236. A coalition of states that coordinate their actions to against empirical facts.
accomplish some goal is a(n): C. Causal statements about the relationship between
A. alliance B. security community dependent and independent variables can be made.
C. social contract D. union D. Truth is the foundation for international politics
theory.
237. The use of geography as an element of power is
called: 243. Why is the term post-structuralism preferred by most
A. negotiation B. globalism scholars to post-modernism, with which it was often
C. geopolitics D. national interest used interchangeably?
A. The term underlines that post-structuralism is not
238. In a zero-sum game: confined to a particular post-modern period and is
A. there is no point in communication or cooperation a position with shares more with its opponents, as
between the players because their interests are scholar Waever argues.
diametrically opposed. B. Post-modernism connotes ‘anti-modernism,’ and
B. communication between players is rare because post-structuralist theory is concerned with
their interests are already in sync. ‘modern’ events.
C. there is no point in communication or cooperation C. Post-structuralism has more letters.
between the players because their interests are D. Other international relations scholars were too
already in sync. overtly critical of ‘post-modern’ theories.
D. coordination of moves can maximize the total
payoff to the players. 244. According to the post-structuralist scholar R.B.J
Walker, the principle of State Sovereignty:
239. Which of the following is NOT a less tangible long- A. Was created by the post 9/11 US as a tool in the
term power resource? global ‘war on terror.’
A. education of population B. Is irrelevant to post-structuralism and international
B. strength of scientific and technological base politics.
C. total GDP C. Emerged in an early modern Europe as a
D. patriotism replacement for the principle of hierarchical
240. According to Foucault: subordination.
A. Discourses constitute authority and knowledge D. Emerged during the Russian revolution of 1917.
B. Discourses are irrelevant 245. Scholar David Campbell distinguishes between which
C. Discourses constitute authority and knowledge of the following?
and poststructuralists use the term discourses to A. ‘Foreign Policy’ and ‘Foreign Relation’
mean that the link between knowledge and power B. ‘Post-structuralism’ and ‘post-structuralism’
is mutually Constitutive C. ‘State’ and ‘state’
D. ‘The state’ is the most important element in D. None of the options given is correct
international politics 246. When considering the question ‘who is allowed to
241. Which of the following is correct, as regards post- speak and with what kind of identity, authority and
structuralists methodology? knowledge?’ post-structuralists hold that:

A. All groups, including NGOs, refugees and stateless
individuals, have an equal voice in global affairs.
B. As a consequence of how world politics has been
theorised by conventional approaches such as
Realism, non-State groups such as NGOs cannot
gain a voice in international relations.
C. Only states have the right to a voice in the
international political realm.
D. There is a hierarchy of those non-state actors that
have a voice in international politics, with stateless
people coming at the top of the hierarchy.
247. Why has realist scholar Stephen Walt warned against
adopting a post-structuralist approach?
A. Post-structuralism is too concerned with human
rights.
B. Post-structuralism does not focus enough on ‘the
state’ as the primary category of political
organisation.
C. He argues that post-structuralism is, in its current
form, unable to comprehend world politics and
security studies and instead focuses too much on
being a critical approach.
D. Post-structuralism does not place enough focus
on civil liberties and human rights.
248. Why is the concept of ‘sex trafficking’ highlighted as
of interest to post-structuralists?
A. The definition of this practice is centered around
territoriality and the idea of state boundaries, as
well as creating a particular identity for those
women who are trafficked.
B. The concept of sex trafficking is not highlighted
as of interest to post-structuralists.
C. It is the only example of a defined concept that
can be deconstructed to highlight the creation of
identity in international politics.
D. The definition of sex trafficking has been created
by those who are themselves involved in sex
trafficking and so is an opportunity for non-state
actors to have a voice in international politics.
249. How do post-structuralists argue that humanitarian
interventions have been legitimized?
A. Through the UN sanctioning and taking full
responsibility for humanitarian intervention.
B. By parliamentary hearings that raise awareness
and legitimacy of humanitarian intervention.
C. Through discourse in the international political
arena that split the other into ‘innocent civilians’
and ‘Balkan governments’.
D. All of the options given are correct.
250. The concept of negritude:
A. Seeks to study the experiences of blacks in
colonial powers.
International Relations and Area Studies 69
B. Linked black people across Africa, the Caribbean
and the USA around a set of humanist values that
were supposedly held by blacks the world over.
C. Was introduced to post-colonial studies by Franz
Fanon.
D. Was introduced to post-colonial studies by Edward
Said.
251. World-traveling is a post-colonial methodology
associated with which group?
A. African, mate scholars who were educated in the
United States
B. Indian scholars who had spent years abroad
studying the cultures of those in other countries
C. Fem inist scholars w ith Latin Am erican
backgrounds
D. Academics who had been to more than twenty
countries.
252. Criticisms levelled at post-colonial studies include
which of the following?
A. That the theory entered international relations too
recently to be considered an academic theory.
B. That it is too similar to realism and so serves no
function.
C. That it is not sophisticated enough to be an
academic theory.
D. That the field focuses so heavily on identity and
language that it ignores the urgent question of
whether those in the global south can eat, leaving
this problem up to Western agencies to sort out.
253. In his renowned work Orientalism Edward Said argues
that ‘the orient’ as portrayed in Western novels, media
and artwork is what?
A. A place prone to liberal democracy and
revolutionary feminism.
B. An accurate depiction of the modern day Middle
East and Asia, meaning that scholars and
academics can rely solely on these ancient works.
C. Lost in the past, prone to despotic rule and plagued
by ‘odd’ cultural traditions.
D. Too focused on historical facts and accurately
portraying the experience of life in the region.
254. The social-cultural anthropologist Arjun Appadurai
writes about five types of cultural flows of
imagination. What are they?
A. Ethnoscapes, m ediascapes, technoscapes,
financscapes and ideoscapes.
B. Ethnoscapes, econoscapes, culturescapes,
financscapes and ideoscapes.
C. Geographical flows, cultural flows, ideas-flows,
technological flows, ethnicity flows
D. Liberal flows, realist flows, post colonial flows
and post structuralist flows.
 70 International Relations and Area Studies

255. Franz Fanon’s works include which of the following C. Post-colonial scholars were too focused on the
titles? colonizing power rather than the colonised
A. Black Skin, White Masks (1952) and The Wretched peoples.
of the Earth (1961) D. The colonised did not make enough effort to have
B. Power, Power, power (1951) and How Colonisation their voices heard.
Happened (1960)
260. Overall, female state leaders:
C. The Way to Prosperity (1955) and The Colonised
A. are more prone to war than male leaders.
(1975)
B. have held high-level cabinet positions, but have
D. Colonies (1980) and Post-Colonial Theory (1990)
not been elected to lead the government.
256. Graeme Turner argues that novels are of specific value C. have not been significantly different from male
to post-colonial studies. What is the rationale he leaders in making peace or war.
offers for this argument? D. are less prone to war than male leaders.
A. That there have been too many political science
theories based purely on the works of academics. 261. Proponents of positive peace call for the development
B. That because stories and novels are generated by of:
culture they therefore produce meanings and A. nationalistic cultures that have strong norms
significances that are indicative of that culture. against violence.
C. Novels and stories are more enjoyable to read B. a collective security system to prevent aggression
than works of theory so post-colonial studies will by rogue actors.
garner more followers using this method. C. a just war doctrine.
D. Turner didn’t have access to academic works when D. a global identity.
he was writing. 262. _______ is a concept that conceives of peace as
257. When do disseminations occur? something more than the absence of war.
A. When people with hybrid identities and cultures A. Postmodern peace B. Common peace
become diasporic, travelling physically from South C. Positive peace D. Anti-militarism
to North to live. 263. The concept of “world government” is most closely
B. When people from different nations come together associated with:
in a new country. A. peace studies. B. collective security.
C. When people from one nation immigrate en masse C. the security dilemma. D. postmodernism.
to another country.
D. When people with hybrid identities and cultures 264. In which of the following conflicts was collective
become diasporic travelling physically from North security successful?
to South to live. A. The breakup of Yugoslavia
B. It has never been successful
258. ‘Postcolonialism’ — spelled without the hyphen — is C. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait
used to suggest what? D. The genocide in Rwanda
A. That the entire world is now in the post-colonial
era. 265. _______ is a set of rules, norms, and procedures
B. That the global south alone is now in the post- around which the expectations of actors converge in
colonial era a certain issue area.
C. That post-colonialism, spelled with a hyphen, is A. International law B. A security dilemma
a concept only applicable to those countries that C. Common security D. Collective security
experienced colonialism. 266. Liberal institutionalism operates at the _________
D. That there was a grammatical error in the earlier level of analysis.
spelling. A. global B. individual
259. Why does post-colonial scholar Homi Bhaba argue C. domestic D. interstate
that colonial discourse was ambivalent about the 267. Which type of feminist believes men and women are
colonised?
equal?
A. Portrayal of the colonised errs towards either a
A. liberal B. postmodern
passive and conquerable subject or an irrational,
C. revolutionary D. standpoint
untamed barbarian. This means that the colonial
subject becomes consistently stereotyped. 268. In liberal theories, war and violence appear as
B. Scholars did not travel to colonies and therefore irrational deviations that result from:
could not establish an accurate picture of A. the failure of the basic concept of collective
colonised peoples. security.
 International Relations and Area Studies 71
B. the absence of a hegemonic power that can 277. Neoliberals use _______ to illustrate their argument
stabilize the system. that cooperation between actors is possible.
C. the irrational desire of most states to adhere to A. the Prisoner’s Dilemma game
international norms of “good behaviour.” B. the bureaucratic politics model
D. an adherence to the rational decision making C. geopolitics
model, which cannot adequately account for the D. peace studies
irrationality of the international system.
278. One very important class in revolutions during the
269. The tendency for groups to validate wrong decisions, past century (contrary to Karl Marx’s expectations)
since individual members tend to go along with ideas has been that of:
they think the others support, is called: A. workers B. peasants
A. groupthink B. de-optimizing C. white-collar workers D. militarists
C. parochialism D. bureaucratic politics
279. When some kinds of information are screened out and
270. In the ________ model of decision making, emphasis not considered by decision makers, this referred to as:
is placed on standard operating procedures. A. wishful thinking B. bounded rationality
A. groupthink C. groupthink D. selective perception
B. bureaucratic politics
C. organizational process 280. ________ holds that “state identities” are complex
D. cognitive dissonance and changing, and arise from interactions with other
states.
271. Which of these is an example of groupthink?
A. Constructivism
A. U.S war with Iraq (2003)
B. Feminism
B. Cuban Missile Crisis
C. Peace studies
C. Iran-Contra scandal
D. Hegemonic stability theory
D. All of these
272. Which of these illustrates the culmination of liberal 281. Propaganda is:
institutionalism to date? A. the validation of wrong decisions.
A. OPEC B. the EU B. polling.
C. NATO D. NAFTA C. the result of increased public support for
government leaders during wartime.
273. Attributing one’s own feelings to another actor is D. the public promotion of a government’s official
called: line.
A. mirror image B. transference
C. selective perception D. projection 282. Historical analogies, such as the U.S. use of Munich
to argue that appeasement of communism in the
274. The international system’s first attempt to create a Vietnam War would lead to increased communist
collective security system was: aggression in Asia, is a form of what type of bias?
A. the Organization of American States
A. justification of effort B. affective
B. the United Nations
C. cognitive D. rational
C. NATO
D. the League of Nations 283. Which of these theorists would be associated with
liberal institutionalism?
275. Information screens:
A. Kant B. Machiavelli
A. are filters used by governments to sift through the
C. Hobbes D. Morgenthau
vast amounts of public data to find information
relevant to national security issues. 284. Democratic governments are least likely to fight:
B. are conscious blocks of certain forms of A. communist governments.
information that run counter to a state’s official B. other democratic governments.
domestic or foreign policy. C. authoritarian regimes.
C. are subconscious filters through which people put D. military dictatorships.
the information coming in about the world around
285. Different feminists argue that realism involves
them.
D. occur when groups reach decisions without assumptions of masculinity because of:
accurately assessing their consequences. A. the concept of balance of power, which relies on
states balancing each other through roughly
276. On which level of analysis do peace studies NOT equivalent military might.
focus? B. the concept of separate, autonomous actors.
A. individual B. interstate C. the belief that state cannot assess their interests
C. domestic D. global via a cost-benefit analysis.
 72 International Relations and Area Studies

D. the assumption that women are just as prone to B. rational actor

violence as men. C. organizational process
D. interagency
286. Constructivist believe that international norms are
spread around the world by: 294. In the rational model of decision making:
A. norm entrepreneurs. A. ordering goals by importance precedes listing
B. collective security agreements. alternatives to achieve goals.
C. statesmen and diplomats. B. investigating the consequences of alternatives
D. peace studies theorists. precedes ordering goals by importance.
287. In arbitration, C. ordering goals by importance precedes clarifying
A. the World Court is the most effective forum for goals.
success. D. there is no emphasis on the relative costs and
B. solutions are not proposed, but communication benefits of each option.
lines are kept open. 295. In order for a collective security regime to be
C. there has been a failure in every case where it has successful, the members must agree on w hat
been applied. constitutes:
D. decisions are binding. A. a collective good B. aggression
C. non-violence D. hegemony
288. Neo-liberals share with neo-realists their belief in:
A. the anarchic international structure and centrality 296. The Harmon Doctrine is:
of states. A. Part of International Law
B. theory of international regimes. B. Was renounced before it could take roots in
C. that anarchy does not mean durable patterns of International Law
cooperation are impossible. C. Is attempting to earn general acceptance
D. All of the above D. None of these
289. The rational actor model of foreign policy decision 297. International Court of Justice has its head office in:
making states that each decision in the foreign policy A. Hague (Netherlands) B. New York (USA)
process involves: C. Paris (France) D. Geneva
A. setting goals. 298. Most favoured nation treatment means:
B. calculating the cost and benefits of each possible A. A treatment extended to a State’s own nationals
course of action. B. A favourable treatment extended to a particular
C. evaluating the relative importance of goals. State
D. All of these C. A treatment similar to the one extended to any
290. Which US government agency was primarily third State
responsible for the Iran-Contra scandal? D. None of these
A. the Pentagon
299. According to “The Floating Island Theory”, a
B. the Bureau of Intelligence and Research
Floating Island is:
C. the National Security Council
A. an island within 3 nautical miles from the coast
D. the State Department
of a country
291. The strand of feminist IR scholarship that valorizes B. an island no the high seas, which is not the
the feminine by focusing on the unique contributions territory of any particular state
of women is ________ feminism. C. a ship bearing the national flag of a state
A. difference B. Marxist D. None of these
C. postmodern D. liberal
300. Vital change of circumstances:
292. Which type of feminist finds important differences A. Renders a treaty invalid
between men and women that are arbitrary and B. Terminates the treaty
flexible? C. Has no effect on the treaty
A. liberal B. difference D. None of these
C. postmodern D. standpoint 301. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
293. The _______ model explains foreign policy decision A. Is a multilateral Convention adopted by states
making as a result of bargaining among the various B. Is a Declaration adopted by the UN Commission
government agencies that have somewhat divergent on Human Rights
interests and responsibilities in the outcome. C. Is a Declaration adopted by the General Assembly
A. government bargaining D. None of these
 International Relations and Area Studies 73
302. The rules of International Law: C. have the right of, innocent passage to the
A. Legally binding Territorial waters
B. Legally enforceable D. None of these
C. Enforceable by consent
313. The number of principal organs of UNO is:
D. None of these
A. 3 B. 4
303. Which one of the following is called, “The father of C. 5 D. 6
International Law”? 314. The principle of jus cogens means:
A. Starlm B. Pufendoxf A. A peremptory norm of International Law that
C. Hugo Grotius D. Oppenheim cannot be derogated by mutual consent
304. When did Switzerland become the member of UNO? B. A State can terminate a treaty because of violation
A. 10th September 2002 of its domestic law
B. 11th September 2002 C. A treaty stands terminated when its purpose is
C. 12th September 2002 achieved
D. 13th September 2002 D. None of these
305. Which treaty ended the Boar War of 1899-1902? 315. Vienna Congress took place in:
A. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk A. 1945 B. 1815
B. Treaty of Utrecht C. 1919 D. None of these
C. Treaty of Vereeniging
316. A State has the right to use force in case of:
D. Treaty of Tubingen
A. to obtain raw material
306. Subject of International Law are: B. Armed attack
A. States B. Individuals C. to ensure the protection of human rights
C. Both A and B D. None of these D. None of these
307. Hugo Grotius was: 317. The Contiguous Zone is:
A. Dutch B. British A. A no-man’s land between two State
C. German D. None of these B. An area of sea beyond territorial waters
C. An area of sea beyond the Exclusive Economic
308. Exclusive Economic zone is an area beyond and
Zone
adjacent to the territorial waters, the limit of which is:
D. None of these
A. 200 nautical miles B. 12 nautical miles
C. 100 nautical miles D. None of these 318. The International Court of Justice is:
A. A principal judicial organ of the UN
309. The principle of rebus sic stantibus means:
B. A Court established by States outside the UN
A. A State may terminates treaty because of a material
System
breach
C. A Court established by the European Community
B. A State may invokes fundamental change of
D. None of these
circumstance to terminate/suspend a treaty
C. A treaty stands terminated because of the eruption 319. Which of the following countries became the last
of hostilities member of UNO on 28 June, 2006?
D. None of these A. Kosovo B. East Timor
310. How many Judges to the International Court of C. Montenegro D. Switzerland
Justice are elected by the Security Council and 320. The principle of ex injuria jus non oritur means:
General Assembly for the term of 9 years? A. No benefit can be received from an illegal act
A. 35 B. 25 B. A legal right flows from an illegal act
C. 15 D. 20 C. A State can go on war in case of an injury
D. None of these
311. Under the Convention of the Law of the Sea, the
breadth of the territorial Sea is: 321. Who appoints the Judges of International Court of
A. 6 nautical miles B. 8 nautical miles Justice?
C. 12 nautical miles D. None of these A. General Assembly only
B. Security Council only
312. Foreign Ships:
C. Security-General of the UN
A. have the right of free passage in the Territorial
D. General Assembly and Security Council
Waters
B. are not allowed to navigate in the Territorial 322. The continuity of states as International Legal
Waters Persons is:
2105 (MA–IR)—10
 74 International Relations and Area Studies

A. Affected by change of government A. 1948 B. 1958

B. Not affected by change of government C. 1975 D. 1982
C. Depends on the recognition of the new government
332. The headquarters of the UNO are located at:
D. None of these
A. New York B. Paris
323. A State becomes a member of the United Nations: C. London D. Geneva
A. When Security Council admits it
B. When General Assembly admits it after 333. The limit of the territorial Waters of Pakistan is:
recommendation of Security Council A. 12 nautical miles
C. When Security Council admits it after the B. 20 nautical miles
recommendation of the Secretary-General C. 24 nautical miles beyond the land territory and
D. None of these internal waters of Pakistan measured from the
baseline
324. Extraterritorial jurisdiction means: D. None of these
A. A State has unlimited jurisdiction
B. A State has jurisdiction over its nationals even 334. International Law Can:
when they live outside the country A. Compel a state to settle a dispute
C. A State has jurisdiction over foreign visiting B. Provide moral support to an issue in dispute
nationals C. Furnish legal substance to an issue in dispute
D. None of these D. None of these
325. In procedural matters, the decisions of the Security 335. State immunity means:
Council are made by an affirmative votes of any: A. A state is subject to foreign court’s jurisdiction
A. 5 members B. 9 members B. A state is not subject to foreign court’s jurisdiction
C. 15 members D. None of these C. A state is not subject to its own court’s jurisdiction
326. In inland waters, a State has: D. None of these
A. No jurisdiction 336. Which treaty ended Queen Anne’s War (also known
B. Concurrent Jurisdiction as the War of Spanish Succession) of 1702-1713?
C. Exclusive jurisdiction A. Treaty of Utrecht B. Treaty of Frankfurt
D. None of these C. Treaty of Trianon D. Treaty with Tripoli
327. The following are immune under the International 337. Which treaty ended the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-
Law from extradition: 1871?
A. Former Heads of State A. Treaty of Trianon B. Poona Treaty
B. Former Heads of Government C. Treaty of Tubingen D. Treaty of Frankfurt
C. Senior Citizens
D. None of these 338. A State is:
A. Bound to recognize a new State
328. The eruption of war terminates:
B. No bound to do so
A. All treaties B. Only political treaties
C. Required to enter into dialogue with new State for
C. No treaty D. None of these
recognition
329. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, among other things, D. None of these
settled the border disputes between what two
countries in 1842? 339. UNO’s ‘Oil for Food’ Program is associated with
A. U.S. and Canada B. England and Scotland which country?
C. U.S. and Mexico D. England and Ireland A. Sudan B. North Korea
C. Iran D. Iraq
330. Judges of the ICJ are:
A. Elected by the Security Council 340. A state can use force:
B. elected by the General Assembly and the Security A. when its own security so demands
Council B. By entering into a treaty with another state
C. Appointed by Secretary General in consultation C. When it is attacked by another state
with the five permanent members of the Security D. None of these
Council 341. With what issue did the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Teaty
D. None of these deal?
331. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the A. U.S. Mexico border B. Philippine Annexation
Sea was signed at Jamaica in: C. Panama Canal D. Texas Statehood
 International Relations and Area Studies 75
342. Select the correct one: 352. The Calvo clause means:
A. Only coastal states have the right to sail ships A. A state can intervene on behalf of its nationals
under their flag on the high sea B. A state cannot intervene on behalf of its nationals
B. Every State has the right to sail ship under its flag C. An alien agrees not to seek the diplomatic
on the high seas protection of his own State
C. Only five big powers have the right to sail ships D. None of these
under their flag on the high seas
353. Extradition is normally granted:
D. None of these
A. in all cases B. in criminal cases
343. Which war ended with the Treaty of Ghent? C. in civil cases D. None of these
A. Boxer Rebellion B. War of 1812
354. The General Assembly is:
C. Boer War D. Crimean War
A. The principal Organ of UNO
344. Which treaty ended the War of the Pacific of 1879- B. An ordinary Organ of UNO
1883? C. A check on the Security Council
A. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo D. None of these
B. Treaty with Tripoli
355. The name United Nations was coined by:
C. Treaty of Hudaybiyah
A. Stalin B. F.D Roosevelt
D. Treaty of Ancon
C. Winston Churchill D. Austin Mills
345. States of the International Court of Justice were drawn
356. The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, between the U.S. and
up by:
Spain, involved the purchase by the U.S. of the
A. London Declaration in 1941
eastern part of what state from Spain?
B. Moscow & Teheran Conference in 1943
C. San Francisco Conference in 1945 A. Mississippi B. Florida
D. None of these C. Louisiana D. Georgia

346. Public international Law is primarily concerned with 357. A successor state inherits:
the rights, duties and interests of: A. All right/duties of its predecessor state
A. States B. Non-State entities B. Selected right/duties
C. Individuals D. None of these C. Nothing
D. None of these
347. The Jay Treaty of 1794, between the U.S. and Great
Britain included which of the following provisions? 358. The Treaty of Versailles ended what war?
A. British agreed to end discrimination against A. Revolutionary War B. World War II
American commerce C. World War I D. Napoleonic Wars
B. British agreed to evacuate Northwest Territory 359. The term of judges of the international court of
C. Declared Mississippi River open to both countries Justice is:
D. All of these A. three years B. five years
348. A Geographically - Disadvantaged - State means: C. six years D. nine years
A. A State which has no natural resources 360. The violation of constitutional limitations means:
B. A State which has short sea coast A. A government functionary commits treason
C. A State which suffers from frequent sea storm B. Consent to be bound by a treaty is rendered invalid
D. None of these C. Treaty stands terminated
349. International Law: D. None of these
A. Is superior to National Law 361. Which of the following countries was expelled from
B. Is inferior to National Law UNO when it did not accept the name as suggested by
C. Has nothing to do with it the UNO?
D. None of these A. Indonesia B. South Africa
350. European convention for the Protection of Human C. Southern Rhodesia D. Germany
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was adopted in: 362. Which treaty ended the Mexican-American War of
A. 1948 B. 1950 1844-1846?
C. 1952 D. None of these A. Treaty of New Echota
351. Which treaty ended the Crimean War of 1853-1856? B. Treaty of Sevres
A. Treaty of Paris B. Treaty of Ancon C. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
C. Treaty of Neuilly D. Treaty of Waitangi D. Treaty of Shackamaxon
 76 International Relations and Area Studies

363. A lower riparian State: 370. What is meant by neo-medievalism?

A. Has no right to share water resources of an A. A condition in which warfare is a recurrent feature
international river of the relations between states not the least because
B. Has exclusive right they regard it as inevitable
C. Has a right to share water on an equitable basis B. A condition in which political power is dispersed
D. None of these between local national, and supranational
364. The Treaty of Tordesillas, negotiated in 1493, institutions, none of which command supreme
between Spain and Portugal, drew a boundary line loyalty
through which continent? C. A condition in which international organizations,
A. Africa B. Asia transnational corporations and so forth are
C. North America D. South America accountable to the peoples of the world
D. A condition in which human labour and its
365. Which organ of UNO is considered as world products are sold and bought in the market place
parliament?
A. General Assembly 371. What is meant by the ‘intensive’ power of modern
B. Security Council states?
C. International Court of Justice A. Power that can be projected deep into society
D. Trusteeship Council B. Power based on controlling the instruments of
violence
366. For a State come into existence, one of the basic C. Power that can be projected across whole territories
element is: D. Power that a state holds by virtue of its population
A. Possession of sovereignty
B. Possession of ideology 372. What is meant by group rights?
C. Possession of physical resource A. Rights belonging to groups such as minority
D. None of these nations rather than to individuals
B. Rights unfairly belonging to a privileged groups
367. Post modernists believe: C. Rights belonging to a political community
A. all forms of knowledge are potentially dangerous D. None of the above
as they can lay foundations for power and
domination. 373. What are the main tenets of communitarianism.
B. political perspectives which claim to have A. They argue that most people value their
uncovered universal truths contain the danger of membership of a political community; they are
domination and exclusion. unlikely to shift their loyalty to the human race.
C. universal human rights culture and doctrine of B. All forms of political community contain the
humanitarian intervention may simply extend danger of generating the domination or exclusion
Western power over the rest of the world. of significant sections of society
D. All of the above C. They see globalization weakening community ties
D. Both B and C
368. What is a quasi-state?
A. A state that has collapsed and cannot provide for 374. What is modernization theory?
its citizens A. It argues that Western liberal democracy had solved
B. A product of globalization whereby international the social conflicts which earlier dominated
institutions and global markets are accountable to industrial societies
people of a state B. It assumes that non-Western societies will follow
C. A state which has negative sovereignty but lacks the Western path of economic and political
positive sovereignty development
D. None of the above C. It argues that Western liberal democracies today
are faced with conflict different from, those that
369. Endemic warfare is:
dominated industrial societies
A. the history of ethnic cleansing by liberal
D. Both A and B
democratic states.
B. the cosmopolitan understanding of the role of war 375. What is a political community?
in human affairs. A. A human association in which members share
C. the condition in which warfare is a recurrent feature common symbols and wish to cooperate to realize
of the relations between states not least because common objectives
they regard it as inevitable. B. A community that wishes to govern itself and be
D. All of the above free from alien rule

C. A community in which the state claims legitimacy
on grounds that it represents them
D. A community that feels loyalty to a nation-state
376. What is meant by ‘internationalization’?
A. A cross-over of a theory from domestic to
international settings
B. High levels of interaction and interdependence,
most commonly with regard to the world economy
C. The spread of European languages internationally
D. None of the above
377. ________ is shared by the changed nature of states
and of the tasks they perform.
A. Globalization B. Order
C. The UN D. IGOs
378. What is meant by ‘world order’?
A. The order in which states have acquired power
throughout history
B. The international convention on order and security
C. Using individual human beings as units (not
states), it assesses the degree of order on the basis
of the delivery of certain kinds of goods for
humanity as a whole
D. The same as international order
379. What is meant by global governance?
A. A system that works as a world government, with
a constitution, legal system, and law enforcement
B. A system regulated by a dominant leader
C. A loose framework of global, both institutional
and normative that constrains conduct
D. Institutional pattern in the relationship between
states
380. How is globalization a dystopic absence of order?
A. It lacks order and is anarchical
B. It is a product of historical transitions of power
C. It is a product of new technologies that are not
regulated.
D. It appears to have negative qualities in abundance,
but without any seeming coherence
381. What is the principal concern of legitimacy in
globalization?
A. That authority is shifted to few political leaders in
the world
B. That state authority is shifted to MNCs and IGOs,
which are not democratically elected
C. That states are becoming more oppressive and
losing their legitimacy with their citizens
382. What is multilateralism?
A. The tendency for functional aspects of
international relations to be organized around
large numbers of states
B. The transition of a conflict from being between
two states to being between several states
International Relations and Area Studies 77
C. The practice of diplomacy by embassies to
different countries
D. Both B and C
383. Which statement is correct?
A. Matters of human rights have a much higher profile
than in earlier historical periods.
B. Matters of human rights have never had a high
profile.
C. Matters of human rights have a lower profile than
in the times of their emergence.
D. Matters of human rights have never had a profile
in International relations.
384. What is meant by minimum order?
A. Any regular or discernible pattern of relationships
that are stable over time, or may additionally refer
to a condition that allows certain goals to be
achieved.
B. A view of international order that is concerned
with peace and stability, rather than with the
attainment of other values, such as justice.
C. A distribution of power among a number (at least
three) of major powers or ’poles’
D. The regular patterns of interaction between states,
but without implying any shared values between
them. This is distinguished from the view of a
‘society’ of states
385. How do liberal feminists differ from radical feminists?
A. Liberal feminists seek to put an end to women’s
exclusion/under representation in position of
power and employment, radical feminists see
women as different from men
B. Liberal feminists seek to put an end to women’s
exclusion/under representation in position of
power and employment, radical feminists see
women’s subordination as universal taking
different forms at different times
C. Liberal feminists see women as different from men
and do not reject ‘women’s values’, radical
feminists see women as different from men
D. Liberal feminists see women as different from men
and do not reject ‘women’s values’, radical
feminists see women’s subordination as universal
taking different forms at different times
386. What is meant by the global care economy?
A. The growing global demand for women’s domestic
and sexual services
B. The growing global demand for nannies
C. The global economy of unpaid work
D. None of the above
387. The genderning of world politics is seen in:
A. Prostitution and human trafficking.
B. Civil wars and refugee flows.
C. Trade and development.
D. All of the options given are correct.
 78 International Relations and Area Studies

388. What is meant by ‘gendered division of labour’? (i) Cut backs in state services affect women’s health
A. Feminization of labour and employment opportunities
B. That women’s work includes primary responsibility (ii) Globalization results in the feminization of poverty
of childcare and housework (iii) The changing international division of labour is
C. Mail order brides gendered
D. None of the above A. (i) B. (ii), (iii)
389. The ‘Women in Black’ are: C. (i), (ii), (iii) D. (i), (ii)
A. a group of Israeli women demonstrating for 397. The myth of protection:
Palestinian women. A. Characterizes men as protectors and women as
B. a group of Israeli women demonstrating against protected.
Palestinian Women B. Is used to justify and shape national security
C. a group of Palestinian demonstrating against Israeli policies.
women C. Has been challenged by changing gender roles in
390. Globalization has: contemporary warfare.
A. Created new areas of women’s advancement. D. All of the options given are correct.
B. Led to new challenges and dangers for women. 398. What is gender?
C. Not changed the fundamental inequality of gender A. Male or female
relationship in the world enough.
B. A social construction of what it means to be male
D. All of the options given are correct.
or female
391. What is meant by the ‘export of women’? C. Biological difference
A. Women/girls come from rural areas into towns or D. All of the above
cities to provide gendered services
399. Feminist theorists would see as progress:
B. An increased global flow of women
A. The establishment of the UN Gender Development
C. Prostitution and mail order brides
Index.
D. All of the above
B. The election of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
392. Which of these is not a type of feminist mentioned in C. The incorporation of “gender mainstreaming” into
the chapter? policy discourse.
A. Liberal B. Post-modern D. All of the options given are correct
C. Environmental D. Constructivist
400. The gendered division of labour:
393. Emancipatory knowledge: A. Is based on gender-structured conceptions of
A. Has to do with women’s role in the global anti- appropriate work.
slavery movement. B. Has led to an increase in women’s compensation
B. Is committed to the status quo. worldwide.
C. Pursues knowledge that will lead to changes in
C. Negates the “double burden”.
favour of a normative ideal, such as gender
D. Both A and B.
equality
D. All of the options given are correct. 401. What does sexuality constitute?
A. Heterosexuality
394. The “double burden”:
B. Homosexuality
A. Refers to the disproportionate share of housework
C. Multiple and/or shifting sexualities
done by women.
D. All of the above
B. Dates to the 17th century.
C. Is rooted in gendered conceptions of the 402. The idea of the gender-sensitive lens came from the
distinction between public and private life. feminist theorist:
D. All of the options given are correct. A. Ticker
395. Grameen Bank: B. Enloe
A. Empowers women through microcredit loans to C. Peterson and Runyan
facilitate small-scale economic development. D. None of the options given is correct
B. Is gender-blind in its policies. 403. What is sex?
C. Focuses its investment lending on women A. Male or female
D. Both A and C B. Biological difference
396. Which of the following are impacts of globalization C. A social construction
on women? D. Both A and B

404. What is meant by ‘minimization of labour’?
A. Recognizing the increase in global demand for
women as cheap labour and care
B. Paid and unpaid reproductive labour and care
C. Lowering standards for labour worldwide.
D. Both A and B
405. Historian A.J.P. Taylor:
A. Wrote Germany’s Aims in the First World WAR
B. Argued that Hitler was not different from other
German political leaders.
C. Located the caused of the Second World War in
Hitler’s personality.
D. All of the options given are correct.
406. The Catholic Church:
A. Made no contribution to just war theory
B. Is a form of sub-national authority
C. Helped constitute the norm ative basis of
international society
D. Both A and C
407. Organized hypocrisy is:
A. A term coined by political scientist Stephen
Krasner to refer to sovereignty
B. The legal fiction masking power relations between
states.
C. A caution against idealistic conceptions of
international society
D. A term coined by political scientist Stephen
Krasner to refer to sovereignty which is a caution
against idealistic conceptions of international
society meaning the legal fiction masking power
relations between states
408. Society accounts of international society:
A. Deny that international cooperation is possible
B. Believe it to be a rhetorical cover for self-serving
powerful states
C. Argue that it is unable to cope with globalization
D. Believe both that it is a rhetorical cover for self-
serving powerful state and argue that it is unable
to cope with globalization
409. Explanations for the cold war include:
A. Gorbachev and Reagan’s leadership.
B. The relative economic strength of the United States.
C. The ideological attractiveness of W estern
democracy and capitalism.
D. All of the options given are correct.
410. Under a structural explanation, the central problem of
European security in the first half of the twentieth
century was:
A. Nationalism
B. Economic crisis
C. The rise of a united Germany
D. None of the options given are correct
International Relations and Area Studies 79
411. International society is
A. The central concept of the “English school”
B. Presented most compellingly by Hedley Bull.
C. Any association of distinct political rules, values,
institutions
D. The central concept of the ‘English school’
presented most compellingly by Hedley Bull,
which descries any association of distinct political
communities that accept common rules, values
and institutions.
412. International society is regulated by:
A. A benign form of cosmopolitan democracy
B. Imperial expansion.
C. Diplomacy, law, and the balance of power
D. None of the above
413. The ‘second cold war’:
A. Occurred in the 1970’s.
B. Followed the elections of Ronald Reagan
C. Described a confrontational period in the late
1980’s.
D. Followed the elections of Ronald Reagan and
described a confrontational period in the late
1980’s.
414. The First World War led to dissolution of which of the
following empires?
A. Britain B. Russia
C. Portugal D. France
415. The French and American Revolutions:
A. Created new challenges to international society
by raising the issue of nationalism
B. Occurred in the 19th century.
C. Led to the creation of the Concert of Europe
D. Created new challenges to international society
by raising the issue of nationalism while also
leading to the creation of the Concert of Europe
416. Which of the following were efforts to achieve more
cooperative relations between the Western and
Communist countries?
A. Detente with the USSR.
B. Rapprochement with China.
C. German Ostpolitik.
D. All of the options given are correct.
417. Russian President Vladimir Putin:
A. Has decentralized the Russian economy.
B. Has promoted Western-style civil rights.
C. Has nationalized Russian economic assets.
D. Was Yeltsin’s predecessor.
418. The “rise of China”:
A. Is an issue considered by every region of the
world today.
 80 International Relations and Area Studies
B. is unequivocally a cause for optimism.
C. Is characterized by a shift toward economic
autarky.
D. All of the options given are correct.
419. Decolonization:
A. Was partially determined by local or trial factors
B. Was constant across regions and imperial powers.
C. Was sometimes replaced by superpow er
involvement.
D. Was partially determined by local or tribal factors
and was sometimes replaced by superpower
involvement.
420. The Warsaw Pact:
A. Was the Eastern bloc’s answer to NATO
B. Gained impetus after the 1954 rearmament of West
Germany.
C. Was a direct response to the Truman doctrine.
D. Was the Eastern bloc’s answer to NATO and
gained impetus after the 1954 rearmament of West
Germany.
421. The ‘unipolar moment’:
A. Occurred on September 11th 2001.
B. Refers to US primacy since 1989.
C. Is over, according to most IR theorists.
D. All of the options given are correct
422. Nuclear weapons crises during the cold war included
which of the following?
A. Cuba (1962)
B. Able Archer (1983)
C. The Arab Isreali War (1979)
D. All of the options given are correct.
423. The first three states to achieve nuclear capability
were (in order):
A. The US, the USSR, China.
B. The USSR, the US, France.
C. The US, the USSR, Britain.
D. The USSR, the US, Britain.
424. Elements of international society can be found in:
A. Medieval Christian Europe
B. Medieval Islam
C. Ancient China
D. All the above
425. Inequality:
A. Creates new challenges in terms of domestic social
stability, migration, and political violence.
B. Has become more important as globalization
empowers sub-state actors.
C. Has caused scholars to reconsider the helpfulness
of the term “Third World”.
D. All of the options given are correct.
426. Which of the following is not a challenge to
international society, posed by globalization?
A. Interstate war
B. Global warming
C. American power
D. Dissolution of the bonds of political community
427. Challenges facing East Asia include:
A. North Korea’s nuclear programme.
B. Outstanding territorial disputes.
C. China’s declining economic power.
D. North Korea’s nuclear programme and outstanding
territorial disputes.
428. Which of the following offers an alternative to
international society as a way of organizing world
politics?
A. Hierarachical
B. Hegemonic
C. Imperial
D. Hierarchical, Hegemonic, and Imperialism
429. US primacy:
A. Was predicted by constructivist scholars of
international relations.
B. Is a key feature and challenge in the post-cold war
order.
C. Has stifled debate about the ends and means of
American foreign policy.
D. Was unaffected by 9/11.
430. Which of the following events contributed to the
emergency of international society?
A. The Crusades
B. Exploration and colonization of the New World
C. The Protestant Reformation
D. Both exploration and colonization of the New
World and the Protestant Reformation
431. Globalization in the post-cold war world:
A. Became a defining term of international discourse.
B. Had its extent contested by scholars such as David
Held and Martin Wolf.
C. Became a defining idea of Realist theory.
D. Became a defining term of international discourse
and had its extent contested by scholars such as
David Held and Martin Wolf.
432. George W. Bush’s foreign policy:
A. Argued that old methods of dealing with
contemporary challenges were obsolete and
ineffective.
B. Changed direction sharply after 9/11.
C. Led to a controversial war in Iraq whose reasons
and effects are still being highly debated.
D. All of the options given are correct.

433. What is diplomacy?
A. In world politics, diplomacy is a communications
process between international actors that seeks
through negotiation to resolve conflict short of
war
B. In foreign policy, diplomacy is a policy instrument
to enable an international actor to achieve its
policy objectives
C. Diplomacy focuses on the resolution of conflict
through dialogue and negotiation
D. All of the above
434. Why did the attacks of September 11, 2001 produce
a pessimistic view for diplomacy?
A. Because many diplomats died that day
B. Because it was unclear what negotiation and
diplomacy can contribute to resolve a conflict
with terrorism in the future
C. Because the Bush administration’s ‘war against
terrorism’ suggested that military force and other
coercive measures would be used to resolve this
conflict
D. Both B and C
435. What are some challenges to state-based diplomacy?
A. Diplomats no longer operate within the well-
defined shell of the state, rather, they now operate
within shifting boundaries of state sovereignty
B. The growth of civil society and non-governmental
organizations require a more broad-based
diplomacy
C. State-based diplomacy is outdated
D. Both A and B
436. Conflict related to members of an ethnic group living
as a minority in a neighbouring state is occurring in:
A. Sri Lanka and Pakistan
B. North Korea and South Korea
C. South Africa and Namibia
D. Albania and Kosovo
437. The world’s largest exporter of small arms is:
A. the United States B. Russia
C. Great Britain D. France
438. The statement “War made the state, and the state
made war”:
A. Comes from the work of historical sociologist
Charles Tilly.
B. Applies to the development and use of atomic
weapons.
C. Is the primary argument of Robert Heinlein.
D. Is used to explain civil conflict in Africa.
439. The breakup of which of the following states was
NOT peaceful?
A. Yugoslavia B. Serbia-Montenegro
C. Thailand D. Czechoslovakia
International Relations and Area Studies 81
440. Which islands in the South China Sea are the source
of conflict between several countries?
A. Marshall Islands B. Kuril Islands
C. Palau and Fiji D. Spratly Islands
441. ‘New wars’ are supported by activities such as:
A. Hostage-taking.
B. Illegal trafficking of diamonds and drugs.
C. Arms smuggling across weakly enforced borders.
D. All of the options given are correct.
442. War:
A. Is a political instrument.
B. Is only fought between states.
C. Can be an agent of historical change.
D. All the above
443. What can terrorists hope for in order to the successful
in the future?
A. Widespread uprising of the disaffected and
oppressed or collapse of the USA.
B. The USA invades more Arab countries, thus
allowing them more places to establish themselves.
C. International cooperation between terrorists groups
for the shared objective of a better world.
D. Widespread conversion of Christians and Jews to
Islam.
444. The International Atomic Energy Agency provides
which of the following functions?
A. monitoring of U.S. Russian arms control
agreements
B. inspection of the nuclear power industry in member
states to prevent the diversion of materials to the
military
C. provision of weapons-grade fissionable material
to the United States and Russia
D. development of tactical nuclear weapons for
United National forces
445. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union invaded
which of the following countries in order to change
its government?
A. Iran B. Czechoslovakia
C. Poland D. Romania
446. What characteristic do globalization and terrorism
share in common?
A. Both are a current phenomenon.
B. Both are a recently new phenomenon.
C. Both are complex and open to subjective
interpretation.
D. Both are causes of major transactions of funds
internationally.
447. Islamic movements have grown stronger recently in
which of the following countries?
A. Israel B. Qatar
C. Pakistan D. Somalia
2105 (MA–IR)—11
 82 International Relations and Area Studies

448. War between factions within a state trying to create, killings. “Der Fuhrer” murdered millions of innocent
or prevent, a new government for the entire state or Jews in the Holocaust - and millions of others, too. In
some part of it is what type of war? an encounter towards the end of WWI, Hitler was
A. civil B. hegemonic supposedly at the mercy of which British soldier, who
C. guerilla D. total let him go?
449. A situation in which individuals organize their A. Henry Tandey B. Richard Milton
communities around religious belief that are held as C. Thomas Seems D. Derrick Newton
absolute truth-and where individuals are willing to 458. Latin American states gained independence in:
sacrifice or even die for those beliefs is: A. 12th century B. 18th century
A. communalism B. religious centralism C. 19th century D. 20th century
C. primitivism D. fundamentalism
459. Monarch of Great Britain at the release of
450. Which of the following is a cause of international ‘Casablanca’ was?
conflict? A. Elizabeth II B. George VI
A. ideological issues C. George V D. Edward VII
B. territorial issues
C. ethnicity issues 460. China vetoed UN peacekeeping mission in:
D. All of these are causes of international conflict A. Japan B. Italy
C. Kosovo D. Europe
451. Which of the following is NOT among the countries
that either have or will soon have military capabilities 461. In what ways the end of the cold war (1989-91)
in space? significant?
A. the United States B. China A. It marked the beginning of the rise of China
C. Russia D. Great Britain B. Important changes took place at the level of the
452. The U.S. government is trying to prevent cocaine Nation-State
cartels based in _______ from supplying cocaine to C. It modified the roles of international organization
U.S., cities. D. Both B and C
A. Nicaragua B. Burma 462. In whcih year was the Treaty of Westphalia held?
C. China D. Colombia A. 1713 B. 1648
453. Who was the target of the symbolic attacks against C. 1635 D. 1857
the World Trade Centre in 1933 and 2001? 463. In which year did New Amsterdam become New
A. Global Capitalism York?
B. Citizens of the USA A. 1704 B. 1725
C. President Clinton C. 1664 D. 1642
D. The International Monetary Fund
464. China put an astronaut in orbit in:
454. Which nation withdrew from the IAEA in 1993 and A. 2001 B. 2003
then bargained with Western leaders to get economic C. 2005 D. 2007
assistancy?
A. Iran B. Pakistan 465. Military action will not approved by the:
C. India D. North Korea A. General Assembly B. States
C. Security Council D. Organization
455. The Strategic Defense Initiative is designed to:
A. develop defenses that could shoot down incoming 466. Why is state-based diplomacy no longer significant?
ballistic missiles. A. Because globalization has taken away the focus
B. build up U.S. numbers of intercontinental ballistic on the state
missiles. B. Because of the increased amount of non-state actors
C. build up U.S. stockpiles of nuclear weapons. that are significant in the international stage
D. ensure that the U.S. has second-strike capability. C. It is still significant, since most diplomatic agency
456. International conflicts that concern tangible “goods” is still the preserve of states
have special importance when they have to do with: D. Both B and C
A. religious conflicts 467. Arab Israel war happened in:
B. control of national governments A. 1967 B. 1968
C. territory C. 1969 D. 1970
D. trade conflicts
468. What is nuclear proliferation?
457. Adolf Hitler was responsible for sixty million deaths A. Spread of heavy weapons
worldwide as a result of World War II and his own B. Spread of nuclear weapons
2105 (MA–IR)—11-II
 International Relations and Area Studies 83
C. Limited recourses 481. A Summit Meeting between superpower leaders
D. High recourses scuttled in:
A. 1960 B. 1987
469. Where NATO used its first actual force in 1994?
C. 1990 D. 1999
A. Bosnia B. Herzegovina
C. Drina D. Serbia 482. The political faction of PLO is known as:
470. 1992 Earth Summit produced an overall plan called: A. Force 17 B. Fatah
A. Agenda 20 B. Agenda 21 C. Intifada D. None of these
C. Agenda 45 D. Agenda 48 483. What do you understand by the term
‘institutionalized cooperation’?
471. Biological weapon was banned in:
A. Cooperation through international institutions as
A. 1970 B. 1971
an approach to international security
C. 1972 D. 1973
B. Cooperation through institutions to creating
472. Apartheid was a system of racial separation and mature anarchy
segregation in which African country? C. Cooperation through institutions to decrease the
A. Nigeria B. South Africa importance of arms
C. Somalia D. Ethiopia D. Both A and B
473. How many Baltic states are a nonmember of CIS? 484. Japan surprisely attacked on US in:
A. 2 B. 3 A. 1925 B. 1980
C. 4 D. 5 C. 1986 D. 1941
474. When Soviet regime came into power in Afghanistan? 485. What are the causes of diffusion of social institutions?
A. 1987 B. 1979 A. Coercion and strategic competition
C. 1985 D. 1986 B. Formal and informal pressures: symbolic or
475. What have been the main consequences of the Asian economic
economic crisis of 1997? C. Recommendation of professional associations and
A. It shook political norms to the core and in some expert communities
cases led to change in government D. All of the above
B. It undermined the attractiveness of East Asia 486. As the “Wind of Change” swept through Africa in the
prosperity post World War II years, who led Kenya to
C. It championed the liberal model of individualism independence?
and choice over traditionalism, community, and A. Sam Nujoma B. Daniel arap Moi
hierarchy C. Jomo Kenyatta D. Kwame Nkrumah
D. All of the above
487. UNEP’s main function is
476. A states’ tangible capabilities represent the: A. Monitoring environmental conditions
A. Power of ideas B. Material Power B. Monitoring climatic conditions
C. Soft Power D. GDP C. Monitoring economic conditions
477. When did US led war efforts to dismiss Iraq from D. Monitoring governmental conditions
Kuwait? 488. Great powers are considered as
A. 1990 B. 1991 A. Most powerful B. Less powerful
C. 1997 D. 1999 C. Half dozen D. Super power
478. FTAA stands for: 489. Which change fiercely affects actors, relative
A. Free Trade Area of the Asians capabilities and even preferences?
B. Free Trade Area of the Americas A. Economy B. Organizations
C. Free Trade Area of the Australia C. Technology D. Trade
D. Free Trade Area of the Africa
490. Name two cities of Japan destroyed by US:
479. WTO negotiation with Doha Round began in: A. Hiroshima B. Nagasaki
A. 2000 B. 2001 C. Both A and B D. None of above
C. 2002 D. 2003
491. NATO stands for:
480. Who was the leader of Nationalist (Fascist) Spain A. North Atlantic Treaty Organization
during the Spanish Civil War? B. North Asia Trade Organization
A. Francisco Franco B. Jose Antonio C. North Atlantic Trade Organization
C. Juan Peron D. Manuel Azana D. North Atlantic Treaty Operation
 84 International Relations and Area Studies

492. WIPO stands for: 496. When war occurred in Nicaragua and Panama?
A. World Intellectual Property Organization A. 1929 B. 1930
B. World International Property Organization C. 1947 D. 1955
C. World Intellectual Profitable Organization
497. Financial crisis in Russia was held in:
D. Worldwide Intelligent Property Organization
A. 1993 B. 1995
493. What happened in Russia in 1991? C. 1997 D. 1998
A. USSR formally disintegrated into 15 republics. 498. The real name of this dictator was Saloth Sar. He was
B. President Gorbachev was ousted in bloodless the leader of Cambodia during a time of violent
coup. genocide. By what name was he better known?
C. Both of these A. Pol Pot B. Kim II Sung
D. None of these C. Nicolai Ceausescu D. Fidel Castro
494. When did a reform take place in Soviet Union?
499. When did Brazil modify its financial position?
A. 1974 B. 1965
A. 2000 B. 2002
C. 1985 D. 1980
C. 2003 D. 2005
495. 24 European states signed a treaty to limit nitrogen
500. On what date did the Ayatollah Khomeini declare Iran
oxide in:
an Islamic republic?
A. 1990 B. 1980
A. 16 April 1979 B. 1 April 1979
C. 1989 D. 1988
C. 26 April 1979 D. 19 April 1979

ANSWERS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
D C D B A A B B B A
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
D C B D D A D C C B
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
D B C B B B A D D D
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
B D D C B C A C C C
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
C A D D D A C C D A
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
D A C D D D C B B A
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
A B D C B B A A B C
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
D C D D A D B C B C
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
D A C A C B A C C B
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
D B D D B D B B A D
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
B A D D C D D A D D
111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
A D D D B D D D A B
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130
C A A A C A B C D D
131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
B B B A C C A A D D
 International Relations and Area Studies 85
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
B B B D D D D D C D
151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160
D D D B C C C A D C
161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170
D C D D D A C A B A
171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
B B D A D D A A C B
181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190
A A C A C D A B D B
191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
B D B C B C A B D B
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210
C B C C B B D A C B
211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220
C D A C D A D D B B
221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230
D D D D D A B B B D
231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240
D B D D B A C A C C
241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250
C A A C A B C A C B
251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260
C D C A A B A A A C
261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270
D C A C D D A D A D
271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280
D B D D C B A B D A
281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290
D C A B B A D A D C
291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300
A C A A A B A B C C
301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310
C C C A C C A A B C
311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320
C B D A B B B A C A
321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330
D C B B A C A C A B
331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340
D A A C B A D B D C
341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350
C B B D C C D C B C
351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360
A B A A B B A C D C
361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370
C C C D A A D C C B
86 International Relations and Area Studies

371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380
A A A D B B B C C D
381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390
B A A B B A D B A D
391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400
D C C D D C D B D A
401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410
D C D D B C D D D C
411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420
D C D B D D C D D D
421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430
B D C D D A D D B D
431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440
D D D D D D A A A D
441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450
D D A B B C C A D D
451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460
D D A D A C A C B C
461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470
D B C B C D A B A B
471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480
C B B B D B B B B A
481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490
A B A D D C A A C C
491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500
A A C C D B D A C B

  

U
N
I
T 2
POLITICAL THEORY
Political theory is not only a theory of/about politics, it is
also the science of politics, the philosophy of politics at
that. As a theory, Bluhen explains, political theory “stands
for an abstract model of the political order… a guide to the
systematic collection and analysis of political data”
(Theories of Political System). Andrew Hacker, enlarging
the point of view, says that political theory as a “theory,
in ideal terms, is dispassionate and disinterested. As science,
it will describe political reality without trying to pass
judgement on what is being depicted, either implicitly or
explicitly. As philosophy, it will describe rules of conduct
which will secure good life for all of society…” (Political
Theory: Philosophy, Ideology, Science).
Political theory is not fantasy, though it may contain
an element of political vision. It is not politicking, though
it does take into account political realities for its study and
analysis. It is not all scientism, though it seeks to reach the
roots of all political activity analytically and systematically.
It is not ideology, though it attempts to justify a political
system and condemns another. It is theoretical, scientific,
philosophical and at the same time dynamic with a clear
objective of attaining a better social order. It thus, has in
varying degrees, elem ents of ‘theory’, ‘science’,
‘philosophy’ and ‘ideology’.
What is Political Theory?
Political theory is a theory about what is “political”, the
science and philosophy of what is political. George Sabine
says, “It is anything about politics or relevant to politics”.
This being the broader meaning, he refers to its narrow
meaning, saying that it is “the disciplined investigation of
political problems” (A History of Political Theory, 1973).
David Held defines political theory as “a network of
concepts and generalizations about political life involving
87
International Relations and Area Studies 87
ideas, assumptions and statements about the nature, purpose
and key features of government, state and society and
about the political capabilities of human beings”. (Political
Theory Today, 1991) A very elaborate definition of political
theory has been given in Political Science Dictionary,
describing it as “a body of thought that seeks to evaluate,
explain and predict political phenomena. As a sub-field of
Political Science, it is concerned with political ideas, values
and concepts, and the explanation of prediction of political
behaviour. In its broad sense, it has two main branches: one
is political philosophy or normative theory, with its value,
analytic, historical and speculative concerns. The other is
empirical theory, with its efforts to explain, predict, guide,
research and organize knowledge through the formulation
of abstract models, and scientifically testable propositions”.
Political theory is all about politics. It is an overview
of what the political order is about. It is a symbolic
representation of what is “political”. In its nature, it is a
formal, logical and systematic analysis of processes and
consequences of political activity. It is, in its method,
analytical, expository, and explanatory. It is, in its objective,
an attempt to give order, coherence and meaning to what
may be referred to as “political”.
What is Theory?
The meaning of political theory necessitates the meaning
of theory: to know what political theory really is to know,
first, what is theory? Originating from the Greek word
“theoria”, theory means or at least, may mean a well-
focussed mental look taken at something in a state of
contemplation with the intention to grasp or understand it.
Arnold Brecht (What is Theory?) refers to both the broad
and the narrow meaning of the word “theory”. In the broader
sense, he says, theory means “A thinker’s entire teaching
on a subject”, including the description of facts, his
explanation, his conception of history, his value-
 88 International Relations and Area Studies
judgements, and the proposals of goals, policies and
principles. In the narrow sense, he says, theory means
“explanatory” thought only or at least primarily. In his
book, Political Theory, Brecht uses theory in the narrow
sense, saying, “…explaining is the function of theory”.
Thus, for him, theory means a proposition or a set of
propositions designed to explain something with reference
to data or inter-relations not directly observed or not
otherwise manifest. Theory has to be scientific, without the
quantum of science, it is unthinkable. But theory, without
theory or say philosophy, is as meaningless as it is, without
science. Theory is a combination of elements characteristic
of both science and philosophy. Theory is not practice, because
doing too needs thinking. Theory involves a theoretical frame
which practice really lacks. Theory is not merely ‘description’
because “describing” is only a part of “thinking”, its other
parts, for example, include “discovering”, “determining”,
“augmenting”, “explaining” and “framing” a phenomenon.
Theory is not hypothesis, for hypothesis denotes a tentative
assumption of facts, and, therefore, lacks what theory really
has, “definiteness”. Theory is not philosophy because while
theory is about “something”, philosophy is about
“everything”. Theory is not thought because it is a thought
about thought, and not an entire thought itself. There is,
indeed, much that is common between theory and reason,
for both have a claim on being scientific, yet theory looks
beyond reason, beyond science.
Theory, we may sum up with Karl Deutsch (The Nerves
of Government, 1963), attempts to explain, order and relate
disjointed data, identifies what is relevant and, therefore,
points out what is missing in any phenomenon; predicts on
the basis of observable facts. Theory is a guide to practice,
adds much to what is merely description, clarifies hypothesis,
and as a part of philosophy, explains an issue which meets
the requirements of both reason and vision.
Nature of Political Theory
To know clearly as to what political theory really is, is to
know its nature. Political theory is said to be political
thought, and that is why there are some who describe
political theory as denoting the works of numerous thinkers.
But it is not what political thought is. There are others who
equate political theory with political philosophy. It is true
that political theory constitutes a part of political
philosophy, but it is only a part; a part can never be a
whole, and as a part, it remains only a part, a part of the
whole. There are still others who after incorporating science
in politics, prefer to call it Political Science. But those who
insist on a science of politics, refuse to admit if there ever
had been a history of politics, or a culture of politics.
Brecht, therefore, would say, “…political philosophy,
political theory, and political science are no longer
interchangeable terms…, with the emphasis placed on
science and a distinction from political philosophy, political
science now refers to efforts limited by the use of scientific
methods, in contrast to political philosophy, which is free
to transcend these limits. Likewise political ‘theory’ when
opposed to political ‘philosophy’ now is usually meant to
refer scientific theory only in distinction from political
philosophy. Any speculative thesis that is proposed by
political philosophy can be part of (scientific) political
theory only as a “working hypothesis”, an auxiliary in the
scientific kit, and not … or not yet…. as a piece of scientific
knowledge”.
Political theory is not all history, but it is history in
the limited sense; it is not all philosophy, but it is
philosophy in some degree; it is not all science, but it is
science in so far as it responds to reason. A political theorist
has to be a part historian, a part philosopher, and a part
scientist.
Political Theory as History
That political theory is history has been emphatically
advocated by scholars like George Sabine, but all history
is not political theory just as all political theory is not
history. Political theory without history is a structure without
a base. In studying and analysing politics, what we learn
to understand is a political tradition, and a concrete way
of behaviour. It is, therefore, proper that the study of politics
should essentially be a historical study. History, we should
know, is more than the tale of the dead and the buried; it
is a storehouse of experience and wisdom; successes and
failures, of what has been achieved, and what has been lost.
It is the sum-total and simultaneously the formation-head
of a new development, something, as Professor L.S. Rathore
says, “eternally significant and instructive, inseparably
linked with contemporaneity in the perpetual progress of
mankind”. “Ignore history”, he warns, “and the delight of
political theory is never to be retrieved”.
Political theory as history defies what has lost its value.
No one cries now that the state has been a divine creation
or the result of a contract in the state of nature. As history,
political theory conserves what has significance and helps
posterity to cherish it for a long time to come. Concepts
such as justice, liberty, equality, obligation, as evolved
through the annals of time, are being held high by political
theory today and shall continue to be so in future. Indeed,
history never repeats, but it can hardly be ignored. In the
attempt to divorce itself from history, political theory loses
its own significance, for there can be no fruits without roots
as Seeley had said long ago. It is through history that
political theory explains what is what. One can never
understand a text without its context. Plato’s communism
was significantly different from what is claimed to be Marx’s
communism, and one can understand communism of each
by understanding the history of their respective times. It is
one’s age that prompts and propels one’s political theory:
history shapes and reshapes political theory. How can, then,
political theory ignore its one aspect, the historical aspect?

Sabine writes that great political theory excels both in “an
analysis of a present situation and in suggestiveness for
other situations”. As such, “a good political theory”,
Professor S.P. Varma (Modern Political Theory, 1987)
writes, “even though it is the outcome of a peculiar set of
historical circumstances, has a significance for all times to
come. It is exactly this universal character of political
theory which makes it respectable”.
Political theory is history in the sense that it seeks to
understand the time, the place and the circumstances in
which it evolves. If it ignores its historical context, it loses
its strength, its focus and its message. Any political theory
has to have facts as the basis (the factual-historical factor
as Sabine would say), circumstances in which it develops
(the causal factor as Sabine describes it), and the message,
i.e., political theory (the valuational factor, as Sabine would
insist). Political theory is not merely or only history (the
statement of facts on which it works and has worked in the
past, i.e., history), it is a science in so far as it is not
understood in isolation, and also a philosophy in so far as
it motivates.
Political Theory as Philosophy
That political theory is a philosophy has been very well
enunciated by scholars like Leo Strauss, but all philosophy
is not political theory as all political theory is not
philosophy. Philosophy, as an abstract study encompassing
the whole universe in general, and morals, norms, and
values in particular, is the sum-total of general laws
governing the whole world. It has served political theory
well through the ages as its valuational factor, as Sabine
has said. Philosophy, as Kant says, has answered three
questions: “What can I know?” “What must I do?” and
“What can I hope for?” and this is what makes philosophy
a lodestar of life. Without philosophy, no political theory
can ever hope to exist; without an eye on future, no present
can ever afford to stay as no present stands without its past.
Political theory is a philosophy, for it not only seeks
to know the nature of things but also attempts to explain
as to why things really exist. One understands an action or
a thought only by evaluating it. Evaluation is a part of
understanding. Philosophy as distinct from theory is a ‘quest
for wisdom’ or as Strauss holds the view, “quest for universal
knowledge, for knowledge of the whole”. Political theory
as philosophy is “the attempt truly to know both the nature
of political things and the right, or the good, political
order” (Strauss). Politics is not what one assumes or opines.
In fact, a political theorist is expected to possess more than
an assumption or an opinion; he has to have knowledge.
Philosophy emerges when opinion/assumption attains the
heights of knowledge, and that is what exactly is the task
of political theory. Political theory as philosophy is an
“attempt to replace opinion/assumption about the nature of
political things by knowledge of the nature of political
things” (Strauss).
International Relations and Area Studies 89
Values, Strauss believes, are an indispensable part of
political theory as they are, of philosophy. Every political
philosopher has to be a teacher in his own right: he must
profess; he must teach; he must persuade. Professor Varma,
therefore, writes that the object of persuasion is always
there before the political theorist. “What some of the modern
writers have described as “the folk-lore of political
‘philosophy’, or m ere ‘ideology’, is vital for the
understanding of political theory.” Political theory not
only explains, but also affects, favourably or adversely.
Evaluational aspects of a political activity are as important
as its factual aspects. It is, in this sense, that values and
facts form an integral part of any political theory.
Political Theory as Science
That political theory is a science has been forcefully
emphasised by scholars from Arthur Bentley (The Process
of Government, 1908) to George Catlin (The Science and
Method of Politics, 1927); David Easton (The Political
System, 1953) and Robert Dahl (Modern Political Analysis,
1963); but all science is not political theory, just as all
political theory is not science. Political theory is not
science in the sense Chemistry or Physics or Mathematics
is a science. It is not as exact a science as these natural or
physical sciences are, because there are no universally
recognised principles, no clear cause-effect relationships,
no laboratories and no predictions are made in political
theory the way these are found in natural and exact sciences.
It is a science in so far as it admits concepts and norms
which are both observable and testable, and in so far as it
responds to the requirements of reason and rationalism.
The American social science researchers in general, and the
Behaviouralists in particular, sought to create a science of
politics and in the process, indulged in what may be called
‘reductionism’. Political theory is a science in so far as it
can, and in fact, is applied to a social gathering and the
definitive rules of the exact sciences are applicable within
the limitations as in any social science. Political theory as
a science is only a social science. It is a science in its
methodology, in its approach and in its analysis. To that
extent, it is a science, a prime science as Aristotle had
described it. It is a science in so far as its conclusions are
drawn after ‘study’, ‘observation’, ‘experiments’, features
which go along with any normal definition of science.
There is no need to go a long way to make a ‘science’ of
politics, and to find ‘techniques’, and ‘tools’ to make
politics an exact science, no matter whether there remains,
in the process, any political theory or not. The role of
science in political theory should be limited to the extent
that it helps understand a political phenomenon, and to
that extent, science should have an entry in the realms of
political theory. Political theory admits objectivity in
association with subjectivity, facts in relation to values,
research together with theory. Political theory as science
generates neutral, dispassionate and objective knowledge.
2105 (MA–IR)—12
 90 International Relations and Area Studies
There are limits of social sciences. In contrast, the rules
of the game (that of the exact sciences) do not change with
time. The laws of physics, for instance, can be assumed to
pertain to all situations at all times—past, present and
future. But this is not true of the social sciences. “The
nature of the ‘economic’ and the ‘political’ is,” Colin Hay
says, “different after Keynes and Marx in a way that the
‘physical’ and the ‘natural’ is not after Newton and
Einstein”. We must remember that (i) “Social structures,
unlike natural structures, do not exist independently of the
activities they govern”, (ii) “social structures, unlike the
natural structures, do not exist independently of the agent’s
conceptions of what they are doing in their activity”.
(iii) “social structures, unlike natural structures, may be
only relatively enduring”. (R. Bhaskar, The Limits of
Naturalism, 1979). This is where the social sciences are
different from the natural sciences. The limits of political
theory are worked out within the ethics of political analysis.
Political Theory : Growth and Evolution
Political theory has, in the West, passed through different
stages. There was a time when, during the ancient Greek
and the medieval period, political theory would concern
itself with identifying the ethical goals of the state, i.e., the
objectives which the state would cherish to achieve. Both
Plato and Aristotle would insist on the functions of the
state to establish justice or give the individual, a good life.
The medieval political theory associated as it was with
religion, demanded of the state to prepare and train the
individual to seek a place with god. The early modern age
political theory sought to discuss theories of the origin of
the state, followed by philosophers with whom the
organisation and functions of the state were major concerns
of the state. The mid-twentieth century political theory
dealt largely with the institutions of the state, making the
concept of power to be the basic theme of the state.
The growth and evolution of political theory can be
elaborated in three major streams. These are: (i) classical
political theory, (ii) m odern political theory, and
(iii) contemporary political theory. The classification of
political theory into classical, modern and contemporary
is, indeed, thematic. What divides the classical or the
traditional from the modern is the element of science in the
latter and its absence in the former. Philosophy dominates
the classical tradition of political theory whereas science
and its methodology dominate the modernist. As an
exception, there may be an Aristotle and a Thomas in the
ancient and the medieval periods of the West who might
have emphasised the science element while discovering
the laws of public life, and there may be a Strauss in our
times who might see the utility of philosophy in the study
of politics. Likewise, modern political theory and
contemporary political theory are somewhat different, at
least in their essence. Modern political theory is empirical
and scientific, whereas contemporary political theory is
philosophical and historical. Contemporary political theory
attempts to synthesise the essence of both the classical and
modern political theory.
Classical Political Theory
Classical political theory emerged in the ancient Greek
culture, in the writings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, and
continued until the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The classical paradigm, according to Sheldon Wolin,
relating to political theory, consisted of the following:
 Classical political theory aimed at acquiring reliable
knowledge about matters concerning the people, a
philosophical pursuit to establish a rational basis
for belief; a politically inspired pursuit to establish
a rational basis for action.
 It sought to identify the political with the public,
the common: the Greek polis, the Roman res
publica, and the m edieval age usage of
commonweal—all denoted a sharing of what was
common among the people as partners.
 Its basic unit of analysis was always the political
whole, the body-politic, the inter-related structure
denoting activity, relationship, and belief: activity
relating to ruling, warfare, education, religious
practices; relationships involving those between
social classes, between the rulers and the ruled,
between the superiors and the inferiors; belief, such
as justice, equality, natural law and the like.
 Relating itself to the political whole, the classical
political theory laid emphasis on order, balance,
equilibrium, stability and harmony. That is why, it,
in the process, dwelt on terms such as conflicts,
anarchy, instability and revolution.
 Classical political theory laid stress on comparative
studies for supplying a more comprehensive
explanation of political phenomena and a wider
range of alternatives. That was the reason that
classical political theory developed a classification
of political forms (e.g., monarchy, aristocracy,
democracy, and their variants) and a set of concepts
such as law, citizenship, justice and participation so
as to explain differences and similarities between
them.
 Classical political theory had been, largely, ethical
in perspective. Its response was rooted in a moral
outlook: Plato advocated the ideal state; Aristotle,
a state that can achieve the best possible; St.
Augustine, the city of god. Classical political theory
undertook to appraise the various constitutional
forms, to determine the form most suitable for a
particular set of circumstances, and to decide, if
any, absolutely the best form possible.

 Classical political theory, by projecting the best
form of polity as the ideal, revealed the boldness
and radicalism of classical theorising, though some
dismissed such an attempt as merely utopian and
visionary.
Modern Political Theory
Modern political theory encompasses in itself a host of
diverse trends such as the institutional structural, scientific,
positivistic, empirical, behavioural, post-behavioural and
the Marxist. These trends dominated the greater part of the
twentieth century. Classical political theory was, by and
large, philosophical, normative, idealistic, and to an extent,
historical; modern political theory, on the other hand, can
be classified into two opposing divisions: the liberal
including the individualistic, the elitist and the pluralist
on one hand, and the Marxist, including the dialectical-
materialist on the other.
Modern political theory, beginning with the liberal
stance from the 15th-16th centuries and later expressing
itself in the institutional-positivist, empirical-behavioural
and post-behavioural trends, dubbed the whole classical
tradition as dull. Their advocates, from Merriam and Key
to Dahl, Casswell and Easton, sought to lay stress on the
‘present’ rather than on the ‘past’; the ‘living’ rather than
the ‘dull’; the ‘immediate’ rather than the ‘remote’; the
‘objective’ rather than the ‘subjective’; the ‘analytic’ rather
than the ‘philosophic’; the ‘explanatory’ rather than the
‘descriptive’; the ‘process-oriented’ rather than the ‘purpose-
oriented’; the ‘scientific’ rather than the ‘theoretical’.
Modern political theory with its western liberal-democratic
shade attempted to build a science of politics; objective,
empirical, observational, measurable, operational and value-
free. Its features can be summed up as under:
 Facts and data constitute the bases of study. These
are accumulated, explained and then used for testing
hypothesis.
 Human behaviour can be studied, and regularities
of hum an behaviour can be expressed in
generalisations.
 Subjectivity gives way to objectivity; philosophical
interpretation to analytical explanation; purpose to
procedure; descriptive to observational; normative
to scientific.
 Facts and values are separated; values are so
arranged that the facts become relevant.
 Methodology has to be self-conscious, explicit and
quantitative.
 Inter-disciplinary synthesis is to be achieved.
 “What it is” is regarded as more important than
either “what it was” or “what it ought to be or could
be”.
 Values are to support facts, substance to form, and
theory to research, and status quo to social change.
International Relations and Area Studies 91
At the other end of modern political theory stands the
Marxist political theory, also called the ‘dialectical-
materialist’ or the ‘scientific-socialist’ theory. It describes
the general laws of motion in the development of all
phenomena. Its importance lies in change through the
struggle between opposites; between relations of production
and productive forces with a view to have a better mode
of production; development from the lower stage to the
higher one; from, say, capitalistic to socialistic and from
socialistic to communistic. It is a theory which provides a
systematic and scientific framework of analysing and
explaining social and political change. It is a method of
interpreting the past, understanding the present, and
projecting the future.
Contemporary Political Theory
Highlighting the characteristic features of contemporary
political theory, David Held refers to the following:
 Contemporary political theory has been viewed as
the history of political thought, involving an attempt
to examine the significance of text in their historical
context.
 It has sought to revitalise the discipline as a form
of conceptual analysis, and in the process, finding
political theory as a systematic reflection upon, and
classification of, the meanings of the key forms and
concepts such as sovereignty, democracy, justice
and the like.
 It has been developed as the systematic elaboration
of the underlying structure of our moral and political
activities; the disclosure, examination and
reconstruction of the foundations of political value.
 It has been revitalised as a form of argument
concerned with abstract theoretical questions and
particular political issues.
 It has been championed as a critique of all forms of
foundationalism, either the post-modernists or the
liberal defenders. It, accordingly, presents itself as a
stimulant to dialogue and to conversation among
human beings.
 It has been elaborated as a form of systematic model
building influenced by theoretical economics,
rational choice theory and game theory; it aims to
construct formal models of political processes.
 It has developed as the theoretical enterprise of the
discipline of Political Science. As such it attempts
to construct theory on the basis of observation and
modest empirical generalisations.
Contemporary political theory is mainly concerned
with the explanation, investigation and ultimately, with
the comprehension of what relates to politics: concepts,
principles and institutions. Brian Barry (Political Argument,
 92 International Relations and Area Studies
1965) says that political theory attempts to “study the
relation between principles and institutions”. John Rawls
(A Theory of Justice, 1971) thinks that political theory can
seek truth alongside the scientific-empirical methods. Robert
Nozick (Anarchy, State and Utopia, 1974) believes that
contemporary political theory can solve many political
problems by combining the classical ends with empirical
means. The consensus, for example, (John Plamenatz,
Democracy and Illusion, 1973) is that empirical analysis
and reflections of a logical and moral character can co-
exist in political theory.
David Held sums up by saying that contemporary
political theory is: “first, the philosophical concerned,
above all, with the conceptual and normative; second, the
empirical-analytic concerned, above all, with the problems
of understanding and explanation; third, the strategic
concerned, above all with an assessment of the feasibility
of moving from where we are to where we might like to be.
To these, one must add, the historical, the examination of
the changing meaning of political discourse—its key
concepts, theories, and concerns—over time”.
Approaches to Political Theory
In the study of Social Sciences the approaches are extremely
important because they help us in identifying the problems
for our study and deciding on the appropriate data to be
used. A care must however, be taken to differentiate between
an approach and method, another term which is frequently
used by the social scientists. It must be made clear that the
two terms are not synonyms. Method can be defined as a
particular manner or technique to carry out something. It
suggests a systematic course of action that helps procure
trustworthy body of knowledge about a particular issue or
phenomenon and draw conclusions thereon. There are quite
a few methods that are applied in the study of social sciences
such as deductive method, inductive method, comparative
method, scientific method and so on. An approach, in
contrast, is a broader term that takes hold of the method
i.e., how to study or inquire along with bringing into focus
the relevant data i.e., what to study for the purpose of
understanding the particular phenomenon.
In the words of Vernon Van Dyke: “An approach
consists of criteria of selection—criteria employed in
selecting the problems or questions to consider and in
selecting the data to bring to bear; it consists of standards
governing the inclusion and exclusion of questions and
data.” Furthermore, distinguishing between a method and
an approach Dyke indicates: “In brief, approaches consist
of criteria for selecting problems and relevant data, whereas
methods are procedures for getting and utilizing data.” It
must also be added that an approach brings along its method
too. This cannot be always true about a method because a
method is not usually committed to a particular approach.
In other words an approach suggests its own method while
the vice versa is not true. For instance, behavioural approach
is linked to scientific method and normative approach has
association with philosophical method.
Normative Approach
Normative approach poses questions based on ‘norms’ or
‘standards’ in the study of social sciences with an aim to
appraise values. Unlike the empirical approach that is
concerned about ‘what happened and why’ the normative
approach emphasises ‘what should have happened’. It must,
nonetheless, be underlined that these assumptions are not
always valid because at times the two approaches might
overlap. Occasionally, the normative approach may be
based on empirical postulations to elicit how or what a
particular situation should be or what the state of affairs in
a country should have been. In addition to empirical
assumptions, the normative approach also comprises the
social value system or moral standards widely endorsed in
a particular society on which it sets up its edifice of
questions. For instance, if the issue of war is the major
theme of inquiry, the normative approach may seek help
from the empirical assumptions to explain the causes of
war or the prospects of peace along with the basic normative
question whether war as a means of resolving international
disputes is justified or not.
The normative approach highlights its inclination
towards a specific arrangement of things or an order that
emanates from a commitment to a moral duty or universal
necessity. The undercurrent of the normative approach
includes questions about the nature of man. Is the nature
of man good, bad or a combination of both? Whether man
is a rational being or irrationality overrides his actions? Is
gender equality an absolute value or there exist basic gender
differences that need consideration? These are some of the
fundamental posers that influence the normative approach.
Moreover, normative approach takes into account the views
of history in the process of inquiry or drawing of conclusions
in relation with a social phenomenon. For instance, a study
based on the linear view of history usually assumes that the
world is marching towards a better and positive future. An
entropic view of history, on the other hand, presupposes
that the world is constantly in the process of regression. A
cyclic view of history assumes that nothing of substantive
significance ever changes except persons at the top and the
ways through which these persons get to the top.
There are certain areas of social sciences that
presuppose the normative approach in their analyses. For
instance political philosophies or theories of political
idealism cannot be comprehended without getting to know
the norms or ethical standards of the philosophers concerned
or the ideologues of the theories. It is pertinent to explain
that normative statements are usually beyond empirical
testing. They cannot be identified, explained or verified by
our intellect faculty alone. At the most one can appreciate

or deride the underlying norm or point of view of the
philosopher or the ideologue. Take for instance the concept
of justice. There are various theories, from Plato to Amartya
Sen that make attempts to explain what justice is. For some
justice is ‘treating equals equally and ‘unequals’ unequally’
or ‘justice is giving equal freedom and equal opportunity
to all provided any departure from equal distribution will
prove beneficial to the least advantaged’. These
assumptions indicate different sets of value judgements of
the philosophers concerned based on their moral principles
but they fail the empirical tests of observation or
verification. Quite often normative statements on a specific
phenomenon not only differ from each other but they
sometimes contradict each other. It is not, however, possible
to use value-terms such as right or wrong in the evaluation
of normative assumptions because they stand beyond the
purview of empirical or scientific methodologies. They are
true or false only in relation to the value systems they are
embedded in. The recent advances in social sciences and
even in exact sciences indicate that there cannot be an
absolute truth in the field of social sciences or scientific
principles as well. Quite a few scientific theories are true
so long as they are repudiated by new theories. The most
acceptable academic stance is that no theory or principle
can be treated as the repository of absolute truth because
the so-called scientific assumptions are also likely to be
proved wrong.
There are certain other assumptions, which are
essentially normative but can also be proved valid
empirically. Consider a statement like, ‘corruption ought
to end in order to make the functioning of the government
transparent and pro-people’. This kind of statement, despite
being a normative assumption, satisfies the empirical testing
as well because on the basis of verifiable data about the
working of governments across the world it can be proved
that a political system having minimum corruption has a
government that is adequately transparent and committed
to the welfare of the people. The empirical data shows that
the opposite is true in case of widespread corruption in a
political system. A normative approach underscores the
probable course of action that may uphold an innate value,
the primacy of which is an end in itself. For instance, if a
normative statement establishes the preeminence of values
such as truth, good or beautiful or any one of them, it has
served its purpose.
The most common criticism against the normative
approach is that it is subjective whereas the empirical
approach is objective. In view of a scholar, the studies
based on normative approach, like political philosophy,
reveal the fondness of the philosopher concerned about a
value or a few values. A scholar may accept or reject the
fondness of the philosopher for that set of values. There
cannot, however, be a rational argument in the matter. This
is, however, an extreme view. There are other experts who
International Relations and Area Studies 93
believe that a reasonably rewarding dialogue is possible
between the adherents of normative and empirical schools.
They point out that concepts such as freedom, equality and
justice necessitate a dialogue between normative and
empirical approaches.
Another characteristic of the normative approach is
that it is prescriptive whereas an empirical approach is
descriptive. To put it plainly, the normative approach
essentially concentrates on the conditions and standards
that are created by human beings and that are likely to
change depending on social requirements. An adherent of
the normative approach can determine their moral validity
and then suggest the right course of action. For instance,
theories pertaining to the forms of government are likely
to undergo changes with the changes in social conditions.
Additionally, the moral value like legitimacy that justifies
a particular form of government may possibly remain a
constant but the forces lending legitimacy to the form of
government might change. In the ancient and medieval
times it was divinity, power or heredity that provides
legitimacy to the form of government; currently, people’s
support is the most acceptable criterion for the legitimacy
of a government.
It is true that at times normative approach vindicates
the socio-political or religious bias of its adherent. For
instance the prominent political philosophers such as Plato
and Aristotle justified the institution of slavery on account
of disparities between the intrinsic capabilities and natures
of a slave and a freeman. Similar prejudices also prevailed
in the matter of suppression of the position of woman.
Their assumptions were obviously not based on empirical
studies but emanated from the value system of those times.
The advancements in the fields of social and biological
sciences have now established that the assumptions of Plato
and Aristotle were unfounded. Another criticism that is
usually directed towards normative approach is that it fails
to provide a reasonable criterion to determine what is wrong
or what is right. It is a valid criticism and supporters of
normative approach admit this shortcoming. They, however,
point out that the empirical approach is a lopsided one
because it disregards values and its adherents are not capable
to distinguish between higher and lower values. The
normative approach is, therefore, a very valuable approach
particularly in social sciences. An argument in favour of
normative approach does not necessarily mean refutation
of the empirical approach. In fact, there is a need to
recognise the validity and significance of various
approaches in the study of social sciences.
Institutional Approach
As the name suggests, a thorough investigation of political
institutions in order to study the discipline of political
science is called the institutional approach. The approach
is almost as old as the discipline of politics and most
 94 International Relations and Area Studies
political scientists since the times of Aristotle have defined
and restricted the scope of the discipline only to the study
of state and government. In this respect a particular feature
of the approach is that it does not usually make use of
other social sciences such as philosophy, history, or law to
analyse political phenomena. It, therefore, assigns an
independent individuality to the organized inquiry of
political science.
Institutional approach allocates the fundamental status
to the institution of state in the study of politics and its
agency, the government along with its various organs such
as legislature, executive, judiciary and bureaucracy are
also identified for close scrutiny as important political
institutions. There are also many other institutions such as
political parties, trade unions, non-governmental
organisations, educational institutions, religious and cultural
organisations etc. which may interest a scholar who is
employing institutional approach if they directly or
indirectly have some bearing on political processes. In this
context it is necessary to know what an institution really
is. An institution, by and large, can be defined as an
established or organised society, an organisation,
corporation or an establishment especially of a public nature
or whose working affects a community. An institution may
be a foundation, a charitable institution, a sports club or a
literary body. In the words of Vernon Van Dyke: “An
institution is any persistent system of activities and
expectations, or any stable pattern of group behaviour.”
A typical feature of an institution is its offices, agencies
and the personnel associated with it are arranged in
hierarchy that means each office, agency or personal
attached to it is assigned specific powers and functions. It
also implies that the people or the community that are
likely to be affected by the working of an institution expect
that its offices, agencies or personnel should function in
accordance with the respective powers and functions
assigned to them. If we particularly look for the definition
of a political institution then we get to know that a political
institution is an organisation that creates, enforces and
makes governmental policies pertaining to economy and
social system. It also provides for people’s representation.
The examples of such political institution include
government and its various organs, political parties, trade
unions and the courts. The term political institution may
also denote the recognised structure of rules and principles
within which it operates.
Thus, institutional approach in the study of political
science implies a detailed study of the government, its
structures, and the body of rules within which it is required
to operate and also a thorough examination of its various
organs. Besides, the study of political parties, their
structures, ideologies and functioning that have linkages
with political processes forms a significant segment of
institutional approach. Similar studies of other political
institutions such as trade unions and civil society
institutions are also part of the institutional approach.
Aristotle who is also considered the father of traditional
school of politics was the first who classified the
governments as per the numerical strength of the rulers and
the qualitative worth of their governance. Accordingly, he
identified forms of governments as monarchy, aristocracy
and polity applying the numerical as well as better
governance criteria; also as tyranny, oligarchy and
democracy using numerical as well as erosion of legitimacy
of governance criteria. Though Aristotle’s classification is
no more valid, its study is imperative to comprehend the
historical background of political theory. The modern
classification of governments such as democracy or
dictatorship, parliamentary or presidential and unitary or
federal is not the sudden growth of our times. These forms
of government owe a lot to archetypal kinds of government
that had emerged in ancient Greece, Rome and some other
ancient societies. The institutional approach includes the
study of all forms of governments. Additionally the
institutional approach also emphasises on the inquiry of
levels of government which means whether the levels of
governance pertain to federal, state or local institutions.
The approach also prescribes the analysis of the powers
and functioning of the organs of government such as
legislature, executive and judiciary.
The institutional approach is more or less value-free in
the sense that it is mainly concerned with the consideration
of facts in relation to political institutions. This is a feature
that is usually ascribed to a modern approach. In this respect,
despite being a traditional approach, the institutional
approach not only radically differs from the normative and
historical approaches but appears more like a modern
approach. Nevertheless, political scientists refrain from
including it in the category of modern approaches because
it is exceedingly concerned about description rather than
analysis of political phenomena. The experts have also
enlisted some other shortcomings of this approach. They
are as under: (i) It is exclusively focused on political
institutions. As a result, the individual, the primary actor
in political process has been totally discounted in the
institutional approach. It led to a situation that the study
of voting behaviour and political preferences of an
individual was ignored by those political scientists who
advocated institutional approach in the study of politics;
(ii) in the area of international politics the adherents of
institutional approach restrict their studies only to the
investigation of international political institutions such as
the United Nations and its allied agencies and completely
ignore the subject-matter of international politics such as
foreign policy, diplomacy, international law and so on;
(iii) since it is concerned with the study of only established
political institutions, it totally ignores the consideration of
other phenomena like violence, political movements and
agitations, wars, revolution and the scourge of our times,

terrorism, which certainly influence politics; (iv) finally, it
also overlooks the position and influence of informal groups
that have an effect on the politics of almost all states.
Nevertheless, it must be underlined that institutional
approach is very significant because political institutions
constitute the core segment of the scope of political science.
It is unimaginable to ignore the study of political
institutions in any meaningful inquiry of political
phenomena. It should also be made clear that no single
approach is adequate in itself for the study of any social
science. It is true about institutional approach as well. It is
only the combination of a few significant approaches that
helps in a dispassionate study of political science and
institutional is certainly one of the significant approaches.
Behavioural Approach
Behaviouralism is one of the most significant modern
approaches to the study of political science. A modern
approach differs from a traditional one in precisely two
ways: First, a modern approach is concerned mainly about
establishing a separate identity of political science by
emphasizing on the factual character of politics. Two, a
modern approach makes an attempt to study politics in
entirety, which means it pays little attention to the formal
aspects of the discipline and brings into focus such other
aspects that influence and also get influenced in the
political processes. Behaviouralism is an approach in
political science which seeks to provide an objective,
quantified approach to explaining and predicting political
behaviour. Its emergence in politics coincides with the rise
of the behavioural social sciences that were given shape
after the natural sciences. Behaviouralism is mainly
concerned to examine the behaviour, actions, and acts of
individuals rather than the characteristics of institutions
such as legislatures, executives, and judiciaries.
Behaviouralism underscores the systematic inquiry of all
exclusive expression of political behaviour. Some scholars
insist that behaviouralism implies the application of
meticulous scientific and statistical methods in order to
standardise means of investigation. It is also an exercise in
ensuring a value-free study of the discipline of politics. It
is usually argued that by the adherents of behavioural
approach that political science should be studied in manner
similar to the study of natural sciences. In this context, the
supporters of behavioural approach insist that the main
role of a political scientist is to collect and analyse factual
data in an objective manner.
The major point of criticism against the traditional
approaches has been that they have been deficient in
applying scientific methods to the study of politics that
has rendered its very claim to be a science at all. Therefore,
the behaviouralists recommended the application of
exacting methodology and empirical studies to make the
discipline of political science a true social science. The
International Relations and Area Studies 95
behavioural approach has without doubt given a totally
ground-breaking purpose to the study of politics by taking
it towards an inquiry based on research-supported verifiable
data. The behaviouralists have challenged the realist and
liberal approaches by labelling them traditional as they fail
to substantiate their conclusion with verifiable facts. In
order to understand political behaviour of individual the
supporters of behavioural approach prescribe the methods
like sampling, interviewing, scoring, scaling and statistical
analysis.
The behavioural approach came to be exceedingly
favoured in the study of political science after the World
War II. Nonetheless, it originated with the publication in
1908 of the works of two political scientists, Graham Wallas
(Human Nature in Politics) and Arthur Bentley (The Process
of Government). Both these political scientists preferred to
underscore the informal political processes and diminished
the significance of the study of political institutions in
isolation. Wallas, moved by the new findings of modern
psychology, strived to introduce similar realism in the
study of political science. The major breakthrough provided
by modern psychology was that an individual, after all,
was not that much a rational being as the traditional political
scientists and classical economists had tried to make him
out. Consequently, he emphasised that, more often than
not, an individual’s political action were not given direction
by rationality and self-interest. Wallas pointed out that
human nature was a complex phenomenon and for an
objective understanding of human nature suggested
gathering and analysis of factual data of human behaviour.
The other political scientist, Bentley was credited for
inventing ‘group approach’ in the study of politics. He also
prescribed that there should be a shift from description of
political activity to the application of new tools of
investigation. Bentley had sought greater inspiration from
modern sociology that made him emphasise the role of the
informal groups such as pressure groups, elections and
political opinion in political processes.
Another significant political scientist who made
valuable contribution to behavioural approach was Charles
E Merriam, known as the founder of Chicago School. His
objection to the traditional approaches to politics was the
usual one i.e., they suffer from the absence of thorough
scientific inquiry. He was also critical of the works of those
historians who did not take into account the role of
psychological, sociological and economic aspects of human
existence. He vociferously advocated an inter-disciplinary
approach to the study of political science, which would
endow the discipline with a true scientific character. He
favoured the use of quantitative techniques in the study of
politics and encouraged political scientists to treat political
behaviour as the cardinal issue in the studies. Since he was
a resolute admirer of democracy, he strived to employ
science to disseminate the message of democracy. He did
 96 International Relations and Area Studies
not see any inconsistency to advance the cause of a specific
form of government through an approach to politics. It was
William B Munro, another supporter of modern approach
who made it plain that it was improper for political science
to encourage the spread of any specific form of government,
democracy or otherwise. One more proponent of behavioural
approach, G E G Catlin spoke of making politics a value-
free social science in his notable work, Science and Method
of Politics, published in 1927. For Catlin, the essence of
politics is to be located in ‘power’ and in this respect he
cautioned that in the analysis of power, no particular value-
system should be taken into account. Catlin’s idea that
politics was essentially the study of power was later turned
into a comprehensive study by Harold D Lasswell in the
renowned work Politics: Who Gets What, When, How that
came out in 1936. It is considered as one of the most
meticulous studies of power.
These were the most important attempts to transform
politics into a scientific discipline prior to World War II.
In the post-War period quite a few American political
scientists such as David B Truman, Robert Dahl, Evron M
Kirkpatrich, Heinz Eulau et al. m ade outstanding
contributions to behaviouralism that elaborated and
expanded the extent of behavioural approach beyond the
analysis of political behaviour. Therefore, it is pertinent to
quote here the contemporary definition of behavioural
approach as provided by Geoffrey K Roberts in A Dictionary
of Political Analysis, published in 1971: “Political
behaviour, as an area of study within political science, is
concerned with those aspects of human behaviour that take
place within a state or other political community, for
political purposes or with political motivation. Its focus is
the individual person—as voter, leader, revolutionary, party
member, opinion leader etc. rather than the group or the
political system, but it necessarily takes account of the
influences of the group on the individual’s behaviour, the
constraints of the system on the individual’s opportunities
for action, and the effects of the political culture on his
attitude and political habits.”
In view of this definition the political scientists who
subscribe to behavioural approach investigate the
psychological and sociological bearings on the behaviour
of the individual in a political situation. Such an approach
makes it imperative to make investigation of certain
processes and political aspects such as political
socialisation, political ideologies, political culture, political
participation, political communication, leadership, decision
making and also political violence. It goes without saying
that the study of most of these processes demands an inter-
disciplinary or multi-disciplinary approach. Thus, in the
post-War scenario behavioural approach went beyond the
confines of the research of individual-centric political
behaviour. In the contemporary sense it is identified with
an array of points of reference, procedures and methods of
analysis. It was David Easton who set forth eight
‘intellectual foundation-stones’ of behavioural approach.
They are:
 Regularities: It refers to identifiable similarities in
political behaviour which help generalisation and
explanation of regularities in political theory.
 Commitment to Verification: It necessitates that
the soundness of theoretical statements must be
subjected to verification tests with reference to
relevant political behaviour.
 Techniques: It calls for experimental attitude in
matter of electing techniques. In other words
political behaviour must be observed, recorded and
then analysed.
 Quantification: In order to make a precise expression
of conclusions based on collected data it is necessary
to quantify the recording of data wherever possible.
 Values: The behavioural approach demands a clear
distinction between ethical assessment and empirical
explanations. The behaviouralists insist on this
separation to make political inquiry as far as possible
value-free or value-neutral.
 Systemisation: It draws attention to establishing
linkages between theory and research because
research data without the support of theory is likely
to become inconsequential while theory in the
absence of verifiable data may become an exercise
in futility.
 Pure Science: It recommends postponing the
attempts to convert politics into a pure science for
the purpose of making it an applied science. It is
necessary because on account of the study of
political behaviour we can use the knowledge of
politics to find practical solutions to the pressing
problems of a polity.
 Integration: It suggests integration of social sciences
with their respective values in order to develop an
all-inclusive outlook of human affairs.
David Easton made attempts to make behavioural
approach “analytic, not substantive, general rather than
particular, and explanatory rather than ethical”. In other
words his intent was to make political theory capable of
making evaluation of political behaviour without involving
any ethical issue. It is often described as an exercise to
distinguish between facts and values. Behaviouralism has
been criticized by both conservative and radical political
scientists for its so-called attempt to make the discipline
value-free. For the conservative the behavioural approach
is a serious threat to the possibility of political philosophy.
According to Christian Bay, behaviouralism was nothing
but a pseudo-political science because it did not represent

‘genuine’ political research. His major point of criticism
was that behavioural approach attached too much
importance to empiricism and overlooked normative and
ethical examination of political science. The radical critics
point out that it is not possible to study political science
by separating of facts from values. Nonetheless, it must be
stated that behavioural approach did provide a great deal
of reliability to political inquiry in comparison with political
generalisation. It has made it possible to make available
dependable answers to political question by using
systematic methods. In the opinion of Vernon Van Dyke:
“The student who takes a behavioural approach is not
likely to ask broad and vague questions like what caused
the decline and fall of the Roman Empire…Nor is he likely
to focus on ideologies and constitutions or law or upon the
organizational structure of institutions.” Behavioural
approach accordingly is concerned more about micro-level
political situations and shuns political generalisations.
Post-Marxist Approach
The coming to power of Joseph Stalin in 1924 and the
subsequent em ergence of his autocratic rule, the
transformation of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(CPSU) from the vanguard of revolution to a rigid and
terrifying bureaucracy and absolute suppression of the idea
of freedom in the erstwhile Soviet Union did an incalculable
damage to Marxism and quite a few philosophers and
intellectuals who were either Marxists or had an intellectual
interest in Marxist philosophy were completely disillusioned
by the Soviet model that was created in the name of
Marxism. Post-Marxism in academic terms, therefore, refers
to the extrapolations of classical Marxism by philosophers
and theorists.
Thus, post-Marxist approach to social theory came to
be recognised around 1960. It became an important tool of
analysis of political theory because of the failure of the
Soviet model to replicate itself beyond the USSR. The
other factors that too contributed to the acceptance of post-
Marxist theory included: (i) students’ riots of 1968 across
the world; (ii) the rise of Maoism and the extensive coverage
of the Vietnam War that was made possible because of the
advent of commercial television; (iii) some thinkers showed
obtrusive scepticism about certain cardinal formulations of
Marxism because of rapid advances of science and
technology along with socio-economic changes all over
the world; (iv) structural alterations of capitalism that in
turn reduced the significance of the working class in
industrialised countries; (v) the extreme incursion of
capitalist relation of production in many areas of social
life; (vi) dawning of burdensome bureaucratisation as a
characteristic trait of the welfare state that gave rise to new
modes of protest; the appearance of mass mobilisation in
the ‘third world’ countries which overturned the classical
pattern of class struggle; (vii) the damage to the crisis-
International Relations and Area Studies 97
ridden countries that purportedly implemented socialism
and, (viii) the extremely oppressive forms of governance
established in the name of ‘the dictatorship of the
proletariat’.
Although, the writings of two thinkers, Louis Althusser
and Michel Focault, majorly shaped the post-Marxist theory,
the other philosophers and intellectuals too added to the
economic, historical, feminist, literary and cultural
dimensions of the theory. These thinkers include Judith
Butler, John Frow, Richard Wolf, Ernesto Laclau, Tony
Bennett et al. The post-Marxist theory, instead of
underscoring the primacy of class struggle and the humanist
concerns about the exploited and oppressed sections of
society, brings into focus the sexual, class and ethnic
division that exist in almost all societies. In this sense post-
Marxism is a critique of Marxism and also presents an
alternative theory. Though it is a complex line of analysis,
we can still make an attempt to identify the foremost
arguments of post-Marxism.
Firstly, post-Marxism claims that socialism is a
catastrophe as a theory of economics and society. The
subsequent theories that have either borrowed from socialism
or made adaptations to explain society are equally phony.
It further insists that all ideologies are sham because they
are theoretically rooted in social milieus that are subjugated
“by a single gender/race culture system.” Secondly, the
post-Marxist thinkers contend that Marxist stress on social
classes is reductionist to say the least, for the classes are
bound to break up. The real criteria for the political division
of society are embedded in varied identities such as race,
(in case of India, caste), gender, ethnicity, sexual preference
etc. Thirdly, the institution of state is inimical to democracy
and freedom. It has also failed miserably to give out the
benefit of the welfare state. The post-Marxists want that
state should be replaced by civil society that can ensure
democracy with much more sincerity and also bring about
social transformation for better. Fourthly, the idea of central
planning devised by the socialist state also comes under
scrutiny by the post-Marxists. They argue that it is basically
a product of a powerful bureaucracy, which creates
roadblocks for the efficient exchange of goods between
producers. They also affirm that markets (with limited
regulations if not completely free) can augment more
consum ption and can also guarantee professional
distribution.
The fifth assertion of post-Marxism is that the
socialists’ struggle for capturing political power is actually
corrupting the political systems as a result of which
authoritarian regimes keep emerging. These regimes
suppress democracy, freedom and civil society. The position
of the post-Marxists in this respect is that the real democratic
alternative is that local organisations should strive for
promoting and protecting local issues while simultaneously
exerting pressure on national and international authorities.
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Sixthly, revolutions in the contemporary scenario are either
a very difficult possibility or even if brought about, they
lead to disgusting consequences. More often than not, social
transformation by means of revolution leads to the
emergence of authoritarian rule. The post-Marxists,
therefore, suggests that people should struggle for the
strengthening of democracy and protection of electoral
processes. The seventh contention of post-Marxism is that
classes no longer exist. The concept of class solidarity is
a relic of the past ideologies that were the product of the
social realities of their times. In the contemporary situation,
the post-Marxists emphasise, there are ‘fragmented locales’
where specific groups having distinct identities and residing
in specific localities are engaged in the process of self-help
and sustain by means of cooperation and outside support.
Therefore, the notion of class solidarity got transformed
into cross-class phenomenon.
The eighth claim of the post-Marxists is that class
struggle does not lead to concrete results. It can only create
social upheavals, destruction and defeat. Moreover, it falls
short of resolving the immediate problems. In place of class
struggle, the post-Marxists recommend that the civil society
should put pressure on government and international
agencies for the resolution of pressing problems. The ninth
argument of post-Marxism is that the position of the
Marxists to deride imperialism is an extraneous exercise
because imperialism is a phenomenon of the past that has
outlived its relevance. The contemporary world moves along
globalized economy wherein the possibility of confronting
a specific or more than one economic centres does not
arise. The present day world, in the opinion of the post-
Marxists, is characterised by interdependence which
stipulates greater global cooperation for relocation of capital,
modern technology and expertise from the developed to
the underdeveloped and developing countries. Lastly, the
post-Marxists have a word of advice for the leaders of the
popular organisations (including political parties) not to
spend their energies in organising the poor. They must
rather explore the avenues of external funding. It is the
responsibility of the professionals to design programmes
that may attract external funding to be used for the uplift
of local groups.
The critics of post-Marxists, point out that though
they pretend not to have a political agenda and their
arguments constitute an independent theory, the fact is that
they directly or indirectly strengthen the neoliberals and
injure the interests of the working class. The post-Marxists
have, in reality, occupied the space that was earlier in
possession of the reformists in Latin America. The critics
insist that the positions of the post-Marxists are, by and
large, new versions of the arguments put forth earlier by the
socialists, nationalists and religious leaders. The critics
also allege that the post-Marxist organisations are nurtured
and financed by the world funding agencies and local
governments with specific agenda to promote neo-
liberalism. It is a common practice that most organisations
committed to post-Marxism identify themselves as ‘non-
governmental’ or as independent entities, although they
are funded covertly by global financial agencies to
disseminate neoliberalism. Though, the critics have reasons
to question the theoretical formulations of post-Marxism,
the fact is that it has emerged as a valuable approach to the
study of social sciences in general and political science in
particular. There are certain contentions of post-Marxism
that cannot be simply put under the carpet by calling them
neo-liberal agenda.
Feminist Approach to Political Theory
There are quite a few movements across the world, in
particular, the western world that project women’s issues
with emphasis on creating egalitarian social conditions
wherein the ideal of gender equality should be one of the
cardinal values. Collectively these movements are known
as feminism. The objectives of the feminist movement are
broadly similar to those of the campaigns for women’s
rights but in recent years it has acquired ideological and
theoretical dimensions that have registered an impact on
social sciences. In this respect, the notion of a feminist
approach to political theory assumes significance.
Accordingly, we may say that feminism makes attempts to
bring into light an approach to the study of social sciences
that helps establish, promote and define social concepts
from the point of view of gender egalitarianism rather than
the male perspective that has been the case till recently. In
order to delineate the feminist approach to political theory
it is essential to have a cursory look on the history of
feminism and its dynamics.
Historically speaking, feminism is usually divided into
three phases depending on the emphasis attached to feminist
issues. The first phase, or the ‘wave’ as it is popularly
referred to, commenced in late nineteenth century and
continued till 1930s. Feminism during this phase was mainly
about the suffrage, though the promotion of equal contract,
marriage, parenting, property, sexual, reproductive rights
were also on the agenda. The suffrage movement was more
pronounced in the USA and the UK. In the USA, though
Wyoming was the first state that granted women the right
to vote in 1869, the federal government did not agree to
the principle of universal franchise till 1920. The women
achieved right to vote in the British colonies of South
Australia and New Zealand in 1893 and 1895 respectively.
However, the women in Britain had to wait for the suffrage
till 1918, when thirty-year old women having ownership
rights of houses were allowed to be voters. Ten years later,
the suffrage was made available to all women of the age of
21 years and above. In India, the women got political
rights along with their male counterparts when the
Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950.
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In China, the women achieved similar rights as were made
available to men after the establishment of the Communist
rule in 1949.
In the countries that have Muslim majority population,
Turkey, Egypt and Iran, are the only states where the
feminist movement has had some impact. In Turkey, women
got equal rights in 1922, when it was declared as a republic
and a secular state. In Egypt, the feminist movement
appeared with the formation of Egyptian Feminist Union in
1923. It’s founder President, Hoda Shaarawi argued for
equal legal, social and political rights for women. However,
Arab feminism could become a force only with the rise of
Arab nationalism. (Currently, with the conservative party,
Ikhwan-ul-Muslimin capturing power, the future of women’s
rights in Egypt seems to be uncertain. It may go the Iranian
way.) In Iran, the feminist movement for equal rights began
with the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1905, when
women had achieved equality in education, marriage,
employment and legal matters. Nevertheless, in the aftermath
of the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979, the women have
lost many of the rights that were available to them since
1905.
The second phase of feminist movement began in early
1960s and continues to overlap with the current third phase
as some of the objectives of the second ‘wave’ have
remained unaccomplished in quite a few countries. In the
second phase the dominant issues have been cultural,
economic and political inequalities of women that are
reflected not only in their personal lives but also in the
sexist power structures. During this phase, the feminist
activist-author, Carol Hanisch coined the slogan ‘the
Personal is Political’ that represented the dominant thrust
of the second wave. The feminists strived to end the
traditional, and in many societies almost revered, division
of labour wherein woman was confined to the four walls of
her home and assigned the work of raising children,
cleaning, washing and cooking while her male counterpart
was supposed to do business or job in the capacity of the
earner, a position that made him the master of the house.
Thus, the discrimination against women that begins in the
household and persists in socio-political structures outside
was brought into focus. It was during this period that
woman’s position came to be reviewed in societies where
communist revolution and other reform movements were
brought about.
In the third phase of feminism that began in early
1990s, was dominated by a review of the circumstances
and reasons that proved detrimental in the accomplishment
of the objectives of the second phase. The third wave of
feminism seems to make conscious efforts to rid itself of
the over-emphasis on the issues of middle-class white
women. The common concerns of the feminists in the third
phase appear to promote a post-structuralist view of gender
and equality and to bring into focus ‘micro-politics’ that
International Relations and Area Studies 99
pervades in determining roles of women within the
household and outside. The phase is also marked by a
polemic between ‘difference feminists’ who argue that there
exist significant differences between man and woman and
those who hold the view that there are no innate differences
between the sexes and that differences in gender roles are
the product of social conditioning.
A feminist approach to political theory leads to the
development of a feminist political theory that is, in fact,
an extension of feminism into political theorisation. A
feminist approach to political theory emphasises issues
such as gender politics, power relations, sexist characteristics
of political ideas and structures, w om en’s rights,
discrimination based on gender, stereotyping of gender
roles, sexual objectification, oppression of the weaker sex
and patriarchy. A liberal feminist theory is about equality
of man and woman in the realms of politics and law that
must be achieved by legal and structural reforms. On the
other hand, a socialist feminist theory establishes linkages
between oppression of women and exploitation of workers.
A radical feminist approach to political theory advocates
complete demolition of male-controlled capitalist hierarchy
that is the root cause of discrimination against women and
reconstructing a society based on absolute gender equality.
A Marxist-feminist approach puts forward the notion that
elimination of class oppression will lead to elimination of
gender oppression.
In its formative years feminism in the USA had a
tendency to make common cause with the rightists in the
sphere of politics as was evident from the close affinity
between the National Woman’s Party and the political right
from 1910 to 1960. Nevertheless, in the contemporary
scenario, feminism is in alliance, not merely in the USA but
throughout the world, with the left-wing politics. The
toughest opposition to feminism came from Nazism during
1930s and 1940s when the political and economic rights
of women were done away with on the ground that the real
role of a woman was to give birth to and bring up the
healthy males who could protect and bring glory to the
Aryan nation. In Spain, the feminists faced terrible
oppression as the Catholic conservatives under Franco’s
autocracy established a hierarchical social order which
accorded superior position to men because of masculinity
and virility while assigning women a subordinate position
to look after the household chores and bear children. In the
contemporary world feminist movements are either under
attack or non-existent in societies that are pronouncedly
religious. It is largely true about the countries where Islam
has its sway.
The civil rights movements across the world have also
contributed to feminism as most of the feminist theorists
use the idioms made popular by the black activists in the
USA and Africa and also tend to connect the movements
for women’s rights with those of non-white people.
100 International Relations and Area Studies
Currently, feminist activism is also concerned with anti-
racism, immigration laws in Europe, caste discrimination in
India and the all pervading oppression of women in the
Muslim dominated societies, in particular, the Middle East.
Thus, a feminist approach to political theory is much
more than a mere description of roles of men and women
in political sphere. It majorly takes into account the ideas
that imply intrinsic inequalities in the dominant political
theory that in turn helps develop political structures which
assign positions of prominence to men and insignificant
roles to women. In this context, a feminist approach to
political theory concentrates on two theoretical areas viz.
equality of rights and gender equality in law. The feminists
strive to eliminate inequalities and injustices from political
theory. The social constructions everywhere are such that
accentuate gender inequalities in social, political, cultural,
economic and legal spheres. A feminist approach also
underlines the fact that most approaches to political theory
are embedded in the notion of male superiority. By raising
the slogan of ‘the personal is political’ the feminism,
therefore, rejects the ancient Greek social dichotomy of
private and public fields. It was this dichotomy that made
the Greek philosophers to exclude women from public
affairs and since then political theory kept on propelling
male-centric ideas. The feminist argument is that the
political theory overtly dominated by male primacy has
explicitly ignored the oppression of women in the
household, business and commercial spheres, politics and
culture because they seem to carry forward the well
entrenched Greek view that women are not fit enough to be
citizens.
In view of most feminists, it is only Marxism that has
developed a political theory that seems to be free from
gender bias. It was Engels who, after the death of Marx,
wrote a book, The Origin of the Family, Private Property
and the State, wherein he argued that the key to the
problems of women was to be found in socialism that
would allow them to join the labour market as equal
individuals. Nonetheless, quite a few feminist theorists are
critical of Marxism as well for Marx has not exclusively
dealt with the issue of male supremacy in political theory.
It is pertinent here to enlist the major contributions that a
feminist approach has made to political theory. They are as
follows:
 It has made the gender politics as the central issue
in discernment of oppression. In the absence of a
feminist approach the concerns of sexual politics
were usually treated as non-issues because they were
purportedly considered the issues of private sphere.
 The feminist approach to political theory helps
understand patriarchy that has had a domineering
effect on political theory since the times of Plato. It
also underscores the fact that the course of social
change begins and ends with the manner in which
the private issues like sexuality, childcare, house-
hold chores and domestic authority relations are
dealt with. If the social change fails to bring about
a qualitative, egalitarian shift in the private sphere
it is worthless.
 Feminism wholly rejects the anthropological
theories of division of labour because they have
been written from male point of view because they
directly strengthen women’s subordination in
economic and political spheres.
 The male-dominated idea of division of labour has
directly led to the objectification of women in public
life. The man’s hatred for woman, misogyny, has
been a forceful trait of male-dominated societies
because of which women have been reduced to
objects of men’s sexual desires which has blunted
the genuine desires of women such as cravings for
love, sex and rearing of children.
 A major contribution of feminist approach to
political theory is its reluctance to accept
heterosexuality as an absolute fact which has been
the principal them e of V ictorian notion of
femininity. It presupposes that the worth of a woman
lies in getting married to a man and serving his
sexual, em otional and dom estic needs. The
implication is not to underline the fact that quite a
few women, by nature, are lesbians but to bring into
focus the dichotomous division of men and women
is false because it creates watertight compartments.
The reality lies in they being equally indispensable
to each other.
The feminist approach is not entirely about the five
points enumerated above. The list is far from being
exhaustive. However, these are certainly the major concerns
of feminism in relation with political theory.
POSITIVISM, SCIENTIFIC METHOD AND
ITS CRITIQUE, CONTEMPORARY
APPROACHES TO RESEARCH
IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
Positivism can be broadly defined as a theory that holds
that theology and metaphysics are imperfect forms of
knowledge and that knowledge is based on natural
phenomena and their properties and relations that can be
verified empirically. It majorly believes that in social as
well as natural sciences the real sources of all meaningful
information are the sensory experiences that can be
subjected to logical and mathematical treatment. Positivism,
therefore, rejects the knowledge that is purportedly gained
by introspection and intuition. Historically speaking,

positivism had been in use as a philosophical approach in
Ancient Greece, however, in the modern world the concept
came to be widely known in early 19th century thanks to
the writings of August Comte who is the pioneer of the
discipline of sociology. Comte asserts that authentic
knowledge can only be acquired through sense, experience
and positive experience.
Positivism
W e can enlist five principles that get expressed
intermittently in the theoretical formulations of the positivist
thinkers. They are as under:
 The first principle emphasises the unity of the
scientific method, which means that the nature and
mode of inquiry does not change from discipline to
discipline but remain similar in social as well as
natural sciences.
 The objectives of inquiry must be to explain and
predict. Quite a few positivists assert that the ultimate
purpose of inquiry has to be the development of the
law of universal understanding by finding out
essential and satisfactory tools of inquiry for any
phenomenon. In other words they hope for creating
a perfect model of the phenomenon. If such a law
is available then by manipulating the conditions
prediction can also be made.
 Any body of knowledge that claims itself to be
scientific must be testable and research in any
phenomenon is valid only if it is empirical. Research
must also be perceptible by the human senses and
should also be subjected to logical confirmation.
 It is wrong to believe that science acknowledges or
validates common sense. Therefore, researchers
should not allow common sense to have a bearing
on their research.
 Science should be as value-free as possible because
the real goal of science is to produce knowledge
and not to project political goals, morals or values
that might be dear to the researchers. Logic should
be the only criterion for judging science and ideally
scientific body of knowledge should be true
universally. In brief, statements must be true for all
times and places.
Shortly after the publication of Comte’s book, A
G eneral View of Positivism in 1848, quite a few
philosophers made attempts to define and explain
positivism in their own terms. The most prominent among
these thinkers were the much respected French novelist and
an influential thinker, Emile Zola, Emile Hennequin,
William Scherer and Dimitri Pisarev. Another outstanding
thinker, Emile Durkheim, is not only considered to be the
founder of modern discipline of sociology but also a reviewer
of Comte’s idea of positivism. Though Durkheim rejected
International Relations and Area Studies 101
many of Comte’s positivist ideas, he broadly subscribed to
Comte’s method by consenting to the principle that social
sciences constitute logical extension of natural sciences so
far as they relate to human activity. Therefore, any research
in a social phenomenon may have similar objectivity,
rationalism and causation that are true in natural sciences.
Durkheim, in his Rules of the Sociological Method, first
published in 1895, argues: “Our main goal is to extend
scientific rationalism to human conduct…What has been
called our positivism is but a consequence of this
rationalism.”
The critics of Durkheim, however, pointed out that his
ideas of positivism suffered from overstatement and over-
simplification. They insisted that Comte was the only sig-
nificant positivist thinker who maintained that social phe-
nomena could be subjected to scientific inquiry similar to
the one employed in natural sciences. On the contrary
Durkheim had been striving to develop a distinct socio-
logical scientific methodology. Nevertheless, Durkheim is
credited with developing techniques for social research
which are useful as the foundation of methodology in a few
social sciences such as sociology, political science and
market research. In the present scenario, positivism may
come handy for those technocrats who are of the view that
science and technology may bring about social progress.
In the US, positivism is now increasingly identified
with scientific method for the inquiry of a social phenomena
and in this mode it is the most preferred approach to
theoretical construction and empirical research in almost
all social sciences. As per an estimate a sizable number of
articles published in reputed research journals of social
sciences of the world are based on positivist methodology.
In the US, the positivist quantitative methods are usually
perceived to be more scientific and reliable and, therefore,
more popular than the qualitative research works. Although,
most social scientists today may not identify themselves as
positivists, majority of the research works published in
journals of political science and especially of sociology
suggest the application of positivist method.
Logical Positivism
Logical positivism is a branch of positivism that combines
empiricism and rationalism in order to invent proper tools
of scientific inquiry of social phenomena. It was advanced
in the beginning of the twentieth century by the Vienna
Circle, whose founding father was Moritz Schilick. The
other members of the Circle included philosophers,
mathematicians and scientists such as Rudolf Carnap, Otto
von Neurath, Victor Kraf, Hebert Feigl et al. Logical
positivism opposes all metaphysical, in particular, the
ontological, and sham deductive propositions. Logical
positivism does not reject metaphysics for being based on
incorrect foundation but because of it is meaningless. The
criterion of meaning was made clear in the writings of
102 International Relations and Area Studies
Ludwig Wittgenstein which presented the idea that the
knowledge was meaningful so long as it could be codified
in a solitary acknowledged language of science. He was
also responsible for creating linkages between the Circle
and the school of linguistic philosophy that was having its
sway at Oxford and other British universities.
The logical positivists are best known for the verifiable
criterion of meaning. They point out that metaphysical,
theological and ethical propositions cannot be verified and
for that reason are cognitively meaningless. It must be
noted that the logical positivists make a distinction between
a cognitive statement and other kinds of statement that
may have emotive or figurative meanings. The logical
positivists argue that scientific propositions are of two
types viz. analytic and synthetic. A statement is called
synthetic when something is appended to the meaning of
a term that appears in the statement. All propositions, as
per logical positivism, must satisfy the criterion of
verifiability. Therefore, a synthetic statement can only be
meaningful if it can be empirically verified; if it fails the
test it is meaningless. An analytic proposition, on the other
hand, satisfies logical reasoning as well as it may be
quantifiable. It contains truth value that makes it
understandable in the sense a scientific statement is
meaningful. Analytical statement can also be empirically
verified and therefore, it is cognitive proposition. Since
traditional theory cannot be empirically verified, the logical
positivists reject it for its meaninglessness. The logical
positivism also aims at accomplishing the goal of a ‘united
science’ by which it means developing a common language
having the capability to express all scientific propositions.
Logical positivism played a pivotal role in the
development of analytic philosophy. It also influenced the
philosophy of language. Logical positivism has registered
its impact on political theory in two ways. First, since most
of the principles or propositions of political theory cannot
satisfy the criterion of empirical verifiability the discipline
is meaningless. It may be in the category of metaphysics,
ethics, non-rational and arbitrary area of beyond science
but it cannot be called a scientific discipline. Secondly, the
logical positivists recommend the adoptions of criteria of
a genuine science like physics to all social sciences
including political science to make them true sciences.
It was Karl Popper who argued that the criterion of
verifiability as suggested by the logical positivists was too
rigid and suggested that it could be replaced by the criterion
of falsification. He argued that falsification was a better
alternative because it did not bring on the intrinsic
philosophical problems in the verification of an inductive
inference and at the same time it permitted the propositions
of physical sciences that are apparently scientific but failed
the verification criterion. Popper was not exclusively
interested in making distinction between meaningful and
meaningless statements. He also did not insist that all
metaphysical statements were necessarily meaningless
because as per his argument a statement which could be
metaphysical and therefore unfalsifiable in an era could
become falsifiable and meaningful in another era. Popper
rejected the concept that science had to depend on inductive
reasoning or that inductive reasoning was an infallible
method. In support of this claim it is often cited that if a
scientist’s observation suggests that Mr. A is absolutely the
same as Mr. B, it will be an unreliable conclusion to say
that all Mr. As are like Mr. Bs. Popper, therefore, argues
that observation, even though it is copious cannot establish
the truth of a hypothesis. A scientist, Popper asserts, can
only disprove or falsify the hypothesis. According to him
‘commonsense realism’ serves as the basis of falsification.
Popper held that scientific theories were abstract
formulations that could be tested only indirectly by taking
into account their implications. He was of the view that
scientific theory was hypothetical and got developed
because of creative imagination that was invoked for finding
solutions of problems that emerged in certain historical-
cultural surroundings. He observes that logically even if
quite a few positive results appear at the level of
experimental testing, they cannot confirm a scientific theory
whereas a solitary counterview can falsify the theory. We
must be aware that the term falsify, that is one of the key
terms in his philosophy, does not mean that something is
fake or false but it implies that on the bases of observation
and experimentation it is proved false. In his philosophy
of science, the logical asymmetry between verification and
falsifiability is considered to be the crucial argument. On
account of this thrust, Popper contends that a theory can
be called scientific only if it can be falsified. This position
m ade him declare that both psychoanalysis and
contemporary Marxism were unscientific because their
theories were not falsifiable.
In his famous work, All Life is Problem Solving, Popper
made an attempt to explain the progress of scientific
knowledge, which appeared to be a continuous process—
how could otherwise we explain our ever-improving
understanding of the universe? Popper’s position in the
context is that all scientific theories including the ones
that are supposed to be the best, “cannot be verified by
scientific testing, but can only be falsified.” Certain
theoretical models appear to be incapable of being shown
to be false and, therefore, they are not falsifiable and in
turn are unscientific. Popper asserts that the growth of
scientific knowledge is an evolutionary process.
The logical positivism had always been under attack
since the beginning. The earliest critics pointed out that
the major flaw of the theory was that its basic canons could
not be put together systematically. It was argued that the
verifiability criterion of meaning itself appears unverifiable
because it posed serious problems for the logical steadiness
of theory. Another drawback of the theory is that negative

existential claims and positive universal claims do not
allow for verification. Universal claims are almost
impossible to be verified. For instance how anyone claim
that all ravens are black, unless all ravens (including of the
centuries gone by and the centuries to come) are either
killed or caught. It was because of this problem that the
logical positivists later combined verification with
falsification.
Though logical positivism occupies an important
position in analytic philosophy, most philosophers have
rejected it in the contemporary scenario. Today, it is
considered to be dead or “as dead as a philosophical
movement ever becomes”. The ideas of logical positivism
are now labelled as defective as admitted by A.J. Ayer who
was once a prominent exponent of the theory. He said in
an interview: “I suppose the most important defect…was
that nearly all of it was false.”
Scientific Method and its Critique
It is believed that Aristotle invented scientific method
because his demonstrative discourses were replete with
sophisticated analysis of logical implications and it was a
completely original method of analysis. In fact, we cannot
separate scientific method from the history of science. The
experts insist that the ancient Egyptians had used empirical
method in the study of astronomy, mathematics and
medicine. It is also said that Thales, the ancient Greek
philosopher, while studying natural phenomena refused to
rely on any supernatural, religious or mythological
clarifications because he believed that every phenomenon
must had a natural cause. At the same time, the deductive
reasoning of Plato was also considered an important
contribution to scientific method.
Nevertheless, it is widely recognised that the earliest
occurrences of an experimental scientific method were
developed by the Muslim scientists who were responsible
for introducing experimentation and quantification within
the broader area of empirical research. The earliest instances
of optical and physiological experiments have been reported
in the various works of Alhazen, particularly in his
monumental work, Book of Optics, that was published in
1012. Thereafter, the scientific method was further refined
and improvised in the 17th and 18th centuries. For instance,
Francis Bacon, presented a new system of logic that bettered
the old philosophical process of syllogism, that got
expressed in his Novum Organum, first published in 1620.
Then appeared Rene Descartes’ famous treatise, Discourse
on Method that settled on the basic principles of scientific
method. Therefore, Alhazen, Bacon and Descarte and a
little later John Stuart Mill made crucial contributions to
the development of scientific method.
According to the Oxford Dictionary the scientific
method is, “a method of procedure that has characterised
natural science since the 17th century, consisting in
International Relations and Area Studies 103
systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and
the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses”.
Thus, scientific method is essentially the usage of various
techniques for inquiring into phenomena that may lead to
the acquisition of new knowledge or perfecting the existing
knowledge. A method can be called scientific only if it is
based on empirical and quantitative evidence which must
also satisfy the specific principle of reasoning. It is obvious
that the application of scientific methods to different
disciplines, for instance natural sciences and social sciences,
may differ in terms of procedures, however, it can still be
distinguished from other methods of inquiry. The researchers
resorting to scientific method first offer hypotheses by way
of explanation of the phenomena to be studied and then
plan experiments to test the hypotheses by means of
predictions to which they arrive at after experimental
studies.
An inquiry based on scientific method must be as
objective as possible and must not contain any kind of
bias. It is also expected from the researchers using scientific
method to document and share all data and methodology
with other scientists who can scrutinize and verify the
research and its outcome. It must also be noted that in
recent times various measures have been suggested for the
perfection of scientific method that range, back and forth,
from experience to imagination. The scholars, in the 20th
century, devised a hypothetical-deductive m odel
comprising four steps for scientific method. The model is
as under:
 A researcher must first consider the problem and try
to understand it using his experience and earlier
explanations of the identical phenomena. If he still
believes that the problem under study is a new
phenomenon then he should move to step #2.
 When no information or explanatory data is available
about the problem concerned the researcher must
try to provide an explanation himself which is called
the formation of conjecture.
 If the researcher firmly believes that step #2 is true
then must deduce a prediction from his explanation/
conjecture.
 The researcher must also explore opposite of each
consequence for the purpose of disproving #2.
Logically it is incorrect to move to step #3 without
looking for the opposite of #2. Technically, this
error is called affirming the consequent.
This model is credited for having brought a revolution
in the scientific method. It must also be noted that it was
Alhazen who had first established the significance of steps
1 and 4, more than a thousand years ago. Thereafter, Galileo
demonstrated the importance of step 4 in 1638. Nonetheless,
it must be pointed out that this model cannot verify step
#2 in absolute terms; it can only falsify. In this context the
104 International Relations and Area Studies
observation of Einstein is worth noting who said: “No
amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a
single experiment can prove me wrong.” The scientists also
caution that the researchers must think about more carefully
to free them from interpretative bias. They must also be
more exact while describing their experiences.
As pointed out by Alhazen more than a thousand years
ago that the ultimate purpose of scientific inquiry was to
find out the truth. In accomplishing the final objective
scientific method should not be treated as a single recipe.
In order to be totally effective it necessitates intelligence,
imagination and creativity. The scientific method is not a
set of pointless principles and courses of action that a
researcher is expected to follow. On the contrary it is an
unending cycle of more perfect, precise and all-embracing
models and methods.
Critique of Scientific Method
Carl G. Hempel, the German philosopher, published his
work, the Raven Paradox, in 1965, wherein he pointed out
certain flaws in the scientific method, in particular, he
questioned the validity of inductive reasoning,
generalization and falsifiability. Through his raven paradox
he argues that if a conscientious researcher on the basis of
his frequent visits to the countryside observes that every
single raven that he has seen is black and on account of
this observation he suggests, by using inductive reasoning,
the hypothesis that all ravens are black, this will be
accepted as a perfect hypothesis. It is not only testable but
also falsifiable because the discovery of a single non-black
raven will falsify the hypothesis. Then, the researcher can
also plan an experiment in which thousands of ravens are
observed and if all of them are found to be black the
hypothesis after a series of experiments and observations
by other scientists will be accepted as a law.
In the first place, the Raven Paradox objects to the
process of generalization. It is obvious that all the ravens
of the past, present and future times cannot be observed.
Hempel pointed out that at least one in ten thousand ravens
could be white or non-black. However, the chances of
seeing a non-black raven by a researcher are almost
negligible. Should he then postulate the hypothesis that
all ravens are black? Secondly, though the principle of
falsifiability appears to be technically plausible, practically
the odds of spotting a non-black raven to falsify the
hypothesis are very slim. Thirdly, the Raven Paradox puts
under scanner the process of reasoning and deduction.
Hempel argues the hypothesis tends to mean that every
non-black object that is observed is not a raven. Now, there
are end number of objects in the world that are non-black.
Is it possible for any researcher to observe all of them?
Hempel, through his Raven Paradox, underscores the
dangers of generalization and he also cautions the
researchers to ensure carefully the falsifiability of their
hypotheses. He says that if a researcher hypothesizes, “all
ravens in Norway are black it is more realistic as
ornithologists could feasibly observe every raven in
Norway.” Hempel’s critique of scientific method brings
home the point no theory can be impervious to question
and debate. All the times new evidences keep appearing
which science must get used to and absorb.
Another thinker Feyrabend is of the view that science
is basically anarchistic which creates its own mythology
and usually tends to make claims to truth that are not
within its reach. He was particularly offended by the
disdainful positions of most of the scientists towards
alternative traditions of knowledge. He argued that though
science started as a liberating force, with the passage of
time, it turned into a repressing ideology. Feyerabend
observed that appropriate precautions should be taken to
protect a heterogeneous society from the excessive
influences of science as was usually done to protect it from
other ideologies. His main argument is that historically
speaking a universal scientific method does not exist and
for that reason it is wrong to accord a privileged status to
science that it enjoys in western society. Feyerabend reckons
that scientific viewpoints are not the outcome of universal
method and therefore, they are incapable of assuring superior
quality conclusions. He also added that there was no
rationalization in valuing claims of science more than the
claims of other sources of knowledge like religion. He
pointed out that successes of science owed for inspiration,
to a considerable degree, to the non-scientific factors such
as mythology and religion.
Martin Heidegger in his famous book, What is Thing
also provides an excellent critique of science. His first take
on Galileo Galilei and his famous Tower of Pisa experi-
ment to prove that objects of different sizes fall at the same
speed. Heidegger pointed out that the objects, in fact, did
not hit the ground at the same time but only after taking
into consideration factors like air resistance it was con-
cluded that the objects were falling at the same speed.
Heidegger, therefore, asserted that the real advance that
proved crucial in the progress of modern science was not
observation but the mathematical prediction. To put it
plainly, scientists could conduct experiments because as
per their understanding they had a neutral world space to
conduct them and thus keep the predictions unaffected by
external factors.
It should also be underlined that there are different and
in some cases opposing points of view about the definition
of scientific method. We may cite certain examples to
prove the point. Karl Popper claims that scientific
knowledge can advance only through falsification. The
obvious inference of this assertion is that no scientific
theory can be immune to refutation. Another thinker,
Kuhnian, holds the view that scientific knowledge develops
through revolution and paradigm shifts. In other words an

established scientific theory has to deviate so much that it
reaches a critical point where it is suddenly turned upside
down. In view of the logical positivists verifiable statements
can be made which can convey what is and what is not
about the world. The post-modernist thinkers contend that
every text can be interpreted variously and that science
does not say anything about the external world; it informs
us only about the social structures of scientific communities.
Thus, there is hardly a consensus on what is a scientific
method.
Contemporary Approaches to Research
in Social Sciences
Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory is perhaps the most established
type among the model-based approaches that are used in
social sciences in general and in political science in
particular. Other model-based approaches include game
theory models, psychological models, mathematical models
and other-choice based behavioural models. Rational choice
theory model has emerged as a significant approach in
political science in recent years.
Rational choice theory is also a course of action through
which researchers can explain human behaviour. It is widely
believed that most people make rational choices and act
thereof in order to gain maximum benefits to ensure
maximum protection of their interests. The rational choice
theory is based on this assumption. This theory is employed
more frequently in research works in economics where it is
known as the process of ‘maximizing utility’. In political
science this approach first appeared in 1960s as a reaction
to the behaviouralists’ contention that human behaviour
had nothing to do with personal choice but it was guided
by social and psychological factors that had a bearing on
human beings. In political science rational choice theory
is excessively used as a research approach to explore how
groups act in response to challenges in political institutions.
It is also employed to the study of public policy and other
similar political issues. The contemporary mode of rational
choice theory as an approach of social science research
seem s to be closer to institutional approach than
behaviouralism.
In this context it is noteworthy to know how Kenneth
A, Shesles distinguishes rational choice theory from
behaviouralism. He says: “In place of responsive, passive,
sociological man, the rational choice paradigm substitutes
a purpose, proactive agent, a maximizer of privately held
values. A rational agent is one who comes to a social
situation with preferences over possible social states, beliefs
about the world around oneself, and a capability of
employing these data intelligently. Agent’s behaviour takes
the form of choices based on either intelligent calculation
or internalized rules that reflect optimal adaptation to
International Relations and Area Studies 105
experience.” The rational choice theorists also hold that
human behaviour is directed towards a purpose. A cardinal
postulation of the rational choice theory is that human
beings evaluate their actions in similar fashion the games
are played where the objective is to win. The theory
underlines that it is individual who makes political decision
and not groups. It is only when a specific political decision
may lead to maximum benefit for a group, its individual
members make political compromise. Through this
reasoning it becomes easier to explain the formation of
political pressure groups or political parties. According to
Roy Turner there are a few more conceptual keystones of
rational choice theory approach which are as under:
 People are purposive and goal-oriented.
 People prioritize their preferences (utilities).
 People make rational calculations involving their
prioritized utilities and the costs of alternative
decisions, and make decisions that maximize their
utility.
 Political behaviour—just another form of social
behaviour—is ultimately the result of individual
utility maximization.
Postmodern Approach
The latest am ong the contem porary approaches,
postmodernism appeared in the closing decades of the
twentieth century. Some scholars call it anti-foundationalist
research approach. The most significant principles of
postmodernism are: no solitary, basic political truth exists;
there is no single and absolutely certain line of research to
gain knowledge; and there are no such rules that can
guarantee the rationality of knowledge. Many scholars are
of the opinion that postmodernism is the offshoot of the
drastic changes, rather upheavals, that came about in the
Western world in the aftermath of World War II. Some of
these changes include the emergence of a global economy,
the collapse of the Soviet Union as a counterforce to
American imperialist designs, a widespread sense of
disappointment and despair because of the failure of
rationality to usher in the era of freedom, the rapid spread
of technology, emergence and acceptance of popular culture
and the bearing these changes register on human behaviour.
The postmodern approach is opted for by many
political scientists and other social scientists who are
skeptical about the feasibility of modern civilization. They
proclaim that the positivist endeavour to discover a
comprehensive ‘true’ explanation of a social event is
ludicrous and worthless. Instead the postmodern approach
suggest that each event should be studied separately without
losing sight of the objectives of the actors, the experience
of the researchers and the external event such as time and
space of the event concerned. They further insist that there
cannot be a solitary method that can be called as ‘the best’
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106 International Relations and Area Studies
to explain a social or political occurrence. In view of this,
the postmodernist scholars recommend that a researcher
must unravel the phenomenon concerned before undertaking
the research. The researcher should also enclose the event
within a broader framework that should take cognizance of
the objectives of the actors and should also take note of the
kind of circumstances that existed at the time of the event.
An important point of postmodernism is that it does
not attach any value to any acknowledged basis of a primary
assumption. For instance a postmodernist researcher does
not take for granted ‘worth of democracy’, ‘sovereignty of
nature’, ‘honesty’ or ‘moral behaviour’ because he holds
that they are human constructs and the popular or widely
acknowledged interpretations of these concepts are merely
one of the various possible connotations. Postmodernists
assert that the widespread ideas associated with concepts
such as nature or ethical values are not real but human
intelligence is responsible for their construction. Their
argument is that in different societies, different people
espouse different interpretations of nature and all of them
are equally legitimate. Same is true about ethical values.
According to Paul Wapner, “Postmodern critics have
shown…that ‘nature’ is not simply a given, physical object
but a social construction—an entity that assumes meaning
within various cultural contexts and is fundamentally
unknowable outside of human categories of understanding.
This criticism raises significant challenges for global
environmental politicians.”
In order to come to terms with the implication of the
postmodern approach to political science, Ian Hodder
recognized four strands of postmodern social science. The
first one, in his words is ‘the sense of disillusion’ by which
he means that the social scientists as well as common
people in general have developed a sense of disappointment
towards the output of science and scientific research. Science
has failed to help humanity get rid of scourges such as war,
poverty, exploitation and inequality. The second element
is about the iniquities of ‘modernism’. Instead of fulfilling
its promise of ushering in an era of freedom, equality and
better quality of life for all, modernism has brought in
detachment, alienation and cynicism. Thirdly, because of
rapid and unbridled advances in technology and also
because of all pervading, rapid socio-political and economic
changes, there remains no significant difference between
‘high’ and ‘low’ culture or for that matter between ‘fine art’
and ‘kitsch’. The fourth significant strand of postmodern
social science, according to Hodder, is about the
manipulative means the interest-groups employ to manage
international media, fashion and art to project the required
images of political events, economic issues or social
structures. Within the framework of these four strands, the
postmodern research in social sciences is usually carried
out.
THEORIES OF STATE—CLASSICAL,
SOCIAL CONTRACT
Of all the terms that occur in the study of political theory,
the term “State” is the most significant one. It is central to
the study of politics. There is no theory in the subject of
politics which does not by one way or other refer to the
institution of State. The concepts which are central to the
study of politics like liberty, equality, political obligation
revolve round the concept of State. Various theories of
State like liberalism, socialism, Marxism and even anarchism
study state as central theme.
State is basically an organized political institution
that has ultimate power over the members residing in its
fixed geographical limits. So a fixed territory becomes a
hallmark to the existence of state. It was Machiavelli who
first used the term state. He used to express it as an institution
which has authority over men. Although society consists of
many groups and associations, it is the state which has a
final say in all matters. The power of the state is called
sovereignty.
The state is a product of certain historical factors. It is
not only a political institution but a social system. To
understand the system one has to study the historical origins
of that institution.
Force Theory and Divine Origin Theory
of State
Most of the classical theories which explain the origin of
state are speculative in nature. As there is no historical
evidence and hard facts that can help to deduce the reasons
that prompted human beings to establish a power structure—
state-thinkers resorted to speculation. The earliest
speculation theory is the Theory of Force.
This theory treats force as the foundation of state.
Consent, reason, rationality and such other factors are not
needed. What is required is mere brutal force. It is an old
dictim of “might is right”. Physical strength or brutal force
is the foundation on which state rests and expands. The
theory speculates a situation of wandering tribes. The tribes
would be constantly wandering in search of food. Then
there would be fights with other tribes. The stronger tribes
would defeat the weaker tribes and the state emerges. The
vanquished tribes are subjugated. The victorious tribe will
establish its authority. Once victorious, the tribe would
strive to conquer as many small tribes as possible and
firmly establish its role. So a large state with fixed territory
came into being.
We can clearly understand that this theory glorifies
war and aggression. Vanquished tribes are treated as slaves.
Since it is force which was the prime factor for the emergence
of state, all efforts are made to sustain it. The preservation
of the strength of state is the primary aim. A ruthless

suppression of all opposition or dissent is ‘justified”. A
strict obedience to all the laws and orders of the tribal chief
is the essential character of this state. There is hardly any
scope for freedom, or a different set of values other than
those decided by the state. In fact, there is no difference
between state, society and government. It is all one
centralized power structure. State will decide on all social
matters like customs, morality, religious beliefs and so on.
This theory was later on used by the Dictators and
warmongering states.
Divine Origin Theory and Divine Right
Theory of State
In the earliest days of human history, with a very limited
knowledge of natural surroundings, the human mind was
attributing to the will of a Super Natural Power for all that
is happening around it. Floods, famines, earthquakes and
such other natural calamities were attributed to the wrath
of God. It is no wonder then the cause for the origin of an
established power structure – state – was attributed to the
will of God. God is above all of us. He knows what is good
for human beings. In order to save the human beings from
self-destruction he created an organized power structure.
This would establish laws and order, protect the weak from
the strong and pave the way for human progress and
happiness. By living in state and through the state alone
human beings can achieve their salvation. Dying for one’s
country is a religious duty. Treason is equal to sin.
‘Motherland is superior even to heaven and all its pleasure’
so proclaim religious texts. We have many religious texts,
which explain the theory that the state is created by God.
In Mahabharata Shantiparva, the origin of state is explained
as follows. In the earlier days of human civilization human
beings were constantly at war with each other. There was
no law and order. There was no protection for life, property
of the weak people. So the people approached God, who
created a state and appointed a king to rule over them. So
king is the representative of God. We have this reference
in many other religious books. It is emphasized that king
has an element of Vishnu in him.
Since God had created the state and appointed king as
His representative, obedience to king is obedience to God.
It would be inviting the wrath of God. If we don’t follow
His Commands. The same logic applies to the orders of a
king, as he is God in human form. King can do no wrong.
Whatever king did was for the good of the people. Even an
autocrat king who makes people suffer, by passing bad
laws is also created by God. May be God wanted to punish
the people for their sins and bad deeds they had committed,
so a bad king was sent to rule over them. The lives of the
human beings are invariably bound by the whims and
fancies of the ruler who is God on the earth.
This divine origin theory of state, transformed itself
into Divine Right Theory of kingship. Kings were claiming
International Relations and Area Studies 107
that they got power through God. In Britain, a writer Filmer
wrote a thesis on The Power of King. It was published
around 1680. The work in a way defended the regime of
Charles II. Filmer’s theory states that having created Adam,
God gave him authority over his family, the earth and its
products. Adam was the first king and the present kings
derived power from him as hereditary rights.
Similarly James I, who ruled Britain declared the Laws
of free Monarchies which has following points. (1) King
derived, power straight from God (2) Kings have no
obligation to people. (3) Laws being the product of king’s
mind, they are not above the king. (4) King had complete
power over the life and death of their subjects.
The power of kingship is hereditary. King is the source
of intelligence and only a few ‘selected and chosen’ people,
with a lineage of royal blood would be kings. Disobedience
to king is tantamount to sin and punishable with death.
Social Contract Theory—Hobbes, Locke
and its Limitations
Social contract theory made consent as the basis of state.
Individual is central to the formation of state. A shared
concern for better living prompted people to form a political
association and invest power in it. The theory stressed the
concept of equality. Each individual was sovereign before
the state was formed. Then state represented the collective
sovereignty of the people. This theory postulates the end
of the state as providing a better life for people.
Although a vague reference to the idea that people
who had no state found a state through contract could be
found in Shantiparva of Mahabharata or in writings of
Greek writer Glaucon, it was systematically developed by
three modern thinkers. They are Thomas Hobbes (1588–
1679) of England, John Locke (1632-1704) of England
and Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) of France. These
three writers developed a systematic theory of the origin of
state. These writers share certain common features in their
theoretical analysis of the social contract theory of state.
They also exhibit some differences. The common features
are the existence of state of nature before state came into
existence and the factors that prompted the formation of
contract to create state. The writers, however, differ on the
conditions of life in state of nature, terms of the contract
and the powers of state once it is established. The theory
nevertheless had a great impact on subsequent political
thinking.
Social Contract Theory as Developed by
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes (1581-1769) was one of the greatest
philosophers produced by English speaking people. He
was born in the family of Anglican clergy man and had a
long life. He was well versed in the subjects like Philosophy,
108 International Relations and Area Studies
History, Mathematics and was a multi-linguist. As a tutor
in Royal family, he got an opportunity to travel far and
wide in Europe.
In his life-time he witnessed the Civil War in Britain.
There were continuous wars between parliamentary and
monarchical forces. He was the supporter of monarchy.
Charles I was beheaded and monarchy was abolished in
England. This incident had great impact on his thoughts
and subsequent writings. He argued that anarchy or the
lawlessness situation is the most dangerous and the worst
situation a human society could face. Human actions need
to be systematically and even ruthlessly curbed for the
benefit of society.
His idea of origin of state could be found in his famous
work Leviathan. This describes an absolute state which is
sovereign both within and without. How and why such a
powerful political institution came into existence is the
question one should ponder. Hobbes had pessimistic view
of human nature. For him human beings are always selfish,
greedy and aggressive. With such a dark picture of human
nature Hobbes builds up the theory of origin of state.
State of Nature
There was a time in the history of human civilization when
people lived without a government or state. In this ‘state
of nature’ each and every individual was sovereign. There
was no master above them. The state of nature was gloomy
and sordid. Social life was not existing. There were no
shared values like justice, notions of right and wrong. The
only rule was power—physical force—the basis of all action.
You could take a thing it you have power and keep it as
long as you have strength. There were continuous fights
among human beings. These factors were responsible for
this warfare.
Competition, diffidence and glory guided human
actions. Competition for securing scarce natural wealth
compelled the primitive man to invade. Diffidence forced
him to fight for his survival as there was no trust between
human beings. The third factor glory induced him to fight
for reputation. So, basically violence was at work in state
of nature. The state of nature is a state of war. A war of
every individual against every other. In such a situation
where would be scope for industry, innovation, culture,
and art. In short, according to Hobbes, “the life of human
beings in state of nature was solitary, poor, nasty, selfish
and short.”
This state of nature was governed by certain natural
Laws. Life and property were inalienable rights. No one
should be denied them. But to make laws effective we need
a centralized authority which is above all. Since in state of
nature each individual was master over himself, a way had
to be found by which the individuals could pool their
sovereign rights together and create new power structure.
Thus the state is formed. The point to be noted is all
individuals in the state of nature decide to surrender their
sovereign rights to a third party. In a hypothetical way
each person says to other, “I authorise and give up my right
of governing myself to this man or this assembly of men,
on this condition that thou give up thy rights to him and
authorise all this action in like manner.” (Hobbes).
So a state was formed or a centralized power structure
came into existence. Individual would lose his sovereignty.
Following are the features of this contract.
 The parties to the contract are individuals and not
groups.
 The ruler is not a party to the contract. He is an
outsider.
 The contract once signed is final. There is no way
one can back out from the contract. The sovereign
state thus emerged is final arbitrary of all disputes.
The command of ruler is law.
Strict obedience to the command of ruler is the sacred
duty. Even bad laws need to be complied with because the
alternative is ‘anarchy, lawlessness’ and a return back to
the dark days of state of nature.
However, although individual surrenders all his rights
to a sovereign master—an outside agency—he still has
right to life and properly with him. No state can ask an
individual to kill himself or confiscate his property. Yet,
the state has right to regulate the property and punish the
criminals.
The state once established would be a final entity.
Individuals have no right to appeal against the orders of
the sovereign. The subjects have no right to change the
government. The powers of the sovereign are too vast.
Hobbes opposes the division of sovereignty. The state thus
formed with the consent of individuals becomes the supreme
governing body. It covers all aspects of human life. Freedom
is what is permitted by state and to do what is not prohibited
by state. As the sovereign is above law, there is no power
to control him. Political obligation is based on reason.
Since any disruption in the power structure of state might
bring back state of nature individual would obey the state,
out of his own interest. Thus, Hobbes’ theory explains the
origin and formation of an absolute state.
John Locke’s Social Contract Theory:
A Guidance to Liberal State
John Locke is called as the father of Liberal Theory of
Democracy. His writings had a profound influence on the
concept of liberalism . The modern ideas of
constitutionalism, right of citizens, welfare activities of the
state, and the democratic power of people to effect and
change the government could be discovered in his writings.
Perhaps the greatest contribution of Locke to the set of

human values is his plea for religious tolerance. Modern
secular democratic states are founded on the basis of
religious tolerance. In multi-religious, multicultural
societies, the value of religious tolerance is too clear to
need an explanation.
John Locke was born in the family of a puritan Somerset
lawyer in 1632. After his education at Oxford he became
a tutor at Oxford. However he did not continue for long
and showed interest in medicine. He came in contact with
Lord Ashley, became his physician and personal assistant.
Lord Ashley was active in British politics and Locke had
a good experience of political life of those times. In 1683,
Locke went to exile in Holland because he was to be
prosecuted for his support to Monmouth’s rebellion, which
wanted to curb the Royal Powers. During the exile he met
many outstanding thinkers, who shaped his thinking. At
that time he completed, “Essays Concerning Human
Understanding”. After the Glorious Revolution he returned
to England in 1681. William of Orange was invited to
occupy the throne following its vacation by King James II.
After his return to England Locke became very famous. He
was appointed as commissioner of Appeals.
His contemporary events had a great impact on Locke’s
thinking and writings. That was the period when people
resorted to peaceful change of rulers without bloodshed. A
new breeze of democracy and freedom was blowing.
Significant recognition of individual freedom, the capacity
of ordinary man to understand the complex state matters
and a general economic prosperity around Europe, made
Locke to have an optimistic and rosy picture of human
nature. Locke’s Two Treaties on Government, gives a clear
picture of this assessment of the theory of state.
Like all the earlier thinkers who visualized the
emergence of state from an analysis of human nature, Locke
also begins his analysis. Unlike Hobbes who could see
only negative side of human nature, Locke views human
nature from a positive angle. Human beings are basically
good natured, decent and cooperative. They are not always
selfish, many times altruistic. They are essentially peace
loving.
With such a rosy picture of human nature it is not
surprising that Locke should view State of Nature as one
of paradise. Though individual free from authority of ruler
in state of nature, his conduct is governed by Laws of
Nature. From natural law an individual gets Natural Rights.
Individuals realise these laws of Nature by reason. All
individuals in a State of nature get certain rights—i.e., life,
liberty and property. As they have natural right, the human
beings in state of nature also have certain natural duties.
Nobody has the right to dominate others. All are entitled
for equal sharing of natural endowment.
But there are always some corrupt elements in human
society. Their selfish deed might disrupt the otherwise
International Relations and Area Studies 109
peaceful nature of the state of nature. Though the state of
nature was well founded on twin principles of liberty and
equality peace was not secure. Because there were always
some men who are by nature ‘vicious and degenerated
character’. So an institutional framework was needed to
make the life of society more secure and peaceful. An
established law, impartial Judiciary, the willingness of the
executive to effectively implement the accepted laws, were
required to make the conditions in state of nature more
meaningful and secure. So the individuals decide to
organize a state. From society to state is a natural and
logical transformation.
There is view that Locke’s theory explains two
contracts. At first free individuals living in a state of nature,
decide to form a society. This is “original contract”. After
society came into existence, a sense of mutual co-operation
developed among the members of that society. Their actions
were regulated by natural Law. They respected natural rights
of others. They were industrious but not greedy. They were
“social beings,” not Hobbesian type of warmongering
animal type. This ‘civil society’ creates a “state” through
a contract. But the nature of this “state” is totally different
from that of Hobbes. Firstly the members who constitute
the government to administer the society are the members
of society only. They are not outsiders. The state thus
constituted does not get absolute powers. This is second
difference. The individuals in the society would still keep;
certain natural rights with them and surrender their
sovereignty partly to the state. Most important thing is the
society has the ultimate power to repudiate the contract
entered into. Either a new government is installed by
peaceful methods or the government is thrown out in violent
form and society may slip back into state of nature for
sometime till some alternative arrangements are made to
install a new govt. In a way Locke’s theory of state pictures
modern constitutional democracies. In a well established
liberal democracy, the constitution and the election
machinery process could be a contract. People are supreme.
They can either renew the contract with the existing ruler
or install a new one. In extreme cases of constitutional
break down, there could be peoples” revolt, a situation
where no government exists—till such a time a new ruler
is installed by society.
Ultimately it is the society which is supreme. State is
only a representative body with specific powers and
responsibilities. There would be periodically reviewed by
the people. The purpose of the State is to guarantee Natural
rights and make their implementation effective. There are
large areas of human life in society which are outside the
control of state.
Locke gives the individuals the sovereign rights to
revoke the social contract and enter into a new contract. He
specifies the following circumstances where such an
eventuality may emerge.
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 There might be a ruler or set of rulers who establish
their own arbitrary will in place of the established
laws.
 When the rulers prevent the legislature from
assembling and acting freely for the purpose for
which it was established.
 When by the arbitrary power of the ruler the elections
and the method of elections are altered without the
consent of the society.
 The prince or ruler sometimes may fail to protect his
countrymen from foreign aggression. In such cases
he had delivered his subjects into foreign power
domination so naturally the people have a right to
disown the ruler.
 A situation where the person who had the supreme
executive power neglected the laws already enacted
and could not be executed.
Locke’s state is a state based on pluralism. He
emphasized a higher law which is above state law. While
he grants the right of the people to revolt against an unjust
ruler, he specifically emphasizes that people should resort
to this only when they realize that revolution would result
in a better social order. This should not be used for tiny
mismanagement of public affairs. But the very fact that
people have this right is significant. It is a defense against
arbitrary rule. Government based on consent coupled with
right of people to rebel was the “best fence against
rebellion”.
Limitations of the Theory
Hobbes’ Theory of state of nature lacks historical proof.
Right from beginning men lived in groups. It is not very
clear how a solitary living w ould create a civic
consciousness for the creation of state. The theory is too
narrow. It bases fear as the only base of obedience to law.
The rulers’ misdeeds are overlooked and citizens are at the
mercy of rulers. It is anti-democratic, anti-liberal and paved
way for the growth of fascist state. When Hegel proclaimed
“state is a marching God on earth”. He is only giving an
ideological refinement to Hobbes theory. Maintaining Law
and order is not the only function of the state. But for
Hobbes it is the function. In the process, the interests of the
subjects for whom the state in created is pushed to back
ground.
Although Locke’s theory is an improvement in many
ways, yet his social contract theory also has some
limitations. Though his assessment of human nature is
drastically different from Hobbes—the same limitation—
how would individuals who had no political knowledge
develop the idea of state-applies to him. There is also some
confusion about the “original contract theory”. Did Locke
mention two contracts one for society and one for state, or
is it critics’ interpretation.
In many places Locke implies that the state is the
result of the consensus of the majority. This leaves a serious
lapse in the theory. What happens to minority? Those who
could not and did not give their opinion on the formation
of state? Should they blindly adopt themselves to a new
power structure? Who would guarantee that their concerns
would be addressed to?
Modern thinkers like Edmund Burke and Jeremy
Bentham criticize natural rights theory. For them rights are
only those legal provisions recognized by state when there
is not legal sanction for violation of a right, that right is
just as good as non-existence.
Locke was also attacked by the Marxists for his
insistence that right to property is natural right and it is the
sacred duty of the state to protect it. For Marxists property
is the results of exploitation of poor by rich and Locke’s
theory only gives legitimacy for propertied classes to
suppress the poor.
These are some limitations of the social contract theory
developed by Hobbes and Locke. It emphasized equality
and made man as the centre to state formation.
Social Contract Theory as Developed by
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau is a champion of “Popular sovereignty”. It is
often said that without Rousseau there would have been no
French Revolution. Because the very foundation of the
French Revolution—popular sovereignty found a theoretical
explanation in Rousseau’s writing. While appreciating the
advantages of a Democratic form of government, Rousseau
found serious lapses in the Representative model. Here the
citizen exercises his sovereign right only for a few seconds—
during voting. At that point of time he has absolute freedom
to transform his sovereignty to whom so ever he likes. But,
then till next elections he is only a mute spectator to all
the misdeeds of his representative to whom he has willingly
delegated his power of sovereignty To over come this short
coming Rousseau visualized a system where government
affairs are run on regular referendum. People will be actually
governing themselves not through their representatives.
The essence of this philosophy is the capacity of human
beings to manage their affairs. The basis of the state is the
popular will, not mere law or force. Rousseau wanted to
give an ethical basis to the foundation of the state structure.
There is a clear domination of state over society in Hobbes’
theory, a clear demarcation of powers and functions between
state and society in Locke’s writing. But in Rousseau’s
writings we find a new trend emerging, society will
transform itself into state. State will be an extended political
hand of society. State will implement what society wills
and society wills what is good for entire community. There
would not be any conflicts between society and state. In
fact they are one and same, what binds them together is the
spirit of “General Will”. While analyzing the concept of

“General Will”, Rousseau makes a historical review of
human progress through ages. His assessment of human
nature, about the reasons for its degeneration from one of
compassion to greediness, makes all interesting readings.
Subsequent questions like why society needed state, what
would be the nature of such a political system are answered.
In fact Rousseau’s treatment of these issues are highly
radical to the point of controversies and contradictions.
Life and Times
Like all the social philosophers Rousseau’s life and times
influenced his writings. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
was the greatest thinker France had produced. His father
was a watchmaker and Rousseau lost his mother within a
month of his birth. A disintegrated family background, had
an impact on his life and thinking. He was a born protestant
and converted to catholic by de-walans, whom Rousseau
befriended. At the age of 30 Rousseau went to Paris and
befriended Dide lot. In fact, Rousseau’s vagabond life, his
affairs with many women, his unconventional approach to
the institution of marriage, his views on sex and family life,
had some bearing on his writings.
He pictured the human being as a pure person became
corrupt because of the institutions created by society. He
would want to dismantle the ‘artificial institutions’ like
‘family’, ‘property’ and would like to go back to “original
state of nature”. That would be an utopian dream, since
that would not be possible, what would be desirable is
creating a society of common interests, where general
consensus would strive to achieve “common good”. It would
not be “We vs them” but ‘we with them’. There is a need
to create a society, based on good will, concern for other’s
interests, where individual would rise from his narrow selfish
interest and willingly participate in general social welfare.
For that a total transformation of the thinking of the
individual in society is important.
Rousseau’s writings include ‘Discourses on Inequality,
The Social Contract, Emile. He faced the wrath of the rulers
of his time. He was to be prosecuted for religious blasphemy.
He went to hiding to avoid imprisonment. In 1778 he died
leaving a rich heritage of literature on politics, history and
human civilization.
Thinkers like Plato and Locke influenced Rousseau.
Plato’s concept of the ethical basis of the state and
supremacy of the community in guiding individuals’
actions, together with Locke’s theory of natural rights had
an impact on his writings. Rousseau proceeded with his
analysis of human nature. Rousseau in a way picturizes two
stages of human life. The early stage of solitary life and the
second stage of group living. The early stage of solitary
life, contrary to Hobbes’ description was one of peaceful
conditions. There could be no “War” in a situation of
isolations. According to Rousseau, in a world of “natural
men” men roamed alone and had at most only, the most
International Relations and Area Studies 111
occasional and fortuitous meetings and connections. Men
in this primitive conditions had hardly anything to quarrel
about. Primitive, non-social man would be neither egoist
nor an altruist, in any moral sense, he would pre-moral.
With the advent of civilization, group life started and
with that many complications arose. Rousseau’s famous
quotation “man is born free but found himself in chains,
everywhere,” explains the fall of man from an ideal position
of natural free individual to a selfish person pursuing narrow
selfish desires.
The first result of joining the group life is to carve out
a separate identity for himself. The day an individual started
to fix fences around a piece of land and claimed that piece
of land belonged to him he drew a distinction between
himself and the rest. So all the inequalities that society
inherited started from this selfish desire of an individual to
carve out a separate identity for himself. Money, trade and
commerce, only widened this cleavage, so the social
divisions of rich and poor, high and low, clever and dumb
appeared on the scene. They are all artificial inequalities
created by society. These created a false prestige and status.
Men forgot their ‘original nature’. Earlier they were healthy,
good, dumb and roughly equal to one another. Now they
became sickly evil, intelligent and highly unequal. This is
the result of “social; life”. The “Progress is nothing but
adding more misery to human beings”. Civilization had
only multiplied the desires and inability to fulfill them
made human beings unhappy. Material progress ushered
by modern technology, reflected artificial inequalities, was
corrupting and wrong.
In order to overcome these shortcomings of group life,
men decide to create an institution which would lessen the
selfish character of the individual, kindle a light of social
co-operation and establish a social order based on justice.
So the emphasis is creating a “Right Social order”. It is
possible to achieve this. Because beneath the artificial
civilized human being lies the natural human being.
He has a distinct quality—going back to primitive stage.
The quality of compassion, in him makes it painful for him
to witness the suffering of any fellow—being he could
recognize as resembling himself. That feeling has not yet
dried up. In fact it is a stimulating force that drives him to
do something for the members of his Community. Thus a
background is formed to create a social contract.
In this new social order—state-equality would be the
basic foundation stone. Despite the artificial inequalities
created by the modern civilization, all human beings possess
equal power in creating a new social order. So all the
mem bers of the society surrender their individual
sovereignty to themselves. The contract is am ong
themselves. A society in a way transforms itself to a state.
That means an individual gives up his power to the
community. Since he is also a member of that community,
what he loses as an ‘individual’ he would gain a “member
112 International Relations and Area Studies
of the society”. So nobody has lost any thing. What has
happened is the “social goodness” priority outwitted
individual preference. Here Rousseau introduces his famous
terms “General Will” and “Common good”. Common good
is the end for which the new social order is created and the
“General Will” is the motivational force to achieve it.
In Rousseau’s thought every individual is a split
personality. There is a ‘particular will’ which makes him to
pursue his selfish desires, even at the cost of the social
good, and the ‘General Will’ which views the community
well being as a desired objective. The formation of a new
state through the contract should help to evolve the General
Will. General Will will represents the will of the community
as a whole. It reflects “Popular Sovereignty”. Rousseau
Proclaims “General Will is always right. It can never be
wrong”.
The General Will will be the source of all laws. It
cannot be represented by anybody. Rousseau had the
concept of “Participatory Democracy” when he talked of
General Will. Freedom means not following the arbitrary
orders of others, but following one’s own will. If the
community passes the law which reflects the will of entire
community, that cannot be called arbitrary. Because the
individual is also a party to the formation of General Will.
So what is required is the spirit of reconciliation between
individual actions and community welfare. It is possible
only when direct democracy takes roots.
Since General Will represents the common good, any
opposition to it would be disservice to the community
welfare. In those conditions, we should presume that an
individual under the impulsions of “Particular Will” had
behaved that way. So he needs to be free from his selfish
desires and made to see the advantages the Community is
getting through that particular Public Policy. In these
circumstances the use of coercion is justified ‘Some times
men are forced to be free’ Rousseau proclaims. One can
easily discern the dangerous implications from such thesis.
If you proclaim, that after the community will has arrived
at a public policy and opposition to it is based on selfishness
and its suppression is ‘Justified, then naturally it turns out
to be a handmade device for dictators. Every ruler would
proclaim the opposition to his policies are not reflection of
“Vox populi” (voice of people) but of a greedy selfish
voice, which need to be curbed in the interest of “People”.
The problem of discovering General Will is complicated
and Rousseau did not provide any institutional mechanisms
to it. Is General Will the majority will of the community?
Is it unanimous will? Or is it wisdom of certain members
of the Community who have risen above particular will
and give guidance to the community?—an idea Plato
developed in Republic (the Guardians).
Many thinkers argue that Rousseau started as a great
champion of ‘Democratic Will’ but eventually paved the
way for elite dictatorship. It is not uncommon for the
dictators to proclaim that they “represent General Will”,
and opponents are enemies of people.
Yet despite these shortcomings Rousseau sounded a
warning that the real democracy cannot be substituted by
representative system. Because “General Will cannot be
alienated nor represented”. People should be constantly
watching the legislative will. General Will could be treated
as vocal public opinion, it is such a strong force, that no
government can afford to ignore it. Rousseau’s ideal of
direct democracy though not feasible in modern complex
industrial Societies, it could still be tried as an experiment
in small rural settings.
Rousseau’s social contract is a contract by the entire
society to give a better state for themselves.
THEORIES OF STATE : ELITE,
PLURALIST, NEO-PLURALIST,
MARXIST AND NEO-MARXIST
The Classical theories of state were more speculative in
nature. They visualized certain reasons for formation of
state. They did not study the State as it is. They had a
formative approach of idealizing the institution of state as
‘it ought to be’. Many social, historical, and psychological
factors that contribute to be formation of State were not
addressed.
The social contract thinkers though tried to give a
historical account of formation of state, were not able to
substantiate the role of other forces that play a role in
creating a political set up. Society consists of many forces
one need to study the social system to fully grasp the
institution of state. Elite theory with psychological analysis,
pluralist theory with emphasis on decentralized power
structure and Marxism with play of economic forces, try to
give a new interpretation to the theory of state.
Elite Theories of State
Elite means the cream of society. In every society there
would be a small minority who are well educated, rational,
intelligent and have a grasp on the complex matters of
public policy. We normally tend to divide between ‘masses’
and ‘classes’. Elite would carve out a separate life for
themselves. Their tasks, their preference would set standards
Although this is very antithesis to the concept of equality,
one should admit that in the history of all societies this
division between popular and elite existed. Rousseau’s
writing are a scathing attack on this division. He supported
popular culture. With the growth of socialism the idea that
the social groups could be distinguished on the basis of
culture or education or status was rejected. Yet the elite
theory had its supporters and even today certain political
set ups could be called elitists in their approach. Being
elitist does not necessarily mean being right or correct. It
 International Relations and Area Studies 113

only means they have power and opportunity to make are taken in the cabinet. Parliament debates them and gives
decisions with little opposition and with self imposed its approval. Compared to the number of electorates the
righteousness, they could do and undo policies, the number of cabinet member is very small. Even in the cabinet,
consequences of which would be taken by ‘masses’. The there might be very important ministries like national
situation in France, before the French Revolution could security, nuclear weapons, where discussions are narrowed
amply prove how foolish “the elite” could be. down to a few. Policy discussions are always confined to
There are many reasons why elitism develops in a a few. Once they are finalized parliament and public are
society. There are ideological factors. Like Aristotle informed more for ratification than to solicit information as
defending slavery. For him slavery is natural. By nature input to the policy. If we build up a structure of policy
some are free and others are slaves. So it is the duty of ‘free’ making, we find on the top elite exists and at the bottom
to guide and educate the slaves. We had the concept of the mass. Normally policy makers send out orders to masses.
“Chaturvarna” in the Hindu philosophy which gave the But in democracy there are different power centres in
Brahmin caste a dominant position intellectually, and the between, like free press, policy moulders, trade union
king was called a replica of god. In modern days the Imperial leaders, Political Parties, and Public Opinion makers. So it
powers, justified their colonial rule on the basis of “white is a two way process. Not only do policy makers send down
man’s burden” or making “ the world safe for democracy” the policy decisions down to the people, they also get
and so on. feedback from the different centres of power. So though the
Elite sections were normally well off economically. policy making is done by small elite even in democracy
Either they had estates, royal patronage or inherited wealth. the inputs to its formation comes from a variety of sources.
So they had lot of leisure to ponder upon metaphysics, This is essence of the Pluralistic democratic structure. In
culture, art and principles of state policy rather than bother non-democratic regimes there is only type of communication
about their daily ‘bread’. So, while the “masses” were from policy makers to the people : top to bottom. Because
struggling for their next meals the ‘elite’ would build up there are no inputs from any section, the decisions are fast
theories for next generation. and simple. Since people hardly have any say in the policy
process the implementation is effective. That is why non-
In earlier days education was the monopoly of a few democratic regimes are welcomed by elitist theorists. As
sections and the elite grabbed the opportunities and were mentioned earlier policy making may be elite oriented
well versed in all disciplines of life. Plato in his Republic
even in the free societies, but there is a safety valve of
envisaged a system of rule by Guardians. The top
public opinion which gives an opportunity to policy makers
intellectuals would steer the state ship and other classes
to backtrack some hasty decisions they have taken. Such
would be happy if they discharge their duties assigned by
an opportunity is non-existing in non-D emocratic
the Guardians. Here freedom means doing one’s duty as
Setups.
decided by the ruler. The idea of elite theory of state could
be found here.
The elite theory was successfully used by fascist
dictators. The elite theory of state basically believes that
the administration and management of government affairs
is too complicated to be managed by ordinary people.
Democracy and representative forms of government limit
the hands of the rulers. They had to seek formal approval
for all their actions. Democracy as a system is too slow. It
vests power in the hands of ignorant masses who are too
Fig. Democratic ELITE POLICY Making System
lethargic to take initiative in compelling matters of state.
So it is best that the state matters are be left to “Chosen
Few” and the people should give consent to their decision.
We find references to this elite theory in the writings
of Pareto, Mosca and Michels. They were strongly anti-
democratic and dismissed the wisdom of ordinary man.
They considered the idea of people representing their
authority through election as fiction. There is no such
thing as majority rule. Ultimately a small section will rule
in all societies. It is the elite that rules, controls key resources
and takes major decisions. In a way it is true. Even in Fig. Non-Democratic/Authoritarian Elite
representative democracy government, the final decisions Policy Making System
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One may argue that since in both systems the elite
takes policy decisions, the difference between them is only
a matter of degree not of kind. Yes it is true. It a matter of
degree and degree is very important in politics.
The classical elite theorists like Jose Ortegay Gasset
(1883-1955) in his work The Revolt of Masses praised
elitism and deplored the mass mediocrity of Democratic
Society. He argued that it is the duty of the masses to
follow the elite. A properly constituted relationship of the
elite and the masses is the key to nation’s well-being. So
we have a system of ruler and the ruled. The roles are
clearly defined. The ruler would decide and the ruled would
follow. The writer had a poor opinion on the caliber of the
masses, who are real source of strength in any society. The
elitist theory had a contempt for ordinary citizen.
Another writer Mosca, said in 1939, “In all societies—
from societies that are very meagerly developed and have
barely attained the dawning of civilization down to the
most advanced and powerful societies—two classes of
people appear—a class that rules and class that is ruled.
The first class, always less numerous, performs all political
functions, monopolizes power and enjoys the advantages
that power brings, whereas the second the most numerous
class is directed and controlled by the First”. (Mosca-1939).
Such types of writings paved the ways for fascist
regimes. During the second world war Italy and Germany
exhibited these anti-Democratic tendencies. With the defeat
of Fascism and Nazism, and the growth of liberal democracy
in the west and the spirit of socialism in Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe one expected the Elite theory is long dead.
The colonial countries revolted against the Imperial Powers
and got their independence. In the independent struggles
of Asia and Africa the “ordinary man” took the lead. The
“Satyagraha” of Gandhiji showed how uneducated, poor
people, have the desire and will for political freedom. The
principle of socialism stressed the significance of equality.
All the distinctions based on colour, race, gender are
condemned. The declaration of Human Rights by the United
Nations is another ideal that brought home the point that
there is no permanent, elite and ordinary classification in
any society. Given an opportunity anybody could climb
the ladder. However there are some writers who argue that
the principle of elite rule still exists, even in modern liberal
democracies. For instance Joseph Schumpeter, an American
economist, tried to build up a theory that democracy and
elitism are compatible. Modern democracies only give a
wide choice for the electorate to select the elites who rule
them. Citizen is too busy in his personal matter to have
time for state matters. Even in the most advanced
democracies the percentage of voters ‘turn out would never
exceed above 70%’. State affairs is hardly matter of top
priority for a citizen. Even those who exhibit an active and
keen interest in civic affairs can hardly make it to the top
of policy making body. Elections can hardly be called a
people’s view on policies presented by authorities. Because
there are many pressures and pulls. Factors like colour,
race, money and charisma of leader influence the voters. In
a country like India caste, regional pulls override
ideological considerations. Again the elected representatives
could hardly grasp all complicated state matters like foreign
policy, Import-Export policy, international trade treaties
and so on. No new government can overturn the policies
of previous governm ent overnight. Normally the
commitment to foreign government continue. This is being
taken up with the assistance of permanent civil service.
This is non-elected, professional body of experts, who will
be running the affairs of state for all purposes. These
government officials are not elected by the people. Yet
they play a crucial role in formulating and implementing
policies that have a bearing on the citizen. So a real
authority is being exercised by them, without accountability
to the people. Of course their conduct is regulated by the
departmental rules which prescribes an appropriate action
for misuse of power. But in these deliberations, people
have no voice. A routine administrative machinery with
certain self regulations and controls operate and govern the
state structure. Thus an elite oriented system, away from
people’s control is working in democracies.
Schumpeter also makes an interesting observation.
Historically the decisions arrived in a non-democratic way
appear to be more effective than the democratic decisions;
people’s support to the former is greater. For instance the
Religious settlement which Napoleon Bonaparte imposed
on France at the beginning of 19th century was accepted
by people without much protest. Today secular govt are
finding it difficult to introduce certain measures aiming at
modernization.
In democracy there are groups of elites. What
democracy does is it provides a competition among various
elites. Liberal Democracy is an endeavour for selecting
decision makers and ensuring their legitimacy through the
election system. People are not rulers, they are nothing
more than “producers of government”.
Another writer James Burn in his book, Managerial
Revolution (1941), argued that, “a managerial class
dominated all industrial societies”. It is a feature of modern
industrial societies, where decision taking requires
specialized technological knowledge” so the elite group
by virtue of its technical and scientific knowledge and
administrative skills with an ability to take quick decision
always dominate in all countries—capitalistic as well as
socialistic systems.
C. Wright Mills, in his book, The Power Elite (1956),
made an excellent study of the American Political System.
He concluded that the American Political structure is
dominated by the business and the military. This is known
as “Military-Industrial Complex”. This complex dictated
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government policy and is largely immune from the
compulsions of electoral politics.
Thus in modern complex world rule by experts is
inevitable. Every section in the society would demand
efficiency and promptness. This requires some specialized
agencies to master the administrative mechanism. So the
government and administration may become a distant force
working away from the citizens. Yet Democracy has an
inbuilt mechanism to check the wrong doings. That is the
elections. We also have the existence of counter elites like
the free press, non political intellectuals, pressure groups.
A free society where more than one elite exists, is a guarantee
against the manipulative politics of the ruling elite. The
Watergate Scandal is an example how the American press
created a strong public opinion against the US President,
who is the most powerful person in the American system.
A free society where Pluralistic Culture prevails is the best
guarantee for freedom and citizen’s concerns.
Pluralistic and Neo-pluralistic Theories of
State
Pluralism as a concept has great significance in political
science. As the term denotes it is opposed to a “singular”
aspect of given set of ideas. There can be more than one
opinion on any aspect of social thought. Truth is never the
monopoly of a single vision. Truth had to be discovered
by studying pluralistic aspects of given thought. No opinion
is completely true or false. Each contains an element of
truth or partial truth. A true seeker of knowledge would
study various aspects of different opinions on a given
subjects and arrive at a rational thought.
Democracy as a rule believes in pluralism. Pluralism
exists not only in the world of abstract ideas and thought
but even in the day to day life. People speak different
languages, follow different religions, their culture and
upbringings are different. All these divergent views on
social matters are the manifestation of different social
factors. Democracy is duty bound to honour and preserve
this Pluralistic structure of the Society.
While liberals welcome the pluralist nature of the
Society fascists and communists dismiss this feature as a
disruptive force, fascists in particular argue that pluralism
wrecks the state structure, individual’s loyalty is divided to
different associations in a society. Such a tendency is not
conducive to the growth of a strong state with patriotic
citizens. So most of the dictators like Hitler followed a
policy of genocide. It is systematic attempt to wipe out the
pluralistic character of society and establish a single
cultures, racial entity.
The argument of the communists is as follows. The
divisions and diversities we observe in the society are
apparent. They are not real. They are the manifestations of
the class struggle. All the divisions in the society could be
International Relations and Area Studies 115
explained in terms of the economic domination of one
class over other. When socialism takes roots, these
‘pluralistic features disappear’.
Plurality of Associations
We know for certain that man being a social animal needs
some associations to satisfy his needs. We have primary
and secondary associations. The primary associations are
family, religion, caste and so on. Here the relationship is
based on blood, membership is compulsory, which is
acquired by birth. There exists a face to face relationship
and the behaviour of individual is regulated through mores,
customs and traditions. Normally the ends of the primary
association like family are all pervasing. The secondary
associations are formed for a specific purpose. Trade union,
sport club, spiritual association, and the like are examples.
They all play a small role in the overall development of
individual personality. They differ from primary associations
on many accounts. Membership is voluntary, the purpose
is narrow, and written laws regulate the behaviour. A person
could be a member of simultaneous associations at the
same time.
This is the picture of society. Primary associations and
secondary associations functioning in their respective
spheres and catering to the needs of the social man.
Pluralist Theory of State
We have already studied how different theories of state
explored the nature and origin of the state. Basically state
is a power structure controlling and regulating the activities
of its members. Pluralists view the state as one of the
association in the society. We have primary and secondary
associations, state is a secondary association with larger
share of power than other associations. It is not the result
of a contract. It has evolved along with other social groups.
It is not above the society nor outside the society. It is in
the society. The need of a powerful organization to control
the diverse and often contradictory interest pursued by
different associations made the institution of the state a
necessary. Some political thinkers call state ‘as a necessary
evil’ implying the minimum role this association should
performs. Basically it is an impartial observer trying to
settle the differences within the society. Take for example
the case of dangers to public health though smokings.
There might be “Tobbaco growers” association which
demands subsidy for farmers. Similarly many cigarette
manufacturing companies encouraging the smoking habits.
In the same society there might be a citizen’s active group
educating the people against the dangers of smoking and
threatening the cigarette companies with legal damazes.
Democratic polities allows free action for all these
associations. State would be asked to play the role of a
neutral umpire. It may impose more taxes on manufacturers,
insists on statutory warning being printed on packets, and
also may provide subsidy and offer export incentives to
116 International Relations and Area Studies
tobacco growers. The Cancer Research Foundation may
also get grants. The capacity of the state is judged by the
fact that how best it satisfies different, varied interests and
allow the game to continue. It is often said politics is ‘who
gets, what and how’. It means providing scope for different
associations to play their part, to pull their strength with
the state operatus and to get things done. In this process
some associations may be more powerful and effective than
others. The fact is political life is a game played by different
associations to achieve their goals and state though, a
super association, is only an observer. There is no ethical
basis for state. Nor it is the ancient one. There were
associations like family, community before state came into
existence. State is just one of the associations not the
association, nor the sole association of great importance.
There were and are many associations which have larger
aims and greater scope of operations. This pluralistic view
of the state developed around the First World War period.
During the war the state demanded everything from its
citizens. Even the lives of citizens was asked to protect the
state. But Right to life is a ‘natural right’. It is not given
by state. In fact, state came into existence to protect it.
Even absolutist thinker like Hobbes denied this right to
state. After all wars are results of certain policies followed
by the policy makers, nobody can vouch for the ‘perfectness’
or ‘purity’ of these policies. Many a time hasty decisions,
misreading of events, personality problems of leaders push
the nations to war. Why should people be made scapegoats
for misdeeds of rulers. The anti-Vietnam war that shook
USA around 60’s is a reflection of pluralist thought viz.
state has no monopoly of obedience from its members. It
is just one of the associations in the society.
Pluralism is basically an attack on the absolutist theory
of state. Austin in his Monistic theory or legal theory of
sovereignty provided a legal basis for his absolutism.
According to him sovereignty of the state is absolute,
unlimited, inalienable, indivisible and can be clearly
located. Pluralist theory is a direct attack on all these
issues. Power or sovereignty can never be absolute. There
are many limitations on its exercise and effective use. No
state can prohibit the natural forces from operating. There
are customs, traditions, cultural believes which would act
as natural limitations on the exercise of state’s power. No
state in India for example can make beef eating compulsory,
nor any muslim state can pass a laws making idol worship
mandatory for all. Because these believes are strongly rooted
among people. The believes were there among the people
before the state as an institution of legal power took the
shape. The sovereignty of state is certainly limited by these
believes. Once again philosophically speaking state can at
most control the outward behaviour of the individual. It is
powerless to control the internal feelings of an individual.
The principle of “satyagraha” asks the citizens to obey to
the “inner voice” not be afraid of state’s brutal power.
Satyagraha gives legitimacy to disobey the state if the
person is convinced that the action of the state is in contrary
with his inner voice. In a way satyagraha-moral anger- or
anger based on truth limits the sovereignty of the state.
According to pluralist the sovereignty of the state
should be limited. It is divisible and cannot be clearly
located. Pluralism is a movement of labour, economic,
religious and professional associations and unions for the
fulfilment of their demands against state’s supreme power.
Sovereignty does not belongs to state alone. Each
association is sovereign within the area it operates. While
the Anarchists want the institution of state to be abolished,
the pluralists want the state but within limited powers.
Prof. H.J. Laski argued that with the growth of federalism
the idea of absolute sovereignty has become irrelevant.
Because constitutionally the powers of union and the state
are clearly divided and earmarked, making the assumption
of absoluteness of state power is a wrong notion. Under the
theory of checks and balances, the power of state is divided
into three important wings of the government viz.
Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Each of these wings
are sovereign within the area of their operation. So the
plurality of power centres exists in a system based on
Constitutional democracy. The powers of the state are also
limited by the factors like international law, conventions
and organizations, human rights activism and NGOs.
K.C. Hsiao argues “the pluralist state is simply a state
in which there exists no single source of authority, no
united system of law, no centralized organ of administration,
no generalization of political will: on the contrary it is a
multiplicity in essence, it is divisible in parts”.
The argument that a society cannot stay together
without the sovereign power of the state is not historically
tenable. If we analyze the feudalism in medieval Europe we
get a strange picture of various groups simultaneously
existing without a centralized authority called state. It had
many centres of power—the clergy the nobels, the mercantile
class. The state sovereignty as we define today was absent.
The ‘state’ had neither ‘internal’ nor ‘external’ power. The
feudal Lords shared internal power and the Holy Roman
Empire restricted the external power of the state. Privilege
of priests, Nobles prevented the state to tax them, there by
curtailing the financial power of the state. So the state was
a non-entity in a well organized feudalistic social structure.
Broadly speaking two schools of thought had emerged
on pluralism around 20th century—the British and
American. British philosophers like Frederic William
Maitland, John Neville Figgis, G.D.H. Cole and Harold
J. Laski developed this pluralist thought. There was also a
German theorist Offo Friedrich VonGlerke who shared these
views. The essential feature of this school of thought is that
in modern democratic set-up no single association can
cater to all the needs of the citizens. As the interest of the
citizens vary and multiply, they need variety of groups and

associations. A citizen is also a worker, a parent. He has
some cultural tastes, and shares some political ideology.
Accordingly he would be a trade union member, member
of a Parent-Teacher Association, a political party activist
and so on. For the multipersonality development of an
individual the free play of associations is important. That
is the reason why democracies recognize the freedom of
association as fundamental right. These associations operate
independently of state but vital for the functional
government. Pluralists want the power of the state to be
lessened so that the associations can operate more freely.
The freedom of individual is best protected in a situation
where the power of the state is widely disbursed among
number of autonomous groups. British pluralists reject the
concept of absolute sovereignty of the state and regard the
groups to the core factor in the operation of state.
The American pluralists give importance to the “inter-
est group”. The pressure groups which prop up in response
to a particular policy is more effective in influencing the
policy of the state. Most of the studies in America, concen-
trate on the role of interested groups and pressure groups.
These groups differ slightly from association pattern of
British type. The associations have a long history of exist-
ence, and wide range of interrelated interests and continue
to cater to guard the freedom against state encroachment.
Where as the pressure groups are issue oriented, have lim-
ited area of operation and narrow interest. They are more
concerned ‘to get things done in their way, by applying
pressure, than to bother long term consequences. Basically
both British and American pluralists distrust state. Alexis
de Tocquieville’s Democracy in America clearly explains
the notions of pluralism in the American society. Accord-
ing to him democracy depends on a plurality of secondary
associations outside the state. They prevent democracy—
which is based on the rule by the majority—being con-
verted into a tyrannical rule of the majority.
A prominent pluralist Nelson W. Polsy, describes the
American Society in 1980 “as a collection of hundreds of
small specific interest groups, w ithin com pletely
overlapping membersship widely differing power bases and
a multitude of techniques for exercising influence on
decisions salient to them”.
American writer Robert A. Dahl used a term “Polyarchy”
to describe the American political system. It is a system
where plural centres of interest exist. Each of these centres
has some influence on policy making, with no single group
enjoying monopoly.
There is a difference between plurality of identity and
plurality of interests. The plurality of identity refers to
factors like religion, language, culture, race, by which
different ethnic groups are identified in a society. The
members of each ethnic group would like to guard their
identity from being encroached by other group. While
plurality of interest refers to factors like business, labour,
International Relations and Area Studies 117
health and such issue oriented groups. It has been argued
that the plurality of identity is the character of less developed
democratic societies, while plurality of interests indicates
the character of more advanced democracy.
We should also make a difference between pluralistic
character and corporate character of a society. In
dictatorship, the authorities may some time create certain
institutions of associations and allot to them specific
functions. We had “Guild” systems but this is not pluralism.
Because in pluralistic society the formation of associations
is voluntary. The membership is not compulsory—they
function free of state control. Whereas in corporate polities
the groups are more organized centrally controlled, and a
compulsory membership with uniform pattern operate. Here
the “associations” are created by government to assist its
functioning. Whereas in pluralism associations are formed
for peoples’ interest.
Marxist Theory of State
Of all the theories of state, the Marxist theory can be
treated as a scientific analysis of power structure. It tries to
correlate the forces of socio-economic trends in a society
with the organized power structure i.e., state. According to
this theory the interplay of socio-economic forces determine
the state structure. The state is an artificial structure built
on society. It will collapse when the hitherto suppressed
social classes rise in revolt and grab the power. This theory
had been developed by Marx, Engels and Lenin.
Karl Marx, and Engel’s thoughts were influenced by
Hegel a great German Philosopher. He developed a system
known as ‘Dialectics’. According to Hegel, “What is real is
rational and what is rational is real.” To arrive at ‘Real’, a
process of elimination should start to weed out unreal. This
he called dialectics. There are three stages of dialectics—
Thesis, Anti-thesis and synthesis. At any given time the
accepted assumption could be a thesis. Immediately there
is an opposition to it anti-thesis. A synthesis would soon
emerge, trying to find a higher truth, containing good
elements from both the assumptions. This synthesis in due
course would become another thesis, to be challenged by
a fresh anti-thesis, leading to a new synthesis. This process
is continued till the stage where the final and absolute
truth is discovered. Hegel used the system of dialectics to
built up a case for absolute state, which is “marching God
on Earth”. For instance, if we consider individual as thesis
then family would be anti-thesis, and community would be
synthesis. Then the community which has become thesis
would be challenged by the interests of village. So village
becomes anti- thesis, this may lead to a new synthesis of
a higher group. This process goes on till we reach the final
organization called ‘the State’. That is final it represents
universal absolutism. It is a synthesis of all the virtues of
family, common village and so on. The state is rational and
has a proclaimed will for realizing itself through history. It
is eternal.
118 International Relations and Area Studies
This Hegelian analysis of the state is criticized by
Marx and Engels. They used the same dialectic method to
produce an alternative theory of state. This method came
to be known as Dialectic Materialism is opposed to spiritual
Dialectics of Hegel.
Dialectic Materialism
Marx applied dialect is to the material world. Here the
economic factors of the production of wealth is of paramount
importance. The mode of production and exchange is the
final factor that determines all social change. In the history
of m ankind w e find two classes— one, w hich has
monopolised all the factors of production and two, service
class. There is bound to be antagonism and conflict between
these two classes. All other factors, which contribute to be
growth of society—culture, religion, tradition—have no
significance. It is the economic factor alone that determines
the social history of any society the forces that have
monopolised the factors of productions— Land, Labour,
Capital and Organization would determine the course of
history. In fact all aspects of social history can be attributed
to the material aspects.
The nature of society is one of conflict. There is no
scope for social harmony and co-operation, which can
facilitate the emergence of a political structure called state.
The conflicts in society are not of cultural type—race,
religion, or colour. They may appear to be so, but beneath
all the conflicts lies the basis element of economics. There
are only two classes—haves and have nots. The dominant
class which has the control of all economic avenues for
wealth, while the service class produces wealth but cannot
own it. Right from the primitive society to modern industrial
societies this is the pattern. Marx proclaimed, “the history
of hitherto existing societies is the history of Class Struggle”.
In the primitive societies it would be a conflict between
slaves and slave owners, in feudal system between serts and
land lords and in the industrial societies between labour
and the capitalist. At each stage of this history, the class
consciousness develops. It takes its full form in the
advanced capitalistic structure. Labour gets organized, gets
educated on exploitation by capitalists and forges unity of
the working class. This necessitates the formation of a
political organization—the communist party—which will
take the class struggle to its logical conclusion. But there
exists already an organized power structure—the state. This
has the coercive power. A clash between two centers of
power emerge. State—and its power structure is always
with the property owners and wealthy class. All the agencies
of state—law, police, courts, army and entire administrative
set up will be watchdogs of the interests of the wealthy
classes. State will function as vehicle for the progress of the
propertied class. Economic policies will be so formulated
as to give maximum benefit the rich. Any demand for
better working conditions from labourer would be put down
by state with force. In the process the gulf between the rich
and the poor widens. State will be acting as the custodian
of property classes. Poor will be alienated.
Marxists view state as an instrument of exploitation. It
is based on force not consent it is not natural. It is an
artificial creation by the wealthy sections to safeguard their
interests. The poor people have no say in the affairs of
state. In fact they have to fight against it and destroy the
power structure of exploitation. State is not neutral. It is
partisan for the interests of wealthy who use it to perpetuate
economic domination and exploitation.
Human liberation comes from political emancipation.
It is possible when individual is freed from religion and
private property. The concept of “class” symbolizes,
collective unity, like “Nation” in Hegel’s theory. Each
class produces its own ideology. Ideology is a cementing
factor for the class system. Because the ruling class has all
the advantages of monopolizing the economic and political
power it produces a dominant ideology in the state. To
counter this the working class need to develop an ideology
of its own. It comes in the form of inevitability of the class
struggle and a rejection of official ideology.
There is one aspect of capitalistic economic model.
i.e., severe competition. In this cut throat competition, the
principle of the survival of the fittest operates. As a result
more and more capitalist sections will be driven to join the
labour class. A time would arrive where rich class dwindles
to a minority and the ranks of working class or proletariat
‘as they are called will swell’. The profit earnings would
fall. The labourer would be getting only starvation wages.
As the unrest among labour spreads state would use its
coercive force to suppress agitations. But the organized
force of working class would rise in revolt and capture the
state.
The state which has hitherto acting as an agent of the
rich would work for the poor. The working force who are
now in control of the Power apparatus, would use the
power for the process of levelling. Abolition of private
property nationalization of all industries collective
agriculture, and centralization of economic and political
power would result. Each would contribute his might for
the social wealth and would get what is needed for him for
a decent living. A process of transformation starts in the
society. With the abolition of private property, the economic
equality is achieved, the alienation of individual would
come to an end. A new spirit of social co-operation emerges.
Class antagonism and class wars becomes a thing of past.
A society based on co-operation—one for all and all for
one—would take birth. A new individual is born. In such
a system there is no need for law or law enforcing bodies.
A society which has achieved Socialism does not need
coercive laws, police, courts and so on. These things were
needed when man was greedy for property. But now he
lives in a community of collective ownership, shares his
joys and sorrows and he is a new individual. So the state—

which was only a super structure built on society by
propertied class to serve their interests—would wither away.
According to Marx this process or revolt of masses,
establishment of socialism and withering away of state,
would definitely result—but it may first happen in a well
advanced industrialized country. Because it has well
established infrastructure—the trade unions, the class
conscious workers, an effective political organization—
like communist party. But contrary to Marx’s speculation,
the revolution took place in backward Russia. The state
did not wither away. It got strengthened. There was
dictatorship of communist party. Lenin gave a new
dimension to Marxist theory of state. In advanced stage of
capitalism, it expands outside and finds colonies to continue
economic exploitation. So until and unless the poor workers
in these colonial countries rise in revolt and establish
worker’s rule, the state would continue to exist. So till a
world communist movement materializes, ‘state’ even in a
communist system would function. Instead of world
socialism, we may have to settle for “Socialism one’s own
country”.
Critics: Modern critics like Robert Dahl point out
many inconsistencies in Marx’s idea of state. Normally a
state—Democratic state—functions on three presumptions.
(i) there are always conflicting interests in all societies. All
are not necessarily class conflicts. Groups articulate their
interests and wants, in a pluralistic structure; (ii) the state
resolves these conflicts on the principle of majority interests;
(iii) the political majority would never be monopoly of a
single group with the provision for freedom to form political
parties and periodic elections conducted in free atmosphere.
All these presumptions are absent in Marxist state theory.
The idea of social harmony which was supposed to
emerge in a post—revolutionary society is totally
unrealistic. The introduction of universal adult Franchise
in Germany in 1866, the reforms in Europe in 1867, 1884
and various welfare measures undertaken by ‘state’
disproved the Marxist idea that “state is an instrument of
oppression controlled by bourgeoisie minority to oppress
the proletarian “majority”. Marx’s theory of state did not
provide for a blueprint to the working of a socialist system
of state. Basically state’s emergence is the culmination of
many factors. While stressing the sole factor of economics,
Marx’s theory did not do adequate Justice to the study of
state.
Neo-Marxism
Looking at certain limitations of the traditional Marxist
theory a new interpretation is given to the traditional theory.
This is known as Neo-Marxism. The Neo-Marxists were
disillusioned with the Soviet brand of communism. The
“state” became powerful and persued a policy of oppression,
leading to alienation of people. The “new” society which
would be based on economic equality and social co-
International Relations and Area Studies 119
operation was nowhere to be seen. The precondition for the
establishment of socialism did not emerge. What emerged
was the dictatorship of the communist party dominated by
powerful elite. Dissent was suppressed to strengthen the
position of party elite. The domestic and foreign policies
pursued by the soviet authorities, reflected the image of “a
nation—state” eagerly guarding its “National interest”,
rather than an ideal internationalist policy, aimed at fighting
capitalism and colonialism. Together the anti-colonial
movement in Afro-Asian countries, exhibited a strong sense
of nationalism nullifying the Marxist dictum, “Workers of
the world unite.”
Against this background the Neo-Marxist school
emerge in Europe. They reinterpreted Marxism according
to changing circumstances. They questioned the central
thesis of Marxism that the state is a super-structure. State
is not completely dependent on the base. It has some
autonomy. It functions on its own. It acts catering to the
needs of market economic pulls, rather than deliberately
siding one section of the society. Today we can observe
how in communist countries like China, state is pursuing
the policies to attract the foreign investment to speed up
globalization, and acting independently of “society”. State
is not a ‘super-structure’ on society’s foundation. It is an
independent unit functioning autonomously with its own
priorities. It is no longer an institution taking care of the
interests of the wealthy sections of society and suppressing
the poor, but an active player adjusting its priorities to the
goals of efficiency, competitiveness and such other neo-
capitalistic demands.
Because of all these developments a critical analysis
of the super-structure is made by Neo-Marxists. In 1923
Frankfurt school was established. It was critical of both
capitalism and Russian model of development. An
alternative path of development was conceived. They, while
taking into consideration issues like economic exploitation,
inequality, alienation, stressed the technological
domination rather than capitalistic domination. Broadly
speaking the Neo-Marxism has two angles. The scientific
angle is concerned with the structure, ideology and other
related issues. The humanist angle looks the problems of
alienation, and related issues like Justice, human
emancipation, human rights and so on.
Neo-Marxism recognizes the concept of nationalism. It
believes nationalism is a cementing force among the
workers. The old notion that the workers of the world
would unite and fight the forces of exploitation is too
fabricated to be true. The revolts in H ungary,
Czechoslovakia, Poland, suggest the deep impact on the
forces of nationalism have on the people. Neo-Marxists
supported a thesis called “Euro communism”. Each socialist
“nation” would pursue its own brand of socialism according
to the local needs. They are not to be guided by the
commands of the soviet union.
120 International Relations and Area Studies
The leading Neo-Marxist, Gramsci, pointed out how in
a modern state, the “domination” by the ruling class is
achieved more by elicitation of consent than by coercion.
The ruling class develops a culture of its own and the
oppressed classes accepts it either consciously or
unconsciously. This cultural “hegemony” has a tactical
consent so Gramsci argued there is need to create a counter
ideology from society to match against official ideology.
The term ideology is a broad term to include, culture,
tradition believes and so on. It is a sort of “popular culture
against elite culture”. In the development of this popular
ideology, the role of the communist party is minimum. The
non-party elite in the society should play an active role in
developing ideology. For instance the opposition to
American involvement in Vietnam was manifested in
America by academicians, scholars who were non-party
members. So the Neo-Marxist would not agree to the view
of communist party domination and plead for a pluralistic
version of society.
In the concept of class consciousness there are
differences between the traditional Marxists and Neo-
Marxists. While the traditional Marxists divided the society
into two antagonized classes of rich and poor, the Neo-
Marxists feel in modern economic structure; there are many
classes. For instance we may have a managerial class,
officers’ class and workers class in a modern industrial
structure. These class divisions would cement unity among
the selective classes rather than working to forge a unity
among all classes against the capitalists. For instance a
person working in a managerial cadre would befriend with
a person of similar level than the subordinate worker. His
class consciousness is determined by economic status. This
point needs to be considered.
Since Neo-Marxist state is a pluralistic version, with
the emphasis on democratic principle of autonomy for social
groups and freedom for ideological differences, such a state
cannot wither away.
POWER AND AUTHORITY
The concept of power in relation to national and
international politics is regarded as the most significant
area of basic research in political science. The idea of
power has recently acquired importance in a special way in
the realm of political theory. The meaning of politics has
changed from one of being ‘study of state and government’
to that of being a ‘study of power’. Curtis rightly says, “the
study of politics is concerned with the description and
analysis of the manner in which power is obtained, exercised
and controlled, the purpose for which it is used, the manner
in which decisions are made, the factors which influence
the making of those decisions, and the context in which
those decisions take place”. “In the words of O.P. Gauba,
“power transcends the realm of formal institutions to focus
on the real motives and objectives of human beings which
lie behind all political activity and institution building.”
Meaning and Nature
Defining the term power is not an easy task. Different
writers have taken different view in specific context. Its
real meaning, as a result, seems to hover from Friedrich’s
description of it as ‘certain kind of human relationship’ to
Tawny’s emphasis on ‘the identification of power with the
capacity of the individual, or a group of individuals, to
modify the conduct of others in the manner which one
desires’. He, however, identifies power with ‘some future
apparent good’ and Harold Lasswell associates it with
‘influence’. Bertrand Russell has defined power as ‘the
production of intended effects’. In other words, power
denotes the ability of a person to fulfill his desires or to
achieve his objectives. H.V. Wiseman defines power as ‘the
ability to get one’s wishes carried out despite opposition’.
Stephen L. Wasby has similarly observed ‘power is generally
thought to involve bringing about of an action by someone
against the will or desire of another.’ At the same time, a
Marxist like Mao Tse-Tung claims that, ‘power comes from
the barrel of the gun.’ On the other hand, Mahatma Gandhi
prefers to substitute the force of gun and bomb with the
power of love and truth emanating from the will of the
people.
The word power is used in different senses and context.
We often speak of power of ideas, economic power,
executive power, military power, etc. Thus, the term ‘power’
seems to behave in almost the same way as the word ‘ability’
or ‘capacity’. The English word ‘power’ in fact, is derived
from certain Latin and French words which mean ‘to be
able’. Thus, in this sense power is taken to denote the
whole spectrum of those external influences that, by being
brought to bear upon an individual, can make him move
in a required direction. Bertrand Russell’s observation is
also significant who takes power as ‘capacity of influencing
the actions of others.’
The sense of the term ‘power’ sometimes becomes
interchangeable with several related themes like control,
influence, authority, force, persuasion, coercion, domination,
etc. used by different writers in different situations. As a
result, it becomes difficult to say as to what the word
‘power’ precisely conveys. Max Weber, for instance, says
that power and authority are different as the latter conveys
within its fold the sense of legitimacy. Similarly, force and
power are not alike as the former necessarily involves some
brutal manifestations that may, or may not, form an integral
part of idea of power.
Thus, while emphasizing the important points of
distinction between power and other related themes, one
may therefore, say that ‘power’ is a faculty or capacity to
conquer in a contest whereas force is an adjunct and not
an essence of power. The capacity to manipulate the will
and activities of others to make them conform to the power
seeker’s will is the central point of emphasis in power.
Power can also be derived from established constitutional

and legal procedures. In the ultimate analysis, international
politics is therefore, the manifestation of power. Ideology
may only be in a sense, the mask for covering the uglier
image of power.
Similarly, ‘force’ is different from ‘power’. ‘Force’ is
the most brutal manifestation of power. Its techniques are
restraint, coercion, physical threat, intimidation, blackmail,
terrorization and military domination. Hence, ‘power’ is a
latent force; force is manifest power. ‘Influence’, on the
other hand, represents the sublimation of power. It is a
category which represents the indeterminate exercise of
power. It may be due to social prestige, intellectual
eminence, moral worth and the like. It is, more or less an
amorphous entity. The most important point of distinction
between the two is that while influence is persuasive, power
is coercive. We submit voluntarily to influence, while power
requires submission.
In the same way, ‘authority’ represents the moralization
of power. It may include the legitimization of power through
the provision of legal sanction to it. Control is regarded as
more comprehensive than power though it represents
something less concentrated than power. In terms of
categorization, control could be legislative, executive,
judicial, financial, administrative and popular. In other
words it could be described as more or less equivalent to
power with an exception that it is less concentrated in the
intensity of its manifestation than power.
Power Theory
The ‘power theory’ finds an appropriate manifestation in
the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. According to
Hobbes, the quest for power is the principal cause of
competition among individuals. In the race to acquire more
and more riches, honours and commands, their interests
collide. In order to achieve their goals, the competitors
resort to killings, subduing and repelling their opponents.
Despite the struggle for power, men like to live under a
common power.
After Hobbes the power theory was reiterated by Hegel
who made the sovereign authority so absolute that he, i.e.,
the sovereign, could disregard the ethics of international
morality. Power and its urge were emphasized in the
nineteenth century by many writers. The list could include
German thinkers like Nietzsche, Treitschke and Bernhard
who further elaborated the Hegelian thought on power. In
the 20th century, another German thinker Eric Kaufmann
pursued the similar thought in relation to power.
In the present age, a reference may be made to Prof.
Hans J. Morgenthau who in his book, Politics Among
Nations, says, “International Politics, like all politics, is a
struggle for power. Whatever the ultimate aims of
international politics, power is always the immediate aim.”
The pow er theory found its m ore pronounced
manifestation in the emergence of Fascism in Italy in 1922
International Relations and Area Studies 121
when Mussolini declared ‘nothing against the state, nothing
above it’. In reaction to such assertions Prof Charles Merriam
—the Father of the Chicago School—sought to examine
the premise of power theory in detail. Despite its
significance, power theory lays too much emphasis on the
fact of power in physical terms alone. However, power
includes within itself much that may not be covered by the
compass of physical power. One may refer to power of soul,
power of mind, power of ideas and thus justify what great
sages from Buddha to Gandhi have uttered.
The psycho-analytical theory identifies power with
influence and the role of the influential. The idea of power
in this sense has been discussed by American writers like
Harold Lasswell, Abraham Kaplan and Robert Dahl who
while making a comprehensive study of politics emphasized
more the study of the influence and the influential. Lasswell
and Kaplan discuss the scope of political science in terms
of ‘power as a process’. Lasswell argues that political
processes operate throughout society and that any attempt
to limit political analysis to certain specific political
institutions would be inappropriate.
From sociological perspective, the term power has its
particular appellation in the context of a social process. In
this process several organizations and units subsist and
they compete for what Easton says, ‘securing the
authoritative allocation of values’. Thus, power in the sense
of social power, indicates ‘the capacity to influence or
control others’.
A study of power in this context brings about a
significant change in the meaning of politics. Politics no
longer remains the study of state or government alone. It
becomes a study of the society in its widest sense. It includes
organizations like families, trade unions, business houses
and political parties, etc. Thus, in this context, ‘the concept
of power, control, influence, coercion, persuasion,
manipulation, etc., become central to the study of politics’.
The sociological theory connects the phenomenon of
power with the element of ‘legitimacy’. It implies that
power of any social organization right from the family to
that of the state should be acceptable to the concerned
persons. Commands issued by the men in authority roles
should be acceptable to the people otherwise they will not
be effective.
The liberal-democratic theory identifies power with
developmental and extractive capacities. According to this
theory, power signifies the capacity of an individual that
may either refer to his ability to develop his personality or
to extract advantages from the like abilities of others. In
this way, power as a capacity has both developmental and
extractive capacities. It therefore, carries normative
dimension in the former and empirical in the latter.
The Marxian theory identifies power as the instrument
of class domination. According to this theory, power is an
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122 International Relations and Area Studies
instrument that connects economics with politics. In this
sense, politics signifies a sphere of social activity in which
two contending classes engage in a struggle for the control
of the state. Thus, political power or class power is the
pervasive power which a dominant class exercises in order
to maintain and defend its predominance in the civil society.
Elite theory, in contradiction to Marxian theory
identifies power as having its source in political and
bureaucratic organizations. This theory argues that politics
cannot be properly studied without identifying the ruling
class or the governing and non-governing elites and
measuring their respective roles.
Forms of Power
 Political Power
 Economic Power
 Ideological Power
Authority
Authority like power is a key concept closely associated
with politics. The English word ‘authority’ is derived from
Roman word ‘auctor’ that meant advice. The concept of
authority involves ‘reason’ and depends upon ‘the capacity
of reasoned elaboration’. Thus, the man who possesses
authority, has capacity for reasoned elaboration. In other
words, the man who exercises authority, has the capacity
to give clear logical and convincing reasons for his decision
or judgements.
Meaning and Concept
The concept of authority conveys a sense of duty on the
part of its holder. Authority demands an adherence to the
various norms, principles and procedures that give him
recognition. Viewed in this sense, authority can never be
absolute. Authority is always conditioned by certain norms
and principles, and is thus, self-regulated. If the norm and
the principles, on basis of which, the authority is recognized,
are violated by its holders, or ruler himself, it will lead to
chaos, lawlessness and anarchy. The norms and principles
may be in the form of time-honoured traditions, widely
shared values of life, or publicly recognized procedures,
which give recognition to authority. Command and
obedience, in this way become natural.
Authority is always expressed for regulating external
behaviour of individuals, or groups of individuals, by and
through speech and written words and not by brute force.
The authority of a parent, for instance, rests upon the fact
that the parents are able to give ‘reasoned elaboration’ as
to why the child should, or should not, do certain things.
Where this capacity on the part of parents is absent, the
parents may exercise coercion or force, over their children
but not authority.
Authority consists of two important components: Power
and Legitimacy. Legitimacy of a rule or decision implies
that the members of society treat that rule or decision as
beneficial to society as well as to themselves. They therefore,
willingly tend to abide by it. Authority hence, is the most
effective instrument of exercising power in the sphere of
politics.
Sources or Forms of Authority
According to Max Weber, the forms of authority are as
follows:
 Traditional Form of Authority (Hereditary in
origin; in monarchy): The traditional form of
authority has existed right from the very beginning
of the state. This form of authority has been, to a
great extent, hereditary in origin. The royal person,
after his death, is generally succeeded by his eldest
son as the king who then exercises traditional
authority.
 Rational-legal Form of Authority (in democracies):
The rational-legal form of authority emanates from
the political office held by an individual, where he
is appointed through the prescribed procedure. In
other words, legal-rational authority is attached to
an office which automatically extends to the
individual holding that office. This form of authority
is generally found in dem ocratic system of
government. It is established by and through the
constitution of the state.
Characteristics:
(a) It springs into existence as a result of the
constitutional provision for it.
(b) It is founded on some method of popular
approval.
(c) It m akes provision for some system of
accountability to the people.
(d) It sets up due procedure for the beginning and
termination of the terms of office.
(e) It finally, m akes such other structural
arrangements which would serve the purposes
for which it is established.
 Charismatic Form of Authority: The charismatic
form of authority is generally found in developing
countries w here (a) there is low level of
institutionalization; (b) traditional structures are not
democratic in form as well as in spirit; (c) paternal
authority is always highly respected; (d) traditional
thinking is challenged by m odern political
institutions, and (e) the dichotomy is, to some extent,
mitigated by a charismatic leader.
 Spiritual Form of Authority: Spiritual form of
authority is based on spiritual or religious grounds,
e.g., the Pope in medieval period.

Types of Authority
Prominent types of authority are as follows:
 De Jure Authority (legally constituted authority):
De Jure authority presupposes a definite system of
law, rules and regulations. It determines as to who
shall be competent to take decisions, make
pronouncements, issue commands and command
obedience and perform certain acts in accordance
with law. De Jure authority is exercised by means of
speech and written words and enjoys the right to
receive obedience. The Constitution of a state, e.g.
gives authority to Parliament and/or to the President
of the state.
 De Facto Authority (Person/s who in fact exercise
authority): De Facto authority is essentially
concerned with a person whose words in fact are
treated as law and are therefore obeyed. Generally,
de jure and de facto authorities go hand in hand.
The parliament or the President e.g. has de jure as
well as de facto authority. In some special situation
the de facto authority may be other than the de jure
authority.
 Intermediate Authority (Extra-Constitutional
Authority): This is an intermediate authority
between the de jure and de facto authorities. This
kind of authority is also referred to as ‘extra-
constitutional authority’. It is held by a person not
because of legality of position or rules as in case of
de jure authority but because ‘he or she is special
sort of person’. This type of authority is solely
based on the people’s devotion and dedication to
the personal characteristics of the man, his acts,
heroism and his unusual unique or special abilities.
Distinction between Authority and Power
Authority and power are both ways of regulating social
behaviour of an individual in the society. However,
authority may be distinguished from power in the following
senses:
 Authority is an embodiment of reason: Carl J.
Friedrich says, ‘authority is the embodiment of
reason and depends upon the capacity of reasoned
elaboration. The man who possesses authority has
capacity for reasoned elaboration’. In other words,
the man with authority has capacity to give
convincing reasons for what he does or for what he
wants others to do. Americans e.g. accept the
authority of their President as they believe that he
has an access to information that others do not or
should not have so easily. This gives him the
capacity to give convincing reasons for his
decisions.
International Relations and Area Studies 123
 Power refers to compliance by force, threat, bribe,
propaganda and fear, etc.: In contrast to authority,
power is the way of regulating social behaviour and
conduct of an individual by means other than
‘reasoned elaboration’. By exercising power, a man
secures compliance by means of brute force, threat,
bribe, propaganda, fear of injury or fear of putting
obstacles in the way, etc.
 Link between authority and power: There is an
intimate connection between authority and power.
As long as the rule or system is respected by people,
the exercise of authority is relevant and adequate.
The Government of India exercises authority because
most Indians accept to be governed by laws and
rules. However, a handful of anti-social elements,
criminals, extremists, terrorists and secessionists
refuse to accept and respect the laws and the
Constitution of India. The Government in such cases
exercises both authority as well as power. The police,
para-military and armed forces represent power of
the government in a special sense. It is therefore,
essential that every government must have sufficient
power to maintain its authority against those who
refuse to respect it. A government based on authority
but without power may be overthrown by a handful
of armed rebels.
 Loss of authority without power: Authority in the
state may decline or even disappear in the absence
of power. If a government does not have enough
power in the form of military strength or armed
forces, it will not be able to quell or suppress
rebellions or revolts, if any, within the state or tackle
challenges in any form, to it by an armed and
determined group.
The authority in the state may also decline if the
government itself loses the capacity to govern the
country by ‘reasoned elaboration’ due to
emotionalism, favouritism, nepotism, corruption and
other malpractices. Such a government may forfeit
the right to receive obedience from the majority of
the people. In contrast, the loss of power within the
state may take place as a result of weakening or loss
of military strength or armed forces or national
wealth.
LEGITIMACY AND POLITICAL
OBLIGATION
The stability of a democratic political system depends not
only upon economic development but also upon its
legitimacy and effectiveness. While effectiveness is judged
according to how well a system performs the basic function
of government, legitimacy includes the capacity to produce
124 International Relations and Area Studies
and maintain a belief that the existing political institutions
or forms are the most appropriate for society. Thus,
legitimacy is the foundation of political power in as much
as it is exercised both with a consciousness on government’s
part that it has a right to govern and with some recognition
by the governed of that right.
David E. Apter provides an interesting notion of what
legitimacy is. He maintains that legitimacy is ‘related to a
set of conception held by significant member of the polity
about the rightness of a political pattern. Legitimacy is
thus a behavioural term referring to a set of limits on a
governmental action. It is with reference to legitimacy that
right conduct in office is defined. When legitimacy is
withdrawn, government is weakened’.
Thus, if a political system has to survive and sustain,
it should be acceptable to the people so that they may
render their obligation to it. The rulers must either make an
attempt to bring the real power relationship into conformity
with existing legitimization, or to revise the legitimization
in terms of the existing or some of the preferred power
relationships. We describe a government as legitimate which
at a given moment and in a given country, corresponds to
the idea that the general populace has about a legitimate
order.
The theories of a legitimate political order reflect the
social structures and specially the class situations. They
tend to justify a form of government that meets the
requirements of those for whom it is meant. If the governed
believe that their rulers are legitimate, they are inclined to
obey them spontaneously. They recognize that the
obedience is due to them. A legitimate government is one
in which people feel an obligation to obey whereas no
such obligation is felt towards a government considered as
‘illegitimate’.
While the concept of political legitim acy and
effectiveness has its application in every political system,
it has its special significance in a democratic system that
is set to rest on the ‘general will’. There are instances to
prove that even rulers like Caliph Harun-al Rashid used to
move in disguise to know the mood and mind of the
people. Even in modern time dictators have made serious
and concerted attempts to secure legitimacy to their system.
The idea of legitimacy and effectiveness involves
within itself the study of political system from a sociological
point of view. As political system is a part of the wider
social organization, the people do not obey authority just
for the sake of obedience; rather they do so for purposes
they believe to be secured by its operations. Political
scientists may therefore, investigate any kind of power, but
for the study of the political system, its relevance to
legitimization is of crucial importance.
Political Obligation
Why do people obey the state? Why should they obey
authority? When and under what circumstances and
conditionality should they come forward and register their
disobedience? These are some of the questions that arise in
regard to the issue of relationship between a legitimate
political order and the collectivity of citizenship. Answers
to such questions have been given by many thinkers and
statesmen in different ways. Political philosophy inquires
into the logical and moral grounds of political obligation
so as to determine its proper scope and limits.
Meaning and Concept
The term ‘obligation’ originates from a Latin word ‘obligate’
implying something that binds men to perform what is
enjoined. In the world of politics, it takes the form of a
bond between man as a citizen and the authority under
which he lives ‘to perform an act, or a number of acts, for
the governing authority’. In other words, it means that as
a political creature, man is bound to live under some
authority and it becomes his duty to obey its commands.
In this respect, when the authorizing rule is a law, and the
association a state, it is called ‘political obligation’.
The idea of political obligation, or acceptance of the
commands of the ‘men in authority’ is essentially connected
with the pattern of man’s life in an organized whole. It may
be said that there could be no life if there is no order. Since
order implies obedience, there can be no order if there is
no acceptance of it. The principle of political obligation,
is therefore, based on the maxim of common prudence. As
Bern and Peters observe, there are plenty of good reasons
for accepting authority in general, though they may not
always apply in particular. In fact, the people not only
obey the laws of the state or ‘the commands of the
sovereign’, they also scrutinize those orders in terms of the
satisfaction they seek from life. Sometimes however, they
may reject them on the ground that they are a denial of
those satisfactions. Obedience is the normal habit of
mankind. However, marginal cases recur wherein the
decision to disobey is painfully taken and defended.
The idea of political obligation not only expects
people to obey the authority of those in power, it also
desires them to be critical about the way authority is
exercised. They should scrutinise the actions of their rulers
and disapprove any invasion on their freedom. Thus, the
idea of political obligation also involves the idea of
resistance to authority. Even great liberals like Locke, Green
and Laski have recognized the circumstances under which
people may demonstrate their resistance and go to the
extent of changing the political order. Thus, the legitimacy
of political obligation depends on the way it is used. Any
invasion of a sphere w here political authority is
inappropriate might be grounds for disobedience or, in
extreme cases, for resistance.

LAW, LIBERTY AND RIGHTS
Meaning and Concept
The word ‘law’ etymologically comes from the old Teutonic
root ‘lag’ which means to lay, to place, to set, or to fix
something in an even manner. Law is, for this reason,
something positive, or imposed. It is something laid down
or set. Thus, the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as ‘a
rule of conduct imposed by an authority’. Law also conveys
the idea of a valid custom to which any citizen can appeal,
and which is recognized and can be enforced by a human
authority.
Keeping in view the variety of its senses, law as
distinguished from theory, is described as: the normal
expression of conventional morality, or of that part of it,
which the state should enforce; or
 a system of rules by which the interests of a dominant
class are safeguarded; or
 a system of rules held to be binding or obligatory;
or
 a system of rules aimed at realizing justice; or
 a system of rules discoverable by reason; or
 a command of the sovereign; or
 what judges decide in the courts; or
 system of rules backed by coercive sanctions.
However, in the most widely understood sense, the
term ‘law’ signifies “a body of rules enforced by the courts”.
Sources of Law
The cause of variety in the senses of law finds its place in
its sources that may be enumerated as below:
 Custom: In every community the earliest form of
law can be traced in the well established practices
of the people. These practices developed because of
the utility that inhered in them. In due course, a
practice became a usage which in turn acquired the
form of a custom. Primitive communities attached
great significance to the observance of their great
customs. Even now custom seems to play an
important part and the modern law is very much
based on the custom of the people.
 Religion: Religion as a source of law finds its
sanction in the religious scriptures of the people.
Since time immemorial people have reposed their
faith in the power of some supernatural agencies.
They have tried to lay down rules for the regulations
of their behaviour so as to be respectful to their
deities. As a result, the words contained in the holy
books and their interpretations constitute the
religious law of people. Most of the principles of
religious law were translated by the state in terms of
International Relations and Area Studies 125
specific rules. Thus, we have the personal laws of
the Hindus, Muslims and the Christians, etc.
 Adjudication: As the process of social organization
became complex in response to the growth of
civilization, the force of custom declined. Disputes
regarding customs were referred to the ‘wisest men’
of the community who delivered their verdicts. The
decision formed precedents for future guidance. As
judges became the ‘wisest men’ of the community
their decision came to have a special sanctity. As
these decisions were given in w riting, they
constituted what came to be known, the case-law.
 Equity: One more important source of law is
contained in equity—an informal method of making
new law or altering an old one depending on fairness
or equality of treatment. In simple words, it means
equality or natural justice in cases where the existing
law does not apply properly and judgement has to
be given according to commonsense or fairness.
Thus, as a source of law, equity arises from the fact
that as time passes and new conditions of life
develop, positive law becomes unsuitable or
inadequate to the new situation. To make it suitable,
either the old law should be changed or adapted by
some informal method. Thus, equity enters to fill
the void. In the absence of a positive law, judges
decide the cases on general principles of fairness,
reasonableness, commonsense and natural justice.
 Legislation: In modern times, however, legislation
has become the most prolific source of law. It means
placing of a specific rule on the statute book of the
land. It reflects the will of the state as declared by
its law making organs. Whether it is in the form of
a royal decree, or an ordinance promulgated by the
head of the state, or assented to by him after being
passed by the legislature, it has the validity of the
law of the land. It then, has to be implemented by
the executive and enforced by the judicial
departments of the state.
 Standard works: The source of law may also be
traced in the scientific commentaries in which
leading thinkers, jurists and Statesmen express their
view s on im portant points of law . These
commentaries are recognized and treated as binding
by virtue of being the decisions of the ‘wisest men
of the community’. The opinion of the great men
are also accepted by the courts and incorporated
into the law of the land as well.
Theories of Law
Natural Theory
This theory considers law as eternal, universal, constant
and immutable discoverable by the rational faculty of man.
126 International Relations and Area Studies
Being universal, it has the merit of prevailing everywhere;
being eternal, it has its validity at all times; being constant,
it is the same at all places and under all circumstances; and
being immutable it cannot be changed by any power on
earth. Nature is the author of this law, and as such, it is
based on right reason. The natural law thus, is the higher
law and civil law must conform to it in order to be valid.
Analytical Theory
Analytical theory maintains that the laws with which the
jurists or political scientists have to deal are the commands
of a determinate political authority. As this theory is also
known by the name of the doctrine of ‘legal positivism’,
it designates that only those norms are juristically valid
which have been established or recognized by the
government of a sovereign state in the forms prescribed by
its written or unwritten constitution. No ‘divine law’ and
no ‘natural law’ is juridically valid, according to legal
positivism unless so recognized by the state or its
government. Among the exponents of this theory, the name
of the French thinker Jean Bodin occupies the first and
foremost place followed by Thomas Hobbes of England.
Historical Theory
Historical theory treats law as a result of the silent forces
at work in society. In other words, law is neither authored
by nature (or God), nor is it a deliberate creation of the
state. In a correct sense, it is the result of the inevitable but
imperceptible social development. Thus, it is independent
of, and anterior to, the state. As such, the function of the
state is not to create law but merely to recognize and
enforce it. Thus, an exponent of this theory, like Gustav
von Hugo rejected the traditional theory (natural theory) of
law and in its place put a conception of laws determined
by characteristics and experiences of a particular people.
Sociological Theory
The sociological theory of law should be treated as an
extension of the historical theory on this subject. It argues
that law is the product of social forces and, for this reason,
must be studied in the light of social needs. It denies that
law is made by an organized body of men or, that it is just
the command of a determinate sovereign. It should be
judged by its results than by certain abstract standards.
Thus, the state does not create law, it only imputes legal
value to a rule or practice that grows out of social needs.
The name of Duguit in France, Krabbe in Holland, Roscoe
Pound and Justice Holmes in Unites States and Laski in
England are associated with this theory.
Marxian Theory
The Marxian theory of law first integrates law with the
state and then integrates both with the economic and social
structure of community. According to Marx, the economic
structure constitutes the real basis upon which the political
and juridical super structures are built. Since legal
relationship are footed in the material conditions of life,
laws merely express the will and interests of the dominant
class. Thus, the statutes of the state are the forms wherein
the dominant class in a given society imposes obligations
on all other classes to conduct in a manner advantageous
and pleasing to itself. Due to this, the legal system of a
‘socialist’ country is at variance with that of a liberal-
democratic country. According to Lenin, law is considered
as the expression of what is expedient for the construction
of socialism and to fight for it.
Classification of Law
A classification indicating essential varieties of law could
be presented in the following manner:
Natural and Positive Law
While the former is abstract on account of being authored
by nature or some supernatural agency, the latter is concrete
for the reason of being a creation of man. While the natural
laws are understandable by the rational faculty of man, the
positive law can be easily understood as it is written and
has its place into the statute book. It is called positive, for
its terms are quite specific. While the natural law has its
sanction in respect for or fear of some metaphysical power,
the positive law is enforced by the sovereign authority.
National and International Law
A law formulated by the sovereign authority and applicable
to the people living within its territorial jurisdiction is
called national or municipal law. It determines the private
and public relations of the people living in a state. Different
from this, international law regulates the conduct of states
in their intercourse with each other. Both are man-made
laws. However, the difference between the two lies in the
fact that while the former has the force of a sovereign
authority on its back, the derives its sanction from the
good sense of the civilized nations of the world.
Constitutional and Ordinary Law
While both are laws of the state, they differ from each other
in respect of sanctity attached to them. While the former
has a higher status on account of being a part of constitution
of the land, the latter occupies a lower place and has to
keep itself in consonance with the former. The former may
be partly written by some constitutional convention, the
latter is a creation of the legislative organ or of some other
authority having delegated powers.
Civil and Criminal Law
While the former deals with a civil wrong committed by a
person with an intention to harm the interests of another
like non-payment of dues and violation of the terms of a
contract, the latter relates to a criminal act of a person like
theft, robbery and murder. In both cases, the procedure is
different.

Private and Public Law
While the former is concerned with the relations between
individuals, the latter involves the state. Public law is
concerned with the organization of the state, the limits on
the function of the government and the relations between
the state and its citizens. Private law regulates relations
between individuals only.
Liberty
The term ‘liberty’ comes from the Latin word ‘liber’ meaning
free. J. S. Mill treats liberty as something absolutely immune
from restraints at least in the ‘self-regarding sphere of human
activity’. Laski however, describes it as the “eager
maintenance of that atmosphere in which men have the
opportunity to be their best selves”. Thus, it is important
to reconcile the idea of liberty with the provision of
restraints. Also, if liberty is to be differentiated from license,
or man’s right to do what he wills, the issue of restraints
becomes important. At the same time it is important to
remember that if restraints can preserve liberty, these can
destroy also. Thus, reconciliation between the two in a
harmonious manner is important. In this light two points
need to be noted; (i) the real meaning of liberty changes
from age to age; and (ii) liberty lives within restraints and
liberty of each individual is necessarily relative to that of
others.
Liberty therefore, means the absence of constraints and
not the absence of restraints and limitations. It does embrace
the area of man’s choice and, at the same time, calls for the
proper justification of the limits or restriction on such an
area. T.H. Green describes it as power to do or enjoy,
something that is worth doing or enjoying in common with
others. The meaning of liberty, thus, involves within itself
both the individual and social sides of man’s existence.
Moreover as the social life requires a network of regulations,
the idea of liberty also needs due restraints. In the words
of Leo Strauss Restraint is, “therefore, as natural as freedom”.
Freedoms are opportunities which history has shown to
be essential to the development of personality. The meaning
of liberty also necessitates the enumeration of certain
provisions for its achievement. Laski mentions three
guarantees for this purpose. They are:
 Liberty can never exist in the presence of special
privileges.
 There can be no liberty when the rights of some
depend upon the pleasure of others. The common
rules must bind those who exercise power as well as
those who are the subject of power.
The incidence of state action should be unbiased.
Negative and Positive Concepts
The real meaning of liberty is involved in the dilemma of
its negative and positive aspects and dimensions. In this
International Relations and Area Studies 127
regard, the question of the proper relationship between
liberty and authority becomes significant. The negative
dimension of liberty is contained in an affirmation of the
‘absence of restraint’ which in idealist terms means “to
hinder the hindrance to good life.” In this realm, Prof
Bernard Bosanquet’s version becomes pertinent when he
says, Liberty is an essential condition of life whereby man
can seek the best possible development of his ‘self’. While
attempting to answer a pertinent question as to when a man
is free he distinguishes between one’s ‘actual self’ and the
‘higher self’ that in fact guides and directs a rational purpose.
Thus, liberty according to Bosanquet, is ‘a state of mind’
instead of an ‘absence of physical restraint’.
Even a person of socialist orientation like Laski treated
liberty initially as set of restraints that seek to limit the
authority of the state. However, later he revised his views
when he introduces the element of ‘moral development’ of
the personality of the individual in the real meaning of
liberty. Again, in 1929, he seems to have further updated
himself when he stated, “I mean by liberty the absence of
restraint upon the existence of those social conditions which
are the necessary guarantees of individual happiness”.
However, Prof Isaiah Berlin identifies it with the ‘free choice’
of an individual. In this sense, “liberty is the absences of
obstacles to the fulfilment of a man’s desires”.
Kinds of Liberty
In simple terms liberty implies, “a state of freedom
especially opposed to political subjection, imprisonment
or slavery”. In a wider sense, however, it is a multiple
concept having specific varieties or kinds as mentioned
below.
Natural Liberty
It implies complete freedom for a man to do what he desires.
This kind of liberty existed in the state of nature as suggested
by Hobbes. It was terminated when civil society came into
existence.
Social Liberty
It relates to man’s freedom in his life as a member of the
social organization. It refers to a man’s right to do what he
desires, in compliance with the restraints imposed on him
in the general interest. Thus, civil or social liberty consists
in the rights and privileges that the society recognizes and
the state protects in the spheres of private and the public
life of an individual. The social liberty includes the
following sub-categories:
 Personal Liberty: It is an important sub-category
of social liberty. It refers to the freedom of choice
in those areas of a man’s life where the results of his
efforts mainly affect him.
According to Blackstone personal liberty consists
of:
128 International Relations and Area Studies
 Personal security not only of health and life but
also of reputation.
 Personal freedom especially of movement and,
 Personal property or the free use, enjoyment and
disposal of all acquisitions. Sir Earnest Barker
who identifies personal liberty with civil liberty
says that such liberty consists in (a) physical
freedom from injury or threat to the life, health
and movement of the body (b) intellectual
freedom for expression of thought and belief;
and (c) practical freedom for the play of will and
exercise of choice in the general field of
contractual action and relations with other
persons.
 Political Liberty: It refers to the power of the people
to be active in the affairs of the state. It requires two
things—political education and free supply of news.
Thus, political liberty consists in provisions for
universal adult franchise, free and fair elections,
and freedom for the avenues that make a healthy
public opinion.
 Economic Liberty: It belongs to the individual in
the capacity of a producer or a worker, whether
manual or m ental, engaged in some gainful
occupation or service. The individual should be
free from the constant fear of unemployment and
insufficiency which sap the whole strength of
personality.
 Domestic Liberty: It is more a sociological concept
which refers largely to the man’s family life. It
implies that of all association within the state, the
family is the most universal. There was a time when
the authoritarian state was reflected in the authori-
tarian family. Thus, with the advent of democracy,
liberty pervaded the sphere of family life as well.
The domestic liberty therefore, consists in:
Rendering the wife a fully responsible individual,
capable of holding property, suing and being sued,
conducting business on her own account and
enjoying full personal protection against her
husband;
In establishing marriage on a purely contractual
basis; and
In securing the physical, mental and moral care of
the children, partly by im posing definite
responsibilities on the parents and punishing them
for neglect, partly by elaborating a public system of
education and hygiene.
 National Liberty: It primarily refers to national
independence. It fundamentally implies that no
nation should be under the subjection of another.
The Americans, for example, gained national liberty
in 1776 and the Indians in 1947. Thus, national
movements or wars of independence can be identified
as struggles for the attainment of national liberty.
For this reason, love for national liberty is identified
with patriotism. Love for one’s country is deep-
rooted in human heart as a result of which millions
of people lay down their lives for the sake of the
honours and security of their motherland.
 International Liberty: This ideal of liberty covers
the world as a whole. Thus, in the international
sphere, it implies renunciation of war, limitation on
the production of armaments, abandonment of the
use of force and pacific settlement of disputes. It
also desires adequate curbs on the strength of
military force, so that it may not crush the liberties
of the local people.
Moral Liberty
In the context of moral liberty, it is suggested that though
a person may have all the kinds of freedom, he lacks the
essential quality of a human being in case he does not have
moral freedom. This type of freedom lies in man’s capacity
to act as per his rational self. Every individual has a
personality of his own and, unless he seeks the best possible
development of his personality, and, at the same time,
desires the same thing for others and more than this he pays
sincere respect for the real worth and dignity of his fellow
beings, he is morally not free. Moral liberty, is, thus,
necessarily connected with man’s self-realization.
Liberal Versus Marxist Notions of Liberty
It is important to throw some light on the liberal vis-à-vis
Marxist interpretations regarding the meaning and nature
of liberty. In Anglo-American countries, liberty has often
been identified with constitutional government, political
democracy and the orderly administration of common law
system.
According to Hobhouse, ‘the real meaning of liberty
constitutes the heart of liberalism’. However, a marked
change has been witnessed in the direction of socialism in
the present century as a result of which the idea of individual
liberty has been integrated with the good society. To Marx,
however, there can be no real freedom unless the system of
capitalism is replaced by the socialist system. The bourgeois
order with its system of private property and wage slavery
unleashes the whole era of unfreedom. It throws men at the
mercy of blind forces of the market-producers at all levels
in society. Thus, liberty is crucified upon a cross of gold.
Obviously, what Marx has said in regard to the real
meaning and the nature of liberty cannot be acceptable to
the bourgeois thinkers and writers. The writings of Milton
Friedman have endeavored to defend ‘free market
liberalism’. While portraying the model of a welfare state,

he clearly attacks the premises of Marxism in which liberty
is thoroughly sacrificed at the alter of a coercive social and
political order. His deepest concern is with ‘socialism’ that
he undertakes to prove as ‘quite inconsistent with political
freedom’. Despite the fact that liberal and Marxist
interpretations differ in kind, both strongly advocate the
idea of liberty. Essentially speaking, there is truth in both
the interpretations.
Rights
The concept of rights finds its manifestations in the liberties
of the individuals on the one hand and in the scope of state
activity on the other. In simple words, ‘a right is a claim
of an individual recognized by the society and the state’.
Rights, however, are just like moral declarations unless
they are protected by the state. The state, therefore, translates
the socially recognized claims or moral rights into terms of
law and thereby accords them legal recognition. A
definition of the term rights involves the fact of political
recognition that connects the claims of the individuals
with the sovereign authority of the state. According to
Gilchrist, ‘rights arise from individuals as members of
society, and from the recognition that, for society, there is
ultimate good which may be reached by the development
of the powers inherent in every individuals’. In the words
of Laski, “rights are those conditions of social life without
which no man can seek to be himself at his best.”
Nature of Rights
Rights are implicit in the conscience of man. They are
morally recognized claims of the individuals. However,
legally recognized claims of the individuals get proper
protection. Thus, rights have a moral character. Rights are
significant and regarded as essential to self-realization and
the society gives its tacit approval to them.
Rights and duties are logically co-related. In fact, they
are like a coin having rights on the one side and duties on
the other. Thus, the enjoyment of rights is conditional on
the performance of duties. No one can expect that his rights
will be safeguarded unless he recognizes and respects
corresponding obligations towards others.
Rights, in a sense, have a pre-political character. They
may be independent of the state but not of society. Social
recognition comes first. Historically, the selfless claims of
the individuals became well-established usages and customs,
which were subsequently, translated by the state in terms
of law.
Rights have a natural and social-utilitarian character.
They are natural in view of the character of a civilization
the facts of social existence demand their recognition. They
have social-utilitarian character because they are of value
both to the individual and to the society. They are also
useful to the ends the state seeks to serve.
International Relations and Area Studies 129
A man is expected to exercise his right in a way that
he does not harm the rights of another. The exercise of a
right, calls for the observance of a duty. A man possesses
rights so that he may seek the best possible development
of his personality and, contribute to the social objectives.
Theories of Rights
 Natural Theory of Rights: From time to time various
explanations regarding the origin and nature of rights
have been put forward have led to the emergence of
a number of theories. The earliest explanation in
this regard was put forward by the ‘natural theory of
rights’. According to this theory, the nature is the
author of certain rights that have a universal,
rational, eternal and immutable character. Further, it
holds that rights belong to man by nature. They
inhere in him. They are as much a part of man’s
nature as the colour of his skin.
The origin of the natural theory of rights goes back
to ancient Greece. Later, Romans held that civil law
should conform to the law of nature. During the
middle ages the law of nature became the law of
God. In the seventeenth century social contractualists
accepted this version to establish a proper
relationship between the liberty of the individual
and the authority of the state. John Locke termed
right to life, liberty and property as natural rights.
According to Locke, the main function of the state
is to protect these natural rights of the individuals.
The individuals have every right to resist, even
overthrow the government in case the rulers violate
the sanctity of the natural rights. These rights cannot
be surrendered to any authority. Thus, the rights are
an integral part of human personality. If any
government seeks to encroach upon them, people
can revolt against the authority to preserve their
natural rights.
In the 18th century, some of the important political
documents found their basis in the theory of natural
rights. For instance, the American Declaration of
Independence of 1776 declared that, ‘all men are
endowed by their creator with certain inalienable
rights’. Similarly, the French Declaration of the
Rights of Man and Citizen of 1791 declared, ‘men
are born free and live free and are equal in their
rights’. Even the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of 1948 says, ‘All human beings are born
free and equal in dignity and rights’.
 Legal Theory of Rights: According to this, rights
are neither absolute nor given by nature. They are
the creations of the law of the state. Hence, the state
is the only source of rights. It provides the machinery
to guarantee the enjoyment of rights. Rights are
dynamic as they change with the law of the land.
2105 (MA–IR)—17
130 International Relations and Area Studies
The legal theory of rights which is also called the
positive theory of rights, finds its exposition in the
works of Jeremy Bentham who decries natural rights
as ‘rhetorical nonsense’ and insists that rights are
the creature of law and of organized society.
The legal theory is, therefore, partly correct in
asserting that rights are no rights until they are
secured by the state. Mere social recognition is not
enough. There has to be a coercive authority to give
protection to the moral rights. Law, therefore, serves
the desired purpose.
 Idealist Theory of Rights: The idealistic, or
personality theory defines a right as that ‘which is
really necessary to the maintenance of material
conditions essential to the existence and perfection
of human personality’. In simple words, it means
‘that without rights no man can become the best self
that he is capable of becoming’. Thus, it is the right
and duty of every human being to develop his
potentiality. Hence, a right is a claim based on the
rational will of man, and, for this reason first
recognized by the society and then translated into
law by the state. Barker rightly says, “Human
consciousness postulates liberty; liberty involves
right; rights demand the state”.
Thus, the idealistic theory looks at rights from a
highly moral point of view. Rights are rooted in the
mind of man. They are powers granted to him by the
community in order that he with others may realize
a common good of which his good is an intrinsic
part. A right must establish two things—the
individual claiming it, must be able to convince
society that in doing so he is not interfering with
the like claims of his fellow beings, and that he
must be able to convince society that his claim is
absolutely necessary for his self-development. Thus,
a right ‘is a freedom of action possessed by a man
virtue of his occupying a certain place and fulfilling
a certain function in a social order’. Critics however,
regard this theory too abstract to be easily understood
by an average person.
 Historical Theory: According to this theory, rights
are the creation of time. They are based on long
established usages and customs. The essential
sanction behind a right is a tradition or customs
recognized on account of its long observance.
Sociologists like MacIver signify the role of customs
in creating rights of people. Law of today, according
to them, is nothing but the crystallization of age old
customs into the form of legal sanctions that the
state enforces with coercive power at its command.
Critics however, regard this theory as partly correct.
They say that all rights are not the result of the
well-established customs. Had this been so, slavery
would have been in existence as a matter of right by
virtue of being based on a long established tradition.
 Social welfare theory: The social welfare or social
expediency theory of rights implies that rights are
the creation of society in a sense that they are based
on the consideration of common welfare. Rights,
according to this theory are conducive to the greatest
good of the greatest number. Rights are thus the
conditions of social good. Thus, the claims which
are not in conformity with the general welfare would
not be recognized by the society and this fails from
being designated as rights. According to Bentham,
rights are of utility both to the individual and the
society. Laski, an exponent of this theory, puts the
principle of utility so as to mean that nothing but
social welfare is the test of rights. The critics of this
theory regard it as highly ambiguous. They further
say that it seeks to sacrifice individual good at the
altar of social welfare.
Kinds of Rights
Rights are of different kinds. Barker groups them into three
main heads relating to fraternity, equality and liberty and
divides the last one into two categories—political and
economic. He prefers to put rights to public assistance,
education and public employment under the head of
‘fraternity’. He includes rights to be treated equally in the
eyes of law and matters relating to justice, taxation and
admissibility to honours and office of public employment
under the second category of ‘equality’. Finally, he lists
well-known political and economic freedoms under the
category head of ‘liberty’. However, Laski puts them into
two broad categories—general and particular. To discuss
the specific kinds of rights in a simple form, a classification
could be presented in the following manner.
 Moral Rights  Civil Rights
 Political Rights  Economic Rights
 Human Rights
JUSTICE, EQUALITY AND CIVIL SOCIETY
The term ‘justice’ is assigned different meanings by different
people at different times and different places. Its
implications also vary from man to man on account of their
varying interpretations. Further, the idea of justice is a
dynamic concept. Its implications therefore, change with
the passage of time. Hence, what was justice in the past
may be injustice in the present and vice-versa. It is also
possible that the justice of today may become the injustice
of tomorrow and vice versa.
Meaning and Concept
The traditional view of justice in the contemporary period
has given way to the concept of social justice. The problem
2105 (MA–IR)—17-II

of justice in the modern times is more concerned with
determining logical criteria for the allocation of goods,
services, opportunities, benefits, power and honours as well
as obligations in society particularly in a country which is
facing a situation of scarcity. Justice is fundamentally a
problem of moral philosophy. However, since it is
implemented by a political order, it becomes a problem of
political philosophy as well. The term justice implies the
quality of being just, right or reasonable. In other words,
it is opposed to what is unjust, wrong or unreasonable.
Theories of Justice
Philosophical Theory
The term justice has its different connotations in different
contexts. Various theories hence have been propounded to
highlight the meaning and significance of justice in diverse
spheres. Justice in India has been identified with the
‘Dharma’ having its English equivalent in the idea of
‘righteousness’.
The philosophical interpretation of the term justice in
western political thought is available in Plato’s theory of
justice as mentioned in his famous book ‘Republic’. Here
justice in terms of philosophical connotation implies a life
of people conforming to the rule of functional
specialization. The original philosophy underlying this
philosophy is that one man should practice one thing only
and the thing to which his nature is best adapted. Thus,
justice here signifies ‘doing your own work and not
meddling with what belongs to others’.
Justice as conceived by Plato, therefore, has both
individual and social aspects. While it asks the individual
to take up only that occupation to which his nature is best
suited, it is also expected and required that the society
must assign that work to him that is in conformity with his
natural aptitude. Plato further says that as the justice of the
state means that each of the three elements retains its place,
so the justice of the individual means that reason, spirit
and appetite all keep their proper bounds.
The philosophical interpretation of justice takes an
empirical direction at the hands of Aristotle who says,
‘injustice arises when equals are treated unequally, and
also when unequal are treated equally’. The idea of Aristotle
came to lay down the foundation of what is now, called the
doctrine of distributive justice.
Natural Theory
The natural theory of justice was first, enunciated by the
Stoics and then it was, borrowed from them by the Roman
lawyers. This theory treated justice as an ideal of absolute
value whereby the right order could be established. What
the Stoics meant by nature was, that the ruling principle in
the universe was ‘reason’. Their idea of living ‘in agreement
with nature’ was therefore, a canon of living according to
the norm which man ought to realize.
International Relations and Area Studies 131
This idea was later, borrowed by the Roman lawyers
who took justice as an ultimate end. The distinctive
contribution of the Roman lawyers lies in their integration
of the idea of ‘natural justice’, with the positive law of the
state. As a result the ‘civil law’ and ‘law of nations’, as they
called it, were insisted upon to be in conformity with the
law of nature.
The idea of natural justice was mixed up with the myth
of divine sanction with the advent of Christianity. What
the Stoics and the Romans meant by ‘nature’ became ‘God’
to the church fathers. As a result, religious canons became
handy instruments to distinguish between the just and the
unjust. St. Augustine linked up the idea of justice with the
precepts of the Christian religion. St. Thomas ruled that in
case the civil law was contrary to the natural law, it was not
binding on the ‘conscience of the ruled’. In the eighteenth
century great revolutions of America (1776) and France
(1789) show that the natural rights based on the principles
of ‘natural justice’ were regarded fundamental as endowed
by the ‘creator’ of the human race.
Legal Theory
According to legal theory, justice lies in the enforcement
of the ‘positive law’. It further, implies what is given by the
courts in the form of interpretations of statues or verdicts
delivered. The idea of justice in this sense comes very
close to the world of law. John Austin insists that law must
function as an instrument of justice, on the one hand, and
as an instrument to suppress mischief, on the other. In this
sense, justice becomes the immediate purpose of law, and
law without justice will become an instrument of oppression.
The idea of justice requires a happy synthesis of the
principles of natural justice with the premises of positive
law. In this sense, justice requires that, (i) the accused
should know the nature of the charges levelled against
him; (ii) he should be given reasonable opportunity to state
his case either himself or through his lawyer; (iii) the
tribunal or the court trying the case should be fair and
impartial; (iv) the proceedings of trial should be conducted
in a free and fair manner.
Marxist Theory
Viewed from an ideological stand-point, the idea of justice
may be divided into two categories—Liberal and Marxist.
Legal theory of justice described above, belong to the
former category. It takes justice in terms of law as
pronounced by the state through its accredited government.
Dean Roscoe Pound emphasizes that justice and its
administration must always be according to the law of the
state. Justice Holmes of the United States asserts that justice
is not merely technically confined to the proclaimed law
it must also reflect the un-proclaimed custom and conscience
of the society in which justice is administered. Thus,
morality, religion and custom in practice are powerful aids
132 International Relations and Area Studies
of the liberal ideology of justice. Further, liberal view
seeks to bring about a harmonious synthesis between the
abstract precepts of natural justice and the concrete premises
of positive law. In case of conflict, the matter should be
decided in such a way that the interest of the community
is sub-served. Thus, the meaning of justice should be revised
to meet the changing requirements of a civilized social life.
Lord Hailsham of the United Kingdom rightly observes,
“The principles of justice do not change, but their
application in terms of law must alter with changes in
circumstances… Law remains an instrument, not an end in
itself. Law is means to achieve justice”.
Fundamentally different from the liberal view, the
Marxist view of justice, integrates the idea of justice with
the doctrine of class war. According to this view, the laws
are needed by the bourgeois class to keep itself in power.
Obviously, after, the successful revolution, the entire system
is changed. During the dictatorship of the proletariat, laws
are needed to effect the transformation of the bourgeois
society into a socialist order. Since all powers are with the
Communist Party, the courts have to toe the line of the
party in power. Thus, the judiciary in a communist country
is ‘committed’ to implement the ideology of scientific
socialism as expounded by Marx and developed by Lenin.
While liberal interpretation of justice is quite flexible
and places judiciary in a ‘free’ position, the Marxist view
desires it to be committed. As a result, while the former is
too flexible, the latter is inherent with very rigid postures.
While the former is necessarily connected with the premises
of the ‘rule of law’, the latter constitutes a negation of the
same.
Social Justice
Justice in common terms relates to the settlement of disputes
through judicial bodies. Thus, the term ‘justice’ has a
positive character and by virtue of which law of the state
and justice of the courts become very close affairs. This
sort of justice has three broad dimensions—social, economic
and political. With the penetration of democracy into social
and economic spheres, the meaning of justice has expanded
itself to cover all walks of human life. Many people feel
that the rights of an individual should be reasonably
restricted in the wider interest of his community so that the
ends of social justice are properly achieved. Thus, it is
widely recognized that the well-being of society depends
on the coordination and reconciliation between the rights
of the individual and interests of the community. Also in
case of a conflict between the two, the latter should prevail
over the former.
The concept of social justice is a very wide term that
covers within its fold everything pertaining to the norm of
‘general interest’ ranging from the protection of the interests
of the minorities to eradication of poverty and illiteracy. It
not only relates to the observance of the principle of
equality before law and independence of judiciary, it also
relates to the eradication of social evils like those of
pauperism, disease, unemployment and starvation. In the
backward countries of the world, the idea of social justice
enjoins upon the state to make concerted efforts for the
improvement of the lot of the down-trodden and weaker
sections of the community. It also demands harmony and
co-operation between labour and capital, a minimum wage
and other benefits that improve the standard of living of
the people. Thus, ideal of social justice envisages promoting
the welfare of the people by securing and developing a just
social order.
Economic Justice
While social justice demands eradication of social evils,
most of them find their place in the economic sphere as
exploitation of the w orkers by the capitalists or
concentration of national wealth into fewer hands are the
fundamental causes which give rise to many unjust social
practices and adversities. It is perhaps rightly stated,
‘freedom is meaningless if it prevents the achievement of
economic justice’. To a hungry man or to a man who is
denied human dignity, political freedom is an empty word.
The problem of today is how to bring about economic and
social justice.
The idea of economic justice means non-discrimination
between man and man on the basis of economic values. It
implies adequate paym ents for w ork w ithout any
discrimination. It also enjoins freedom for all in the spheres
of production and distribution of goods subject to the
conditions of general welfare. It also demands that the state
of national economy be reshaped in a way that the benefits
are made more and more available to the common person.
In this way the idea of economic justice comes to imply a
socialistic pattern of society.
Economic justice is also an important concept of the
modern age of science and industrialization. Planning has
become the chief mode of bringing about the state of
general welfare. However, at the same time, it is important
to suitably restraint the authority of the state so that the
people are saved from the economic tyranny of the planners.
Thus, the case of economic justice continues to be a matter
of controversy between the liberal and the Marxist thinkers.
Political Justice
Political justice is an important dimension of positive
justice. The idea of political justice desires a free and fair
participation of people in their political life. It therefore,
involves the guarantee of universal adult franchise. What
the policy of the state should be, and how the society
should be organized in political and economic directions,
are matters, which should be decided by the people
themselves.

The notion of political justice requires that the state
must protect and preserve the rights of the individuals so
that he may develop his personality as a citizen and thereby
contribute his share to the welfare of the political
community. In this connection, a reference may be made to
the views of Justice Brandies of the American Supreme
Court who strongly pleaded for the protection and sanctity
of individual thoughts, emotions and sensations by legal
recognition.
The idea of political justice, obviously, desires a liberal-
democratic order in which rights of the individuals,
including those of the minorities, are well protected. Thus,
it makes itself coterminous with the case of a full-fledged
democratic order wherein the prevalence of the right to
dissent and duty to tolerate are upheld with utmost care.
Equality
Equality is an important theme of normative political theory.
It is a subject that cannot be studied in isolation. In fact,
the subject of equality constitutes a concomitant of the
principle of liberty, on the one hand, and of justice, on the
other. It is due to this that great thinkers as well as
revolutionaries have treated it as an integral part of their
movement for liberty and social transformation. The
Founding Fathers of the American Revolution adopted a
declaration of independence in 1776 that inter alia, said,
“… all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their creator with certain inalienable rights”. Similarly, the
National Assembly of France adopted the declaration of
the rights of man and citizen in 1789 which inter alia,
reiterated that “all human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights”.
Meaning and Nature
Equality is a multiple dimensional concept. It possesses
more than one meaning. In general terms it means that
“whatever conditions are guaranteed to me, in the form of
rights, shall also, and in the same measure, be guaranteed
to others, and that whatever rights are given to others shall
also be given to me”. According to Oxford English
Dictionary, the term equality implies the following:
 the condition of having equal dignity, rank or
privileges with others;
 the condition of being equal in power, ability,
achievement or excellence;
 fairness, impartiality due proportion, proportiona-
teness.
Further, equality does not mean identical treatment as
people differ in want, capacity and need. A mathematician,
for instance, cannot be given an identical treatment with
that of a brick layer. Similarly, equality does not mean an
identity of reward. It no doubt, implies fundamentally a
certain levelling process.
International Relations and Area Studies 133
The idea of equality has two sides—positive and
negative. In a positive sense, equality means the provision
of adequate opportunities for all. The term ‘adequate
opportunities’ however is not a synonym of the term ‘equal
opportunities’ as men differ in their needs and capacities
and also in their efforts. They need different opportunities
for their individual self-development. In a negative sense,
equality means the absence of undue privileges and arbitrary
discrimination based on race, religion, and sex.
Equal opportunities for all, according to some scholars
in fact refers to appropriate opportunities for all. The idea
of equality of opportunity demands that factors like wealth
or birth or class should not determine or limit one’s
opportunities. It means that each person should have equal
rights and opportunities to his own talents or to lead a
good life and develop his personality. J. Rees however,
says while natural inequalities of physical strength, beauty
etc. has to be accepted but social inequalities are alterable.
In this background the concept of reverse discrimination or
com pensatory justice favouring some oppressed
communities with a view to undoing centuries old injustice
done to them or to raise them to the level of others, has also
been justified. However, there are differing views, which
state that granting privileges to individuals because of
their race or sex is as discriminatory and unjust as denying
them opportunity and jobs for the same reasons. In the end,
it must be acknowledged that the idea of equality implies
that all human beings should be treated equally in respect
of certain fundamental traits common to all like human
nature, human worth and dignity, human personality, etc.
Immanuel Kant, the father of modern idealism rightly says,
“treat humanity in every case as an end, never solely as a
means.”
Kinds of Equality
Equality as a multi-dimensional concept has different kinds
as mentioned below:
 Natural Equality  Social Equality
 Political Equality  Economic Equality
 Legal Equality  International Equality
Civil Society
The term civil society refers to the set of intermediate
associations which are neither the state nor the extended
family. Civil society generally includes voluntary
associations and firms and other corporate bodies. Though,
the term has been used with different meanings by various
writers since the eighteenth century, it gained public
attention in the 1980s as an attempt to establish civility in
society. It was seen as the opposite of despotism, a ‘space’
in which groups can exist and something that would ensure
better and more tolerable conditions of existence. The
concept of civil society, thus, gains recognition both as a
‘social value and a set of social institutions’.
134 International Relations and Area Studies
Civil society is used both as a normative concept and
as an empirical description. As a normative concept, it
prescribes the conditions for effective governance. As a
descriptive concept, it identifies certain viable social
activities, civic dispositions and non-state institutions that
are linked to development.
The idea of civil society is in fact an old theme found
in the writings of political philosophers such as Hobbes,
Locke, Hegel and Marx. But it was Gramsci who studied
this subject in detail. Thus, there have been many variants
on the notion of civil society. However, the most important
institutional component of civil society comprises voluntary
groups such as community groups, cooperatives, unions,
associations, self-help groups (SHGs), foundations, social
service agencies, as there is no such thing as ‘the civil
society’. There are hence, Hobbesian and Hegelian, Marxian
and Gramscian conceptions of civil society. However, they
share one thing in common—they all refer to the sphere of
social life, which falls outside the state.
There are three dominant theories of civil society; (a)
neo-conservative (b) pluralistic (c) neo-Marxist. These
theories provide important perspectives in the interpretation
of civil society. The neo-conservatives argue that civil
society is independent and superior to the state. It is the
focus of freedom, efficiency and flexibility. For them, the
goal is to strengthen civil society in order to weaken the
state’s grip on economy and society.
Pluralists tend to follow Alexis de Tocqueville, who
viewed civil society as the location of associations formed
for other than primordial ties. They assume that civil society
can work in tandem with the state, acting both as a
defensive counter – balance to the state and as a critically
constructive partner of the state.
Neo-Marxist who draw on the work of Gramsci, take
civil society as a terrain where classes, the state, intellectuals
and non-state organizations struggle. For neo-Marxist, civil
society is a site of both oppression and possibility, a location
that needs to be democratized while it, in turn, is used as
base to democratize the state. The interest in civil society
therefore, reflects both reaction against government and a
desire to reconstruct energetic government on stronger
ground.
Further, the civil society is seen more as groups and
individuals that are at interface between the state and the
rest of the social order. Civil society is therefore, not an
alternative to government, but the free space in which
democratic attitudes are cultivated and democratic behaviour
conditioned. It is also a space where the social and political
elements in a society come together. Civil society has
therefore been the site at which, most interactions between
the state and society took place. This is the site at which,
according to Neera Chandhoke, ‘society enters into a
relationship with the state’.
The word civil society is often used to indicate the
important initiatives undertaken by the ‘actors/
organizations’ in civil society for making a positive
difference to the lives of certain sections in society. The
most important civil society organizations have been the
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-
based organizations (CBOs). Some of these NGOs play the
role of being important actors or partner in the development
paradigm. The term NGO initially conveyed a negative
meaning. Today, however, broad definition of the term
holds that every organization in society that is not part of
the government and which operates in civil society, is an
NGO. Thus, this includes such organizations as political
groups, labour and trade unions, religious bodies and
institutions, cultural societies, chamber of commerce, etc.
Conventionally, although, the word NGO referred to any
organization operating outside the government and political
sector, it has now become acceptable to think of an NGO
as the more formalized, registered, non-profit organization
created primarily for development purposes.
CONTEMPORARY DEBATES
IN DEMOCRACY
Of all the concepts none is more enigmatic and controversial
than democracy in Political Philosophy. It means different
things to different people. It is a broad canvas where various
issues are presented. It is a form of government, a way of
life, or method of adjusting differences in the society and
so on. We also have the concept of economic democracy
where the concept of economic equality is highlighted as
against the ideas of sacredness of the concept of private
property and the inherent right of an individual to create
and possess wealth with least hindrances either from State
or from Society. Both these concepts can be termed as
economic democracy. Though the Marxists term the
economic equality as Peoples Democracy and the Right of
private property as ‘Capitalist-Democracy’. This dichotomy
between the right of an individual to amass wealth and the
idea of equitable distribution of social wealth is just one
of the many apparent contradictions that feature democracy.
For instance the consideration of majority rule—which
is the central theme of a democratic system—clashes with
the views of minorities and their rights. Should not the
views of minorities be given a serious consideration while
determining the social and public policies. But by adhering
to the views of minorities a democratic government might
face a majority back lash. In India we have the terms
“minority appeasement” and “vote bank politics” being
constantly used by certain political sections who feel
majority is being ignored. The central issue is can a minority
differ from a majoritarian opinion and live freely and
fearlessly. That is the real test of a democratic political set
up. It is often said it is very easy to proclaim democracy
but difficult to sustain it over longer time. This problem is

more pertinent in the ex colonial countries and the third
world of Asia and Africa. Here we find authoritarian
totalitarian regimes being propped up where once
democracy was proclaimed.
Because democracy requires certain discipline both
from the rulers and the ruled. It takes long time to develop
democratic temperament more so if the society is
authoritarian. The essence of democracy is individual
dignity and freedom. But this value may come into conflict
with another core principle of democracy rule by majority.
What is the most significant character by which we
judge a system. A system where an individual’s sovereignty
is respected as J.S. Mill would like to have or where
collective wisdom of people is given a primary rule as
Rousseau argues. The concept of popular sovereignty, voice
of people, are as much democratic as the notion of
individual’s freedom. It is obvious that excessive emphasis
on individualism will create selfishness sometimes leading
to anarchy and over emphasis on peoples power would
lead to collectivisation and pores a threat to freedom. It is
not uncommon that the communist regimes and the
authoritarian rulers always use the term. “People” to defend
their anti-democratic policies. In modern days, we have a
debate ranging between “individual rights” vs “Group
rights” more or less emphasizing the same dilemma. The
right of a group to have its own way of life, culture, religion
is certainly democratic. Similarly the right of an individual
to dissent from group morals. Both are democratic. The
question is how to guard the encroachment of group’s
power over individuals choice. This is a challenge to modern
democracies. In view of these overlapping issues, we need
to clearly spell out certain broad features which could be
called the essence of a democratic system.
Meaning and Definition of Democracy
Like many political terms democracy is also of Greek origin.
The root “cracy” is derived from the ancient Greek word
“KRATOS”, which means power or rule. Democracy would
mean rule by Demos people at large. In this context it may
be mentioned that term was used in a negative sense in
ancient Greece. It was an undesirable rule—rule of ignorant
and uneducated masses, which would bring untold miseries
to all. After all ruling state is a specialized skill. Only very
few possess it. Rich people, aristocrats with wealth and
good education would always be better rulers than the
ignorant masses. Plato in fact, condemned democracy. He
had a reason to do so. It was the democratic Athens which
put Socrates to death. Other thinkers like Aristotle found
unrestricted democracy will result in “mob rule”. However
as the various popular movements unfolded in history with
the spread of liberalism coupled with French and American
Revolutions the idea of democracy got much reverence
and came to be treated as a desired goal.
International Relations and Area Studies 135
The much quoted definition of Lincoln on democracy—
has three types of democracies explained in it. The phrase
“government of the people” refers to the concept of direct
democracy. In this system, people will actively involve
themselves in public affairs and rule themselves. There are
no differences between rulers and ruled. They are one and
same. The phrase “by the people” is reflection of
Representative government. In modern industrial urban set
up, an ordinary citizen neither has time nor capacity to
directly participate in government affairs. He, therefore,
delegates his ‘sovereignty’ to a representative. The
representative acts on behalf of the citizens who elects him.
However the citizen still has the ultimate power. He can
recall his representative, if he is not happy with his
performance. In a way the representative governmental
system gives a legal recognition to the transformation of
‘popular sovereignty’ to “legal sovereignty”. There are of
course certain limitations in this system. Long time back
Rousseau decried the practice of elections employed in
England arguing that “the people of England are free only
when they elect their members of parliament as soon as
they are elected the people are slaves, they are nothing”.
Such views pointing out the limitations of elections,
representative system are seen in the writings of Indian
political thinkers like Jayprakash, Vinoba and Gandhi, who
would prefer a direct democracy in each village—called
panchayat system. There are different views on the
practicability of such a system.
The third phrase in Lincolns definition of democracy
as “a government for the people”, emphasizes the welfare
state. All political thinkers always emphasized this purpose
of the state. State is not an institution of coercion but an
agent of social welfare. It has a moral responsibility to
bring a remarkable change in the lives of people. The
coercive instruments of law, punishment are only means to
achieve the end of “greatest happiness to the largest
numbers”. If all the states do it, then what is the difference
between democracy and other forms of government. A noble
aristocrat or benevolent dictator many also be pursuing
welfare measures for his people. What is absent in these
“non democratic welfare states”, is the freedom to differ
from the policies of rulers, the right to criticize the short
comings’ and the ultimate power of changing the rulers.
This central point in the democratic set up of the power of
an ordinary citizen to remove the mighty rulers is all that
matters most. It makes democracy an unique system where
the real sovereignty always exists in the hands of the ruled.
In democracy the state or government is not the master but
a servant of the people. It is the people who decide what
they want. A noble dictator with all good intentions may
formulate certain policies, and the citizens would be forced
to accept them as good, even if they don’t feel so. Because
under these regimes any dissent or difference of opinion is
treated as treason. The simple rule that guides these regimes
is, rulers knows what is good for people. The ruled should
136 International Relations and Area Studies
obey it in their own interest. This philosophy is inhuman
and very anti-thesis of individuals dignity and self respect.
A citizen has a separate individuality and the duty of the
state is to provide a proper environment—through certain
pro-active measures—to develop that individuality into a
full fledged personality. Since democracy is based on the
principle that “the wearer of the shoe knows where it
pinches” it guarantees the citizen the right to say ‘no’ to
whichever policies state may introduce and whatever may
be the noble intention. In India we are witnessing farmers
refusing to give up their land for big corporates or
expressing opposition to nuclear plants. The intentions of
the govt may be genuine, the need to find alternative
sources of energy, we need to industrialize the nation to
create employment and such related things—but it is the
farmers whose land has been taken and people staying near
nuclear plant who had to face the hazards. So they should
have a right to say no or alternatively demand a fair amount
of compensation. Whatever might be the final outcome the
voice of the affected must be heard. Since it is the ordinary
man who has to bear the brunt of the consequences policies,
he should have a right to say yes or no. In this way we can
argue that democracy is a natural form of govt. Of course
the need to gain consent for the policies is felt by all
governments. They resort to emotional blackmailing—like
appealing to sentiments of people—our nation is in danger
so we must produce nuclear weapons and get approval.
Sometimes brutal force is applied. Consent is secured at the
point of gun. Stalin’s collectivisation and Mao’s policies
are examples. The intention may be genuine but consent is
not freely given. The fear of punishment or being
misinformed through false propaganda may give a
temporary approval to the policies of ruling elite of a non-
democratic system. But in the long run it would have a
serious consequences on the regime itself. The revolt of
masses against authoritarian regimes currently underway in
middle east, is a classic example of power of the people.
It is rightly said, “you can fool some people some time,
most people most times but not all the people all times”.
Democracy never allows this fooling of people as
transparency of government policies is its essential feature.
Also, there is an institutional mechanism in a democratic
system to get peoples consent. Periodic elections,
referendum, an atmosphere of free discussion prevent any
policy being imposed from above. It always evolves within.
The welfare oriented public policy being a feature of
democracy is of recent origin. In the earlier stages capitalism
and democracy were coupled together. At that stage of
history democracy meant more freedom for individual it
was basically a revolt against all forms of controls and
orders. The full development of an individual is possible
only when controls either from society or state cease. The
government represented biggest obstacle to the freedom of
individual. The best safeguard for individual’s freedom is
limiting the powers of state. “That government is best
which governs least”, was the motto of earlier thinkers like
John Locke. J.S. Mill would want freedom not only from
government but also from all social organisations. State
was an individual centred democracy. State was described
as a “Night watchman”, a necessary evil. State has to
maintain law and order internally and protect the people
from foreign aggression. The rest of the functions be left to
individuals. But a situation where state would be a mute
spectator to the economic and social forces operating would
be a fertile ground for social injustice and economic
exploitation. There was social Darwinism at work. The
poor, the marginalised sections and unorganized masses
were at be mercy of the wealthy sections. Democracy meant
luxury for rich and a curse for pool. State had implications
externally. The capitalist greed for new markets resulted in
colonialism and imperialism. The rivalry between colonial
powers led to wars. Then there was growth of rival ideologies
of communism, fascism. These ideologies promised quicker
results. Marxism especially promised economic Justice to
the exploited and blamed “capitalistic Democracy for all
the evils”. A famous Russians Revolutionary Trotsky
declared, “Democracy to be irretrievably bourgeois and
counter revolutionary”. A communist party secretary
declared in Hamburg in 1926 that “he would rather burn in
the fire of revolution than perish in the dung heap of
Democracy”. The fight against colonialism also took a
radical turn where equality became forefront in place of
individual freedom. The countries which were ruled by
colonial powers wanted a new set up where state would
take more pro-active role in mitigating poverty rather than
remain a night watchman. Communism, socialism became
attractive. State was under these challenger that democracy
exhibited its characters of self correction.
There are two aspects that govern the operation of
democratic political system. One the regular political action
of bargaining, wherein different groups, put forward their
demands in an atmosphere of competition and get their
demands satisfied. This is a normal political activity, about
which Lasswell described politics is about “who gets what
and how”. But there is a larger aspect of democracy. That
is visionary politics. This we call it self-correcting aspect.
New challenger require a visionary approach. It is this
visionary approach that made the European nations to
retrospectively look at the drawbacks of free economic
policies and capitalistic mode of production. The evils of
free enterprise were clear. Economic disparity, exploitation
of labour and concentration of wealth in a few hands. It
also led to unemployment. So a policy was formulated.
State became a central player in economic activity. The
purpose of state is “to make lives better”. Progressive
taxation and state sponsored welfare activities became order
of the day. Effective legislation was introduced, limiting
the hours of work, providing minimum wages and
safeguarding worker’s interest. State took the responsibility
of providing basic requirements like food, cloth and shelter

to the citizens. Old age pension, unemployment allowances
were introduced. State’s activities multiplied yet it did not
become a totalitarian setup. The principle of freedom of
choice remained. What the new democratic system did was
to provide basic infrastructure to cater to social needs
leaving the freedom of choice to its members. For instance
state may provide liberal grants to educational sector, but
it would not interfere in the content of education. The fact
that in US Universities, there are courses on communism or
critical study or US economic policies—despite these
institutions receive grants from the govt—clearly show
that controlling the mind is not what a democratic state
would attempt to do. The subtle difference between state
which is basically a legal institution with coercive power
and society—which is a combination of many voluntary
associations and has a pluralistic approach is strictly
maintained. State will help society but would not dominate
it. It gives enough freedom for society and its associations
to develop without interference. This is essence of freedom
of choice. The new democratic set up sustained it.
Democracy firmly believes in pluralism. It allows different
often contradictory views to prevail and flourish in a
society. Where complete freedom is given. In such an
atmosphere of churning of different views could lead to
find a way to the new challenges. Wherever Democracy
failed it is lack of this visionary approach.
So the modern Democratic government is not a negative
government. It is pro-active yet puts its own limitations in
operating. Joseph Schumpeter in his work, Capitalism,
Socialism and Democracy, clearly gave this new meaning
where he said, “Democratic method is that institutional
arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which
individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a
competitive struggle for the people’s vote”.
Types of Democracies
We tend to treat liberalism and democracy as one and same
and often use the term ‘liberal democracy’. However
historically this was not the case. There were several
“Liberals” who had a contemptuous view of the ‘masses’
the real rulers in a democracy. The seeming similarity of
liberalism and democracy is because of the values they
represent individual freedom, diversity, equality and
peaceful approach to solving social and political problems
are common to both liberalism and democracy. However
this attitude is of recent origin. Earlier the ideas of liberalism
and democracy clashed. Traditionally ‘liberals’ opposed
democracy. It was only at the end of 19th century that the
liberals reluctantly conceded to some of the major demands
of democracy like equality in political sphere. Universal
adult Franchise, right to contest electors which are essential
to Democracy were not to the liking of liberals. Their main
concern was “Right to property” which they claimed as
natural. They wanted it to be protected from monarchs.
Infact after second world war many liberals pleaded for an
International Relations and Area Studies 137
elite type of government rather than democratic. They
preferred a technocratic government as the issues were too
complicated they doubted the wisdom of ordinary man to
understand it. The mass participation in public affairs was
discouraged. But all states would like to call themselves
democratic. This was a trend in post world war II. Because
there is a virtue in that name. John Dunn argues, “all states
today profess to be democratic because a democracy is
what is a virtuous for a state to be”. In view of the divergent
meanings associated with the terms Robert Dahl uses the
term “polyarchies” instead of democracy. According to
him, “Democracy, liberalism and capitalism are all
alternative names for the same thing”. This view is
challenged by others.
Historically speaking the Liberals were not democrats.
The conservative critics of Liberals accused them as ‘being
Democratic’ it was a slur. If we analyze certain basic
elements which constituted classical liberalism and contrast
with today’s conceptions of democracy we find how
contradictory these two ideologies are! John Locke the
father of Classical Liberalism never thought it fit to plead
for universal Franchise. In his classic volume Two Treatise
of Government, we find him pleading passionately for
voting rights to white men, landowners and merchants. The
ordinary man and his rights were never mentioned. If we
study the British constitutional history, we notice how the
term “Democracy” was conceived as a dangerous trend that
could destroy the well established conventions. King
Charles (1600-1649) accused the British parliament of his
time—which has taken him as a prisoner—“harbouring to
bring Democracy”. However it did not mean that the anti-
monarchical forces were anywhere sympathetic to ‘common
man’. It is a historical record that neither Oliver Cromwell,
who led the war against monarch nor his puritan gentry
believed in Democracy. At that time in England there was
a social movement called “Levelers” with a leftist
orientation. But their programs clearly stated to exclude
“servants” and “Paupers” from Franchise. The ‘Cromwellers’,
were alarmed that the egalitarian ethos of Liberalism might
challenge the privileges of aristocrats with the demand for
a share in political power through extended franchise. The
American theorist de Tocqueville (1805-1859) described
the American government of his time as “Democratic”. But
the only democratic aspect that could be observed as late
as 1860 was the principles of checks and balances.
As mentioned earlier the traditional liberal’s concern
was the need to “safeguarding private property”. Since the
kings used to loot the property of rich for their selfish
desires it was but natural that the wealthy sections—who
were termed as liberals—wanted to build a protective ring
in the name of natural Rights to protect their wealth from
Royal encroachment. So all their opposition to absolute
power of government and the demand for liberty and
freedom boils down to a single point of “Right to property”.
2105 (MA–IR)—18
138 International Relations and Area Studies
For them property right is essential to survival of
democracy. Modern days democratic ideals like economic
equality, Justice and protection against economic
exploitation were not to be found in traditional liberal
theory of democracy. Madison, one of the founders of US
constitution records in Federalist Papers that democracy is
incomplete without Right to property. Because it gives
security and protection. Thomas Jefferson opined that
“voters should be male farmers who owned property”.
Nobody could claim United States to be democratic during
that period, with existence of slavery and expropriation of
property and wealth of native Americans or Red Indians as
they were called. The concept of equality was anathema for
the thinkers of that period. Infact a US government
publication in 1920 condemned democracy. It ran
“Democracy a government of masses attitude towards
property is communistic negating property rights results in
demagoguism license, agitation, discontent and anarchy”.
The modern democratic ideals of “extending the power
base to include marginalized sections to have a say in
public affairs”. Is too radical for traditionalists. Their ideal
is exclusiveness of a few wealthy and educated class from
all encroachments whether by sovereign government or
society. Infact J.S. Mill wanted individual sovereignty as
against ‘community good’. That is their conception of
freedom and democracy. Basically they were conservative.
Tension, writes “Liberals did not intend innovation of
universal rights to all adults”.
Despite its short sighted approach on social issues,
traditional liberalism stressed the need for individual dignity
freedom and warned against the autocratic powers of
absolute government. There points were developed by later
writers to provide a modern democratic theory.
Essential Features of Modern Liberal
Democracy
During second world period certain fascist powers coined
a term known as “Guided Democracy”. That system was
abusing democracy. It was a façade to justify autocrat rulers.
It believes in the superiority of leaders to guide people for
their betterment. The ruled are duty bound to obey the
rulers for their own good. Such false theories are presented
in some dictatorial regimes in Afro-Asian and Latin
American countries. Similarly the talk of people’s
democracy in communist countries. These are deceptive
terms. These regimes lack certain basic features which
constitute a genuine democracy. The following are the
conditions required to call a regime democratic.
 The existence of more than one political party. We
have noticed how the existence of a single
centralized party would result in stifling opposition
and it can never contribute to the growth of
democratic ethos. While the existence of multiple
political parties would result in political instability
and frequent elections a well established two or
three political parties with clear cut ideologies is a
prerequisite of Democratic politics. The system gives
a choice to the citizens to try different political
parties. They can change the rulers if dissatisfied
with be present regime and the method would work
as a warning to the ruling elite to be careful and not
to take the public support for granted.
 Regular elections under an independent supervisory
body is the second feature. There should be periodic
elections which should be conducted peacefully.
There should be constitutional provision to conduct
elections at regular intervals. The other
corresponding rights that go with this provision, is
right to vote, right to contest elections freedom to
form political parties and an opportunity to
propagate one’s political views. In some countries
there is a provision for government financing election
expenses to prevent the money pow er from
corrupting the system.
 Since Democracy believes in freedom of thought, it
is necessary that a democratic state should be a
secular state. Any theological indoctrination
supported by ruling regimes goes against the very
spirit of free thought. A citizen in a democracy has
a right to practice any religion or remain as an
atheist. Nobody should compel him. Normally
secularism means govt will be neutral in religious
matters and gives religious freedom to its citizens.
 The free play of different social and political ideas,
results in fostering the Democratic temperament in
a society. A citizen should cultivate the habit of
tolerating different ideas even if he does not
necessarily agree with them. Truth is not the
monopoly of any one section in a society. It needs
to be discovered in an atmosphere of free exchange
of ideas. This is the central theme of Democratic
thought. So a Democratic government is also duty
found to provide for such a free atmosphere. So the
institutional arrangement like free press, academic
freedom, freedom of information, Right to get access
to government policies are some of the measures
that can generate free thought. Any type of
censorship on books, political bodies and films and
such offer media would be anti-democratic in nature.
 Since modern states are—multicultural, multiracial
and multireligious in their composition a Democratic
government is duty bound to protect this diversified,
pluralistic society. This is being achieved through
a policy of reservation for minorities to prevent
majoritarian hegemony. Also a policy of affirmative
action will be initiated for the uplift of disorganized
groups. So, the clear declaration of minority rights,

a welfare oriented government policy with a touch
of positive discrimination is the salient feature of a
modern Democracy.
 There should be the institutional safe guards for the
freedoms enjoyed by the citizens. These freedoms
are their natural rights. They are not provided by
the state. People get these rights by birth.
Government will provide proper institutional backup
for their sterilization. These institutional
arrangements are the independent Judiciary,
constitutional provision for Fundamental Rights and
a provision for separation of powers in gout to
avoid concentration of power.
 Liberty and equality are two cornerstones on which
the edifice of Democracy is built. The concepts like
rule of law, equality before low, absence of special
privileges, non-discrimination on basis of birth,
caste, race or gender is essential for Democracy.
 Democracy believes in the capacity of an individual
to manage his affairs and in his capacity to play an
effective role in public affairs. For that an individual
should be allowed to have his own way of life.
Nobody should impose a code of conduct of set of
attitudes on him. His personality can be fully
developed only in a free atmosphere of freedom. As
a matter of policy democracy is against collectivism.
It strives for individualism. In a clash between group
rights and individual rights, democracy would plead
for individual rights.
 Financial independence is required for an individual
to be free and this is possible when he is allowed
to have some property. It is the economic security
that makes an individual to develop his personality
in the way he likes. So right to private property is
another feature of a Democracy. This right is what
differentiates Democracy from other forms of
governments.
This is opposed by radicals that this provision would
result in economic inequalities and exploration. But a
collectivization kills the individual incentive. We need to
find a via media. Individual’s right to make property may
be controlled, so that the twin policies of economic equality
and individual’s right to become rich are achieved. This is
achieved in democracies through a policy of progressive
taxation and welfare policies. Any forceful acquisition of
property is termed as anti-democratic.
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY AND LIBERALISM
Ideology is the bunch of normative principles, by and
large, pertaining to philosophy, politics and society. It
must also be pointed out that abstract ideas in themselves
do not make up ideology but they certainly are certainly
International Relations and Area Studies 139
the substantive segment of an ideological structure.
Ideology may also be called a collection of ideas, or beliefs
regarding the social, political, economic and cultural issues
which spells out the worldview of a person, group, state or
society. In other words ideology epitomises the commitment
of its aficionado in the bunch of principles of which it is
composed of. Ideology is the normative means through
which changes could be brought about in socio-political
sphere or it may be exploited to justify the continuation of
the existing socio-political order. In the fields of politics
and economics, in particular, ideological stances play a
pivotal role. Though the sets of ideas in various social
sciences such as philosophy, politics, economics, history,
sociology etc have been existence since the beginning of
intellectual activities of humankind, the usage of the term
‘ideology’ itself is of recent origin. It is usually believed
that the term got the currency in the aftermath of the
French Revolution w hen various groups of the
revolutionaries having varied, and often, opposite
viewpoints on philosophical, social, political and economic
issues entered into heated debates and arguments with each
other. According to scholars it was Destutt de Tracy who
coined the term ‘ideology’ in 1796 in the backdrop of
verbal clashes on standpoints that were going on among
his contemporaries. It is apparent that the term is the
combination of two words, idea and logy. By combining
the two de Tracy attempted to create a ‘science of ideas’.
The ‘science of ideas’, according to de Tracy, comprises
ideology, general grammar and logic. Later, de Tracy’s
ideas proved the main source of inspiration for the French
revolutionaries who transformed the Revolutionary
Government into a democratic polity with rationalism as a
predominant value.
Meaning, Definition and Characteristics of
Ideology
The meaning of ideology is, therefore, is that segment of
the ‘science of ideas’ that determines its subject-matter. In
other words, any viewpoint that is presented in an incoherent
language and illogical manner cannot qualify to be called
an ideology. It must also be noted that immediately after
its prevalence, the term ideology was also used in a
derogatory sense by Napoleon Bonaparte to ridicule his
political opponents whom he preferred to call the
‘ideologues’.
Another French scholar, Hippolyte Taine presents
another meaning of ideology in his famed work, Origin of
Contemporary France. He establishes an analogy between
ideology and the method of Socrates through which he
would teach philosophy to his pupils. Taine, however,
pointed out that ideology differs from Socratic method of
teaching in two respects—first, it presents itself in the
common language that can be widely understood and, two,
it avoids citing patterns based on observation that is the
common procedure in practical science. In the contemporary
140 International Relations and Area Studies
world ideology has come to mean a value-free term that
makes the analysis of a set of value-loaded ideas possible.
Though the term still has its relevance in philosophy, its
contemporary usage is predominant in politics and
economics. It must also be added that it is not proper to
make value judgements on account of factual realities about
various ideologies. No ideology in itself is either right or
wrong. It is, in fact, a subjective preference, indicating the
norms and standards of its advocate. A believer in a
particular ideology does not make his choice of norms on
the basis of an inductive process. His belief in a set of his
ideas is beyond the purview of factual scrutiny. It is more
about what ought to be rather than what is. According to
William A. Mullins identifies the four basic characteristics
of ideology. They are: (i) it must have power over cognition;
(ii) it must be capable of guiding one’s evaluations; (iii) it
must provide guidance towards action; and (iv) it must be
logically coherent.
A simple definition of ideology can be—it is a
collection of ideas that reflect the aspirations and values of
an individual, group, state or society. The most reasoned
statement of Karl Marx with reference to ideology can be
found in The German Ideology, which he wrote jointly
with Frederick Engels. They contend that ideology
corresponds to the “production of ideas, of conceptions, of
consciousness” by men. These ideas comprise the mode of
politics, laws, ethical standards and religion. Marx and
Engels argue that ideology serves as the superstructure of
a society and most importantly “the ruling ideas” at a
particular stage of history are in fact the ideas of the ruling
class. In their words: “The ruling ideas are nothing more
than the ideal expression of the dominant material
relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped
as ideas; hence of the relationships which make the one
class the ruling one, therefore, the ideas of their
dominance.” A Marxist thinker, Terry Eagleton points out
that an ideology may legitimize itself “by promoting beliefs
and values congenial to it; naturalizing and universalizing
such beliefs so as to render them self-evident and apparently
inevitable…” Eagleton claims that the most widely accepted
definition of ideology has been provided by John B.
Thompson, who states: “To study ideology is to study the
ways in which it serves to sustain relation of domination.”
Louis Althusser, a French Marxist philosopher, underscores
that “ideology…is indispensible in any society if men are
to be formed, transformed and equipped to respond to the
demands of their conditions of existence”. It is not the
propensity of the Marxists alone who define ideology as a
set of ideas cherishes by the dominant class; some non-
Marxist scholars too hold the similar view. For instance,
Karl Mannheim, a non-Marxist intellectual, contends that
ideology seeks to preserve the status quo.
It must also be noted that ideology does not have a
solitary mode of usage. It is used differently depending
upon the socio-political situation and the objectives and
aspirations of its adherents. According to David Minar, the
term ideology is usually used to mean six different manners.
They are: (a) as a collection of certain ideas with certain
kinds of content, usually normative; (b) as the form or
internal logical structure that ideas have within a set; (c)
by the role in which ideas play in human-social interaction;
(d) by the role that ideas play in the structure of an
organization; (e) as meaning, whose purpose is persuasion;
and (f ) as the locus of social interaction, possibly.
Political Ideologies
Political ideologies constitute one of the core components
of the study of Political Science. It is through the study of
political ideologies that the students of the discipline of
politics get to know how power is variedly located in
different polities. A political ideology serves as the guiding
force in matters of apportion of power and the objectives
to be achieved by locating power in the manner congruent
to the core of the ideology. Thus, political ideology can be
defined as a set of ideas that are essentially about the
governmental form, economic system and structure of
society. It should also be noted that every kind of political
order legitimizes its existence and continuation on the
basis of its political ideology. In this sense political
ideology is a constant irrespective of form of the
government. In a democracy that implies the existence of
competing political parties, political ideology plays a more
conspicuous role because each political party adheres to a
political ideology. In this sense we witness a series of
contests between numerous of political ideologies in a
multi-party democracy. It is another matter whether a
particular political party steadfastly sticks to its declared
political ideology or not. It is for this reason observers of
leading democracies find difference in theory and praxis of
political ideology. It is an area that falls in the category
behavioural approach to the study of politics. In theory,
our focus should be majorly on the set of ideas, principles,
doctrines, symbols and myths that collectively constitute
political ideology of a political group, institution or class.
A political ideology is a significant tool in analyzing
the political ends and to some extent the political processes
of a polity. In case of almost all the non-democratic political
orders, political ideology serves the interests of the tyrants,
monarchs, dictators, oligarchs, military juntas and party
bureaucrats to legitimize and perpetuate their rule. In
democracies, it helps electorates make informed political
choices. In this context we must refer to the two dimensions
of political ideology viz. the ends or goals and the methods
through which the ends can be best achieved. Every ruler,
even a tyrant, declares that the ultimate purpose of his rule
is to achieve certain goals that according to his political
ideology are in the interest of the nation and the people.
In conjunction with this, he also asserts that the means that
he has opted for are the best that will yield the desired

objectives. In democracies the similar exercise is done by
political parties. Nonetheless, a democratic polity is morally
superior because the means of achieving the declared
objectives are based on the principles of political
egalitarianism, accountability and political justice.
Political ideologies are concerned with almost all the
significant aspect of society. In addition to the core issues
like governmental form, economic system and social
structure, political ideologies are also concerned about
religion, race, language, education, health care, labour laws,
criminal laws, national security, social security, trade and
commerce, immigration and foreign policy. The respective
stances of the rulers and especially of the political parties
on these issues determine the kind of their political
ideology. One must be careful not to confuse political
ideology with political strategies or individual issues that
may be taken up by political parties from time to time for
electoral gains. Though a political party, more often than
not, campaigns for certain issues or plans political strategies
which are compatible with its core ideology, it may
occasionally sponsor certain issue in view of popular
sentiment of common people about it. It can be better
defined as populism rather than political ideology.
It is also surprising that political parties are usually
classified on account of their position on economic systems
rather than on political issues. For instance, the most popular
typology of political parties is categorizing them as Left,
Centre, Right, Left-of-the-Centre or Right-of-the-Centre. In
this political spectrum Left epitomises Communist/ Socialist,
Centre stands for an economic ideology that combines the
features of socialist and free market economies (mixed
economy) while Right represents Capitalism/free market. It
is obvious now that a Left-of-the-Centre political party is
the one that believes in mixed economy but as a rule tilts
towards socialism. Similarly, a Right-of-the-Centre party
despite the fact that it sponsors mixed-economy but
frequently turns in the direction of free market economy.
In political terms political parties are likely to adhere
to one or combination of more than one political systems
that can be identifies as: Absolutism (ruler or a ruling
clique that has unlimited powers), Anarchism (absence of
government, laws, police or any authority. A system that
works on self-regulation), Aristocracy (rule of the elite),
Autocracy (absolute rule of an individual), Conservatism
(preserves status quo, supports free market economy and
stands for minimum government intervention in socio-
economic matters), Democracy (People’s government that
function through elected representatives), Dictatorship (rule
of a person who controls absolute powers), Fascism (rule of
a brute majority defined in terms of race, religion or
ethnicity that enslaves minorities and working class),
Monarchy (rule of a king or queen wherein power to rule
is transferred on the basis of heredity), Oligarchy (rule of
a group of wealthy people that monopolises all power),
International Relations and Area Studies 141
Theocracy (religious rule wherein all the powers are wielded
by the priest-class of the dominant religion) etc.
In the contemporary uni-polar world, which is
characterised by the unabashed show and use of military
power by the USA, a couple of intellectuals have already
declared the death of ideology by defining the current
preeminence of the USA as the final victory of liberal
democracy and free market economy. Francis Fukuyama,
an American social scientist of Japanese origin, is the most
popular representative of this school of thought.
Nevertheless, it must be underscored that this tendency of
rejoicing over the ideological clash is not a new one.
Fifteen years after the end of the World War II, a British
intellectual, Daniel Bell, did a similar exercise by writing
a book, the End of Ideology, in which he had argued that
Socialism and Capitalism, the two dominant ideologies of
the nineteenth century were no more relevant because the
post-War world had opted for the ideal of Welfare State
that borrowed the best features of the two competing
economic systems. Subsequent developments proved him
wrong. Similarly, Fukuyama’s passionate advocacy for
globalisation of market economy and liberal democracy
that he did with much grandiosity in his End of History
and the Last Man also proved to be short lived. The rise
of fundamentalism in the Muslim-dominated world, the
emergence of China as an economic giant with a non-
democratic and ostensibly Communist political system and
the economic slump in the USA and some other Western
countries are some of the developments that have rendered
the impulsive optimism of Fukuyama about the triumph of
market economy and liberal democracy erroneous. Political
Ideology seems to possess an uncanny streak for survival
since the beginning.
Liberalism
Though liberalism is a well-known political doctrine
especially in the context of democracy, it is not exactly a
well-structured ideology in the sense Marxism, socialism
or fascism. It is more like an umbrella school of thought
that is based on the ideas of liberty and equality that
themselves may have varied subtexts relative to worldview
of the liberal thinkers defining them. The term is rooted in
the Latin word liber, which means free. Thus, the English
term ‘liberalism’ entails the existence of a democratic order
wherein people enjoy various sorts of freedom besides being
politically and socially equal. Liberalism that is majorly
associated with Western liberal democracies invariably
favours free market economy or markets with limited and
reasonable state control, constitutionalism, free and fair
elections, freedom of religion and protection of human
rights.
Liberalism as a political ideology, in fact, made its
appearance after European Renaissance and its resultant
phase, the Age of Enlightenment, which had demolished
142 International Relations and Area Studies
many metaphysical theories that, until then, had their sway
in almost all human affairs. For instance, the Divine Origin
Theory that had politically empowered the church and
justified absolute monarchy as a legitimate form of
government came to be discredited in the writings of John
Locke who was the earliest British liberal thinker and is
rightfully called the father of liberalism. In place of Divine
Origin Theory, Locke presented his Theory of Social
Contract that had significant liberal principles such as
natural rights of people including right to life, liberty and
property, rule of law and a government with the consent of
the governed. Subsequently, liberalism was the driving
force behind American and French Revolutions whose
perpetrators were hugely inspired by liberal ideas to cause
the downfall of unjust and oppressive rules. Quite a few
governments in Europe and Americas became committed to
liberalism in the nineteenth century. Though liberalism
had to face serious challenges from other political ideologies
such as communism and fascism in nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, it managed to withstand the onslaughts. As a
result of this, in the present day world liberalism has a
dominant presence in many countries.
Core Ideas of Liberalism
Though a few ideas that are essential notions of liberalism
such as equal rights of men, freedom of speech and freedom
of the governed could be traced in some of the philosophical
and intellectual traditions of Ancient Greece, as a political
ideology it is a modern concept that emerged in the
seventeenth century. Since then it has stirred the intellectual
faculties of quite a few thinkers across the world who put
forth a sizable body of various and sometimes differing
ideas that constitute the principles of liberalism .
Nevertheless, the wide array of ideas makes the task
presenting a compact definition of liberalism a daunting
exercise. It is not surprising, therefore, that one notices
“separate and often contradictory streams of thought” as
part of liberalism.
In spite of the fact that liberalism appears to be an
amalgamation of varied and differing notions, we can still
identify some core ideas that are the essentials of the
ideology. It is widely held that liberalism is “a philosophy
about the meaning of humanity and society”. According to
John Gray, a renowned political thinker, individualism,
egalitarianism and universalism are prominent components
of liberalism. Individualism asserts the dignity and worth
of individual that should not be undermined because of the
coercion of society. An individual despite his social
standing, political views and economic status must have
the freedoms that are available to everyone in a democratic
polity. Egalitarianism is one of the cardinal principles of
liberalism. In the absence of social and political equality
one cannot imagine the existence of a liberal democracy.
It must, however, be underscored that liberal thinkers do
not usually stress on economic egalitarianism for quite a
few of them believe that any project that seeks to establish
economic equality conversely injures the principle of
individual liberty. However, all the liberal thinkers do not
hold such a view; a few of them, in response to the problems
of the underdeveloped and developing nations, approve of
economic equity rather than economic equality. Social
equality is characterised by weakening the primacy of racial,
religious, linguistic, (in case of India, casteist) and gender
differences for the sake of a society based on true social
egalitarianism. Weakening of religious primacy is a very
significant factor because it helps establish a secular society
and polity that is one of the hallmarks of liberalism. The
principle of universal adult suffrage epitomises the gist of
political egalitarianism. Additionally, the electoral process
must be truly transparent and free wherein political parties
representing varied political ideologies should have
complete freedom to compete and contest.
The three famous thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment
viz. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau
laid down the foundation of political liberalism. Of the
three the first two are significant from the point of view of
early phase of liberalism. Though their theories of Social
Contract differ from each other in many respects, they were
among the earliest thinkers who released socio-political
affairs from the clutches of religion and helped develop
political discourse on secular lines. Hobbes theory of social
contract revealed the origin and ends of the state and also
ascertained the justification for the existence of political
authority. However, Hobbes was not exactly a liberal thinker
as he held that absolute monarchy was the ideal form of
government. John Locke’s prominence as a founding thinker
of British liberalism is because of his insistence on certain
natural rights such as right to life, liberty and property,
which according to him are inalienable and the political
authority cannot abrogate them under any circumstances.
Moreover, Locke had underlined the rights of the people
to constantly monitor the functioning of the political
authority and remove from power a corrupt ruler. His social
contract was based on the availability of natural rights to
the people and rule of law which have ultimately become
the core principles of liberalism. Locke’s advocacy for a
responsible political authority helped develop the concept
of a limited government, another principle of liberalism
that was very much favoured by the liberal intellectuals till
the end of the nineteenth century.
Among the prominent liberals who expounded their
thought between seventeenth and nineteenth centuries
particularly in England, the contributions of two of them
is monumental in the history of liberalism. Adam Smith
lived and wrote at a time when industrialism was in the
initial stages. Through his concept of laissez-faire he
advocated a bare minimum state control in the economic
affairs. He fervently argued for commercial activities that
should be absolutely free of state interference. John Stuart

Mill originally belonged to the school of utilitarianism.
However, the publication of his remarkable essay, On
Liberty, in 1859 made him one of the tallest liberal thinkers.
Dealing with the most significant principle of liberalism
Mill argued, “the only freedom which deserves the name,
is that of pursuing our own good in our own way”. Thus,
the combination of laissez faire with the passionate
advocacy of Mill for liberty produced the kind of liberalism
that was firmly embedded in capitalism. During the twentieth
century Friedrich Hayek, who later came to be associated
with neoliberalism, was the prominent exponent of this
brand of liberalism. In his book, The Road to Serfdom,
published in 1944, Hayek contended that creation of free
markets serves as a deterrence to the emergence of a
totalitarian government. This is, however, considered to be
a negative version of liberalism. In the late nineteenth
century, a British thinker, Thomas Hill Green presented his
positive version of liberalism by rejecting the cardinal idea
of negative liberalism that an individual is always driven
by self-interest. Green also emphasised on the moral facet
of human personality. He provided enough space to society
and state in ensuring individual liberty and human dignity.
Green’s views majorly influenced the modern version of
liberalism.
Most liberals believed that limitation on governmental
authority would automatically ensure the corresponding
increase in the freedom of the people. Consequently,
thinkers such as Baron de Montesquieu and James Madison
put forth theories of ‘separation of powers’ suggesting that
the powers of the three organs of the government—
legislature, executive and judiciary—must be separated to
circumvent the possibility of a government turning into an
absolute dictatorial machinery. The adherents of social
liberalism have an abiding faith in a limited constitutional
government that also makes available social services with
the purpose of protecting equal rights of the people. Modern
school of liberalism which is often called Social Liberalism,
recommends a larger and effective role of the government
in the economic affairs of the state because in the absence
of economic and material benefits, mere constitutional
guarantees of individual rights become a charade. Modern
school of liberalism firmly establishes a link with a liberal
democracy which is diametrically opposed to what Mills
called as the tyranny of majority. Modern liberals such as
Alexis de Tocqueville keenly insist that a democracy
committed to liberalism must create proper safeguards to
protect the right of the minorities.
Liberty and equality have always been the central
ideas of liberalism while various thinkers have kept adding
other notions such as pluralism, toleration etc. to the
doctrine. For free market proponents like Smith, Mill and
Hayek liberty, especially in economic affairs, is of
paramount importance while socially committed liberals
such as Voltaire equality should have primacy over liberty.
International Relations and Area Studies 143
In the words of Voltaire “equality is at once the most
natural and at times the most chimeral of things”. The
belief that any state project to establish an egalitarian
society necessarily leads to the denial or undermining of
individual liberty is fallacious. In fact the two notions are
complimentary to each other and in the absence of any one
of them liberalism turn out to be a charade. The real test
for a liberal polity is, therefore, to ensure liberty of the
people along with guaranteeing equality. In this context
John Rawls theory of social justice assumes to have greater
significance. Rawls’ theory is a brilliant endeavour to fuse
the concepts of liberty and equality in such a way that the
concept of social justice becomes a reality. The essence of
the theory is consisted of the two principles. The first one
speaks about each one having the same claim over basic
liberties that are available to every other member of the
society. The second principle provides that social and
economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions: (a)
they are to be attached to offices and positions open to all
under conditions of fair equality of opportunity; (b) they
are to be the greatest benefit of the least advantaged
members of society. Rawls believed that his theory of social
justice can be truly translated into reality in constitutional
democracy wherein markets do exist with state regulation.
John Rawls has been the foremost liberal thinker of the
twentieth century.
In its history of three hundred years, liberalism has
attracted admiration and condemnation from intellectuals
and thinkers depending on their ideological affiliations. It
is quite strange that while a group of scholars argue that
liberalism is in fact the driving force behind feminism
while another groups holds the contrary view emphasising
that a democratic polity having liberalism as the operating
principle does not effectively step up the process of
realization of feminist objectives. A major attack on
liberalism came from Edmund Burke who by criticising the
ideals of French Revolutions viz. liberty, equality and
power of rationality had in fact defended conservatism.
The advocates of conservatism assault the concepts such as
liberty, progress and material well-being of the people on
the ground that they damage the traditional values of a
community. The supporters of classical Marxism reject the
idea of a state based on liberalism for, in their opinion, it
invariably helps capitalists, the exploiters of the working
class. In any case the ultimate objective of classical Marxism
is to establish a classless, stateless socialist society. The
idea of social democracy developed in the twentieth century
that attempts to invalidates the glaring defects of capitalism
by means of pro-people reforms. It also accommodates the
institution of state by allotting it significant role to bring
about the desired social and economic reforms. Presently,
quite a few democratic states have committed themselves
to the objectives of social democracy.
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Neoliberalism
Opposed to the concept of social liberalism or social
dem ocracy is the ideology of neoliberalism that
passionately supports economic liberalisation, free trade
and open markets. It majorly addresses the economic issues
in a liberal polity by advocating abolition of state-
controlled business ventures and thus paving the way for
complete privatisation of economic sphere. It must be
pointed out that though free market exponents had always
been in the forefront to attack state-controlled economy,
they could develop an aggressive theory of capitalism in
the form of neoliberalism only when the erstwhile USSR
showed sign of economic and political decline in the late
1980s. Since then the term of neoliberalism has been in
excessive use in the lexicon of political and economic
literature. Nevertheless, the term “neoliberalism” was
originally coined by the German scholar Alexander Rustow
in 1938. He defined the concept of neoliberalism as “the
priority of the price mechanism, the free enterprise, the
system of competition and a strong and impartial state”.
Neoliberalism as an ideology was popularised by the
Chicago school of economics and was later passionately
promoted by US and West European governments by
unabashed economic and military interventions particularly
in hapless developing and underdeveloped world. Thus, in
the initial phase of economic globalisation, neoliberalism
has been the ideological force behind its ardent exponents.
Neoliberalism implies a limited role to the institution of
state by advocating complete deregulation of economic
activities, doing away with social welfare projects, abolition
of all kinds of subsidies even in the areas of health,
education and housing and abolition of progressive labour
laws.
David Harvey in his A Brief History of Neoliberalism
writes: “Neoliberalism is in the first instance a theory of
political economic practices that proposes that human well-
being can best be advanced by liberating individual
entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional
framework characterized by strong private property rights,
free markets and free trade. The role of the state is to create
and preserve an institutional framework appropriate to such
practices. The state has to guarantee, for example, the quality
and integrity of money. It must also set up those military,
defence, police and legal structures and functions required
to secure private property rights and to guarantee, by force
if need be, the proper functioning of markets.” It is
interesting to note that neoliberalism expects the state to
play a proactive role in creating conditions favourable to
free markets and private entrepreneurial activities. It also
demands that the state should perform the defence and
police duties obviously to protect the material interest of
the business class. However, neoliberalism does not allow
the state to play any role whatsoever in the field of social
welfare or undertake projects to uplift the lot of the poorer
sections of society.
Friedrich Hayek, who emerged as the main supporter of
neoliberalism made a strong plea for the prevalence of rule
of law in a neoliberal democracy. It is obvious that the
capitalist class can only hope to protect its material gains
only in a state where rule of law prevails. The protection
of law enforcing agencies is not a basic necessity for those
who do not own any property. Hayek has, however, shrewdly
disguised laws behind the facade of traditions. He labels
traditions as laws and the practice of traditions as rule of
law. It is not surprising, therefore, that Hayek, a supporter
of limited government, strongly advocates the coercive
power of the state to restrain “deception and fraud” that
might be detrimental to the interests of big business houses.
Hayek has also backed the principle of equality before law
for it treats all including the ruling elite and the destitute
members of society equally. He is, however, silent about
the principle of equal protection of the laws for obvious
reasons. He is a fervent supporter of individual liberty and
holds that every individual is responsible for his actions.
Taking a cue from Hayek, some neoliberal commentators
believe that if an individual is accountable for his actions
then voluntary slavery which an adult person willfully
joins cannot be termed as illegal.
Another notable neoliberal thinker Milton Friedman
argues in his famous work, Capitalism and Freedom, that
state controlled economy not only results in sluggishness
in economic development but also impair the conditions
necessary for the enjoyment of political freedom. He
believes that economic freedom is the most significant
component of the very concept of freedom and its absence
is synonymous to the denial of freedom. He contends that
state-controlled economy, more often than not, shows the
way to political repression. Nonetheless, the economic
slump that commenced in the USA and the industrialised
world in 2008 has proved quite a few arguments of the
neoliberal economists as inaccurate. The process of
globalisation that was seen as the triumph of neoliberalism
is on the wane to the extent that most Western countries
are slowly but firmly introducing certain economic policies
that remind us of protectionism.
MARXISM AND SOCIALISM
No other economic-political ideology has had so much
impact all across the world as Marxism had during the
twentieth century. Prior to the collapse of the USSR in the
late 1980s more than half the population of the world was
living under various sorts of communist regimes, all of
which officially claimed to be based on Marxist ideas.
Marxism is in essence an economic philosophy that presents
its own worldview about social and political phenomena.
The concepts involved in Marxian theory are: (a)
materialistic interpretation of history; (b) a dialectical
approach to understand social change; and (c) a critical
assessment of the history of capitalism. Most ideas that

jointly go by the name of classical Marxism are based on
the writings of Karl Marx (1818-1883), a German
philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist
and revolutionary socialist whose ideas had tremendously
shaped the progress of almost all areas of knowledge and
they still continue to have been influential in various
disciplines of knowledge. In 1848, Marx in collaboration
with Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) wrote a slim booklet of
twelve thousand words, The Communist Manifesto, that
was to change the course of world history permanently in
less than seventy years after its publication. Engels was a
political philosopher of German-English descent who met
Marx in September 1844, and their friendship produced a
remarkable body of revolutionary ideas. Besides the
Communist Manifesto, the two friend also co-authored The
Holy Family and had also brought about a revolutionary
political newspaper from Cologne that had a short life
because it was banned by the German authorities. Though
Marx produced a huge amount of books, his most celebrated
work is Capital, a critique of capitalist economy, in three
volumes. Marxism is an ever-increasing increasing
ideology. Many scholars across the world keep interpreting,
reinterpreting, adding new dimensions and adapting the
classical theory of Marxism in different settings and at
different times. What we are going to discuss here are the
basic ideas of classical Marxism to which Karl Marx himself
preferred to call scientific socialism.
Dialectical Materialism
The foundation of M arxism is w hat is know n as
philosophical materialism according to which the universe
and all things that are included in it are natural and therefore
put up with the laws of nature. The implication of such a
view is that there is nothing in the universe that can be
called supernatural. Marx and Engels sought inspiration
from various sources and combined them with their basic
view of philosophical materialism to build up their own
idea of dialectical materialism. The term dialectics is derived
from the Greek word dialego, which means to debate or to
discourse. In ancient Greece the philosopher applied the
method of dialectics to find out truth by considering the
contradictory arguments about a given premise. Thus,
dialectics is a logical method of argument through which
a disagreement can be resolved. It has been in use since
long as Plato has employed the method to write his dialogues
of the Republic. Besides Plato, Marx was also influenced
by the writings of a couple of German philosophers such
as Immanuel Kant, G. W. F. Hegel and Ludwig Feuerbach.
In the context of the dialectical materialism he turned
Hegel’s dialectic of the ideas into dialectic materialism.
Hegel presented a three-fold dialectics of ideas to describe
three stages of social development. Hegelian dialectic
comprises a thesis that leads to the creation of a counter
force i.e., antithesis and the consequential conflict between
the two is ultimately resolved by synthesis.
International Relations and Area Studies 145
Though Marx was inspired by the Hegelian dialectic,
he rejected Hegel’s idealism for the defence of his
materialism. In his magnum opus, Capital, Marx says: “My
dialectic method is not only different from the Hegelian,
but is its direct opposite. To Hegel, the life-process of the
human brain, i.e., the process of thinking, which, under the
name of ‘the Idea’, he even transforms into an independent
subject, is the demiurgos of the real world, and the real
world is only the external, phenomenal form of ‘the Idea’.
With me, on the contrary, the ideal is nothing else than the
material world reflected by the human mind, and translated
into forms of thought.” Similarly Engels is of the opinion
that nature is dialectical. Thus, dialectical materialism in
essence asserts that all that exists in the universe is material
and the process of evolution is continually on all across
the universe. It emphasises that universe is a unified entity
wherein all phenomena are not only connected to each
other but also depend upon each other. The most important
assertion is that it is only through scientific research that
the truth of the universe can be unravelled.
So far as materialism is concerned Marx and Engels
were inspired by Feuerbach but, as they have modified
dialectics to suit their purpose they did the same in case
of Feuerbach’s idea of materialism. Feuerbach had
embedded his concept of materialism in idealistic and
religious-ethical bedrock. Marx and Engels borrowed the
essence of the idea and developed their scientific
philosophical notion of materialism. Justifying the
modification Engels had commented that though Feuerbach
was a proponent of materialism, he was stuck in the
traditional-idealist mode and that “the real idealism of
Feuerbach becomes evident as soon as we come to his
philosophy of religion and ethics”.
Dialectical materialism asserts that since entire nature
is a single entity, all the natural phenom ena are
interconnected and because of which no single natural
phenomenon can be properly understood in isolation. We
can comprehend natural phenomena only in relation to the
entirety of nature. Secondly, according to dialectical
materialism nature is constantly in the process of change.
It is moving, mutating and expanding. Such a view of
nature rejects the metaphysical idea according to which
nature is in a state of rest and immobility. As per dialectical
materialism an attempt to find meaning in nature should
also take into account its perpetual mobility and mutation.
In order to emphasise the point Engels said: “All nature,
from the smallest thing to the biggest from grains of sand
to suns, from protista (the primary living cells) to man, has
its existence in eternal coming into being and going out
of being, in a ceaseless flux, in un-resting motion and
change.” Therefore, dialectical materialism considers natural
phenomena as interconnected segments of a totality of
nature as well their distinctive characteristic of perpetual
mobility.
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146 International Relations and Area Studies
Thirdly, dialectical materialism insists that any
quantitative change necessarily leads to a qualitative
change. Such a position is also opposite of the metaphysical
viewpoint according to which the process of development
is a straightforward course of growth leading to no change
in the essence of the original phenomenon. According to
dialectical materialism the process of quantitative change
not only brings about a qualitative change but it sets off
a series of rapid changes in which one phenomenon leads
to another in a natural process. Therefore, dialectical
materialism presents an onward and upward course of
development process and rejects the notion of circulatory
movement of development in which past phenomena keep
repeating. Engels pointed out that “nature’s process is
dialectical and not metaphysical, that it does not move in
an eternally uniform and constantly repeated circle. But
passes through a real history. Here prime mention should
be made of Darwin, who dealt a severe blow to the
metaphysical conception of nature by proving that the
organic w orld of today, plants and animals, and
consequently man too, is all a product of a process of
development that has been in progress for millions of years”.
Fourthly, dialectical materialism reveals that all natural
phenomena possess their inbuilt contradictions. Their
negative and positive traits are inherently stored within
them because of which the extinction or death of a
phenomenon naturally generates something new which
sustains the onward course of development and the process
of qualitative changes. In this context the observation of
Lenin is pertinent. He said, “In its proper meaning dialectics
is the study of the contradiction within the very essence of
things.” Dialectical materialism is, therefore, a negation of
the metaphysical viewpoint of nature and its development.
Its core point is that nature is a material phenomenon
which is in constant motion generating new phenomena in
its onward and upward process of development. The onward
march of nature is in accordance to the laws of movement
of matter and not because of what Hegel calls a driving
force or universal spirit.
Marx insisted that matter is an objective reality that is
independent of human consciousness and exist outside it.
In this sense matter is of primary importance while human
consciousness is secondary which derives from and reflects
the material realities. Therefore, idea or thought is, in fact,
a product of matter, the most perfect form of which is
human brain, the source of all thoughts. According to
dialectical materialism, it is meaningless to separate idea or
thought from matter. According to Engels, “The material,
sensuously perceptible world to which we ourselves belong
is the only reality...Our consciousness and thinking,
however suprasensuous they may seem, are the product of
a material, bodily organ, the brain. Matter is not a product
of mind, but mind itself is merely the highest product of
matter”.
The idealists thinkers hold that the nature is composed
of things, many of which are beyond the faculty of
comprehension of human mind. The metaphysical view is
also similar to this. However, according to dialectical
materialism every natural phenomenon can be understood
by human mind. The need is to observe, compare,
experiment, practice, in short get engaged in scientific
pursuit that can ultimately reveal the truth of every natural
phenomenon.
Historical Materialism
An exercise to understand historical/social developments
by employing the tool of dialectical materialism is known
as historical materialism in Marxist terminology. Some
Marxist scholars prefer to call it materialistic interpretation
of history. It is obvious that material conditions, for instance
geographical realities, do influence the course of social
development. However, according to historical materialism
the impact of geographical environment is not of a seminal
nature because social changes appear at much faster pace
than the changes and development of geographical
phenomena. Citing from European history Marx pointed
out that during the last three thousand years three different
social system appeared viz. the primitive communal system,
the slave system and the feudal system. However, during
the same period geographical environment almost remained
as it was in the past and whatever changes that took place
in geographical realities of Europe were insignificant.
Moreover, historical materialism holds that even
growth in population, which is also a material reality of a
society, does not determine the nature of a social system.
Population growth may accelerate or retard the process of
development of society, however, it cannot be the major
determining factor in social development. The reason is
that population growth does not provide an answer to the
changes in social systems. In other words, an increase in
population fails to explain that why a primitive communal
system got transformed into the slave system and why the
slave system was replaced by the feudal system. The growth
in population does not result into the emergence of a
higher kind of social system. For instance, Indian population
is more than five times the population of the USA but that
does not make Indian social system higher than that of the
USA.
The obvious question that arises is, if geography and
population growth are not the determining forces of social
transformation then which is the determinant force?
According to historical materialism the modes of production
of material values, are the real forces that bring about
change in social system. In order to live and improve
living conditions people produce things of material values.
The instruments of production that are put to use in
producing things of material values require for their
operation labour skills and all these factors may be jointly
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defined as the productive forces of society. Another facet
of the process of production is the cooperative venture in
which all men take part to exploit nature to create material
values. Thus, production is not an activity that can be
carried out by an individual in isolation. It is a task that
can only be accomplished by cooperation of men and that
is why it is known as social production. In order to produce
material values men join hand with other men in a
relationship of mutual help which is not based on any kind
of exploitation. The relations of production may be of
hierarchical nature or may change from one kind of relation
to another kind of relation of production. Nevertheless,
despite hierarchy and ever changing characteristics, the
relations of production remain fair and just. To quote Marx:
“In production, men not only act on nature but also on one
another. They produce only by co-operating in a certain
way and mutually exchanging their activities. In order to
produce, they enter into definite connections and relations
with one another and only within these social connections
and relations does their action on nature, does production,
take place.”
Historical materialism suggests that an important feature
of production is that it keeps changing. At different stages
of development different modes of productions keep
appearing. Consequently, with the change of mode of
production social system, political institutions, spiritual
life and the views of the people also change. Therefore, the
nature of a social system is determined by its mode of
production. This is a very significant point because
according to this viewpoint the real history is not the
record of the lives of kings and queens and their exploits,
expeditions and intrigues. The real history is the story of
the development of production, of the producers of the
material values of the labourers who have always been the
major force in producing material values.
Furthermore, every change in the mode of production
bring about change in men’s relation of production and
their economic relations. Though relations of production
depend on development of productive forces, they do react
upon the development of productive forces which may
either accelerate or retard it. The significant point is that
relations of production should be in conformity with the
development of productive forces to ensure maximum
growth of production. Otherwise, a mismatch between
relations of production and the pace of growth of
production will result in crisis of production and destruction
of productive forces. In order to prove the point Marx cites
the example of capitalist mode of production in which
private ownership of the means of production is in conflict
with the productive forces. It is, according to Marx, bound
to result in the destruction of productive forces which can
make a social revolution imperative to define new relations
of production in accordance with the kind of productive
forces. This will lead to the creation of a socialist system.
International Relations and Area Studies 147
Thus, according to historical materialism five types of
relations of production are identified in history viz.
primitive communal, slave, feudal, capitalist and socialist.
Proletarian Revolution
The exploitation of the proletariats at the hands of the
bourgeoisie is bound to lead to a situation in which the
proletariats will be left with no alternative but get rid of the
yoke of bourgeoisie exploitation by bringing about a violent
revolution. Karl Marx advocates that the working classes
across the world should overthrow the bourgeoisie and the
productive forces everywhere should be collective owned.
Marx and Engels point out that class struggle has always
been in existence at all stages of historical development.
In the Communist Manifesto the two revolutionary
philosophers emphasise: “The history of all hitherto
existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman
and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guild-master
and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood
in constant opposition to one another, carried on an
uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that
each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of
society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending
classes.”
Capitalism that has emerged after extremity of
feudalism has brought in new form of exploitation which
is more subtle, disguised but also more absolute and
unrelenting. The two classes constantly in the state of
struggle under a capitalist economy are the bourgeoisie
(the exploiters) and the proletariats (the exploited). As
society becomes more industrialised with the expansion of
capitalist economy, the exploitation of the proletariats too
increases reaching a point where the exploited workers will
get united against the bourgeoisie and dismantle the
foundations of capitalism. In the Communist Manifesto,
Marx and Engels exhort the workers of the world to get
united for getting free from capitalist exploitation and to
usher in an era wherein the working classes become the
rulers. The famous words of the Communist Manifesto are:
“The Communists... openly declare that their ends can be
attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing
social contradictions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a
communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to
lose but their chains. They have a world to win, working
men of all countries, unite!”
A violent revolution guided by the proletariat is an
essential and inevitable stage in the transformation of society
from capitalism to socialism. According to the Marxist
revolution works like a midwife to socialist society. It is
the only course that helps decimation of the oppression of
the bourgeoisie and usher in an era of dictatorship of the
proletariats. Marxism does not dither to recommend the use
of violence to end the dominance of the exploiters. Marxists
believe that the very institution of state is a structure of
148 International Relations and Area Studies
violence that maintains its oppressive control with the help
of its coercive mechanisms such as military and police. A
cursory glance at world history can make us realise that the
ruling classes, the exploiters of the ruled, have always
established and sustained their dominance with the help of
the violent and coercive mechanisms that are the vital
components of state. Marxism would have preferred to
establish the rule of the proletariats by peaceful means,
however, they are of the fact that the ruling classes, the
exploiters never surrender their power of their own accord.
On the contrary, the moment they get wind of any threat
to their dominance they use the worst kind of violent force
to suppress the revolutionaries. It is, therefore, necessary
for the proletariats to annihilate the bourgeoisie in a violent
revolution to establish their own dictatorship.
The Dictatorship of the Proletariat
After bringing about a violent revolution, the proletariats
have to establish a dictatorial rule of their own. In all the
relevant documents of classical Marxism (scientific
socialism) we find clear references about a proletarian
revolution and thereafter the establishment of the
dictatorship of the proletariats. Any deviation from the
inevitable path is considered opportunism or revisionism
by the classical Marxists. The Marxist hold the view that
dictatorship of the proletariats is a necessary condition in
all the societies that have been under the oppression of
capitalism and where the working classes have brought
about the revolution in order to create a socialist society.
The dictatorship of the proletariats is a socialist state in
which the working classes are in complete control. The
term ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ was actually coined by
Joseph Weydemeyer, a Prussian military officer, a journalist,
politician and Marxist revolutionary, and later adopted by
Marx and Engels. The dictatorial rule of the workers is,
according to Marxism, is a temporary phase during which
the remnants of capitalism and the counter-revolutionary
elements will be thoroughly wiped out. It will also be
ensured that capitalism does not raise its head even in
future. The proletariats will put together a social structure
that will be absolutely socialist without the presence of
classes. Thus, the dictatorship of the proletariats will be
followed by a classless and stateless society that can truly
be called a socialist society.
Withering Away of State
The final destination of a socialist society to get rid of the
institution of state. The phrase withering away of state,
which is usually quoted to refer to the stateless society, was
actually used by Engels who made it absolutely clear that
the institution of state had always been a necessary evil. In
his words: “State is at best an evil inherited by the
proletariat after its victorious struggle for class supremacy,
whose worst sides the proletariat...cannot avoid having to
lop off at the earliest possible moment, until such time as
a new generation, reared in new and free social conditions,
will be able to throw the entire lumber of the state on the
scrap-heap.” The justification for finishing off the institution
of state is that during the phase of the dictatorship of the
proletariat the antagonistic classes will be abolished and
thus a new society, a socialist society, a classless society
will come into existence that will have no use for the
coercive institution of state. In the Communist Manifesto
state is portrayed as a mechanism of class rule. In the
absence of classes, it loses its utility. At the final stage of
proletarian rule state will decline and collapse because, the
Manifesto declares, “the state is unnecessary and cannot
exist in a society in which there are no class antagonisms”.
Introduction to Socialism
The concept of socialism poses a problem of comprehension
because of its various definitions. Many scholars have
offered various versions of the concept which differ with
each others in many respects. Nevertheless, there are also
common elements that appear in the descriptions of the
scholars. There are forty definitions of socialism in the
Dictionary of Socialism and if we make an attempt to
identify the common elements included in these definition
we can enlist these: criticism of the institution of private
ownership and control of capital from social point of view;
collective control of means of production and also of
distribution and exchange of material values; society based
on the principle of social justice. A scholar, Bhikhu Parekh,
in his famous book The Concepts of Socialism names four
main principles that are usually associated with a society
that is based on the concept. They are sociality, social
responsibility, cooperation and planning. Another writer
Michael Freeden mentions five principles that are common
among the various versions of the socialists. Firstly, society
is not merely an assortment of individuals but something
more substantial than that. Secondly, welfare of human
beings is necessary and desirable purpose of every society.
Thirdly, human beings by nature are active and productive.
Fourthly, all human beings are equal. Fifthly, history has
a forward and progressive course and human beings are
capable of bringing about positive change in conditions if
they so desire.
Origin and Meaning of Socialism
The idea of a socialist style of living or a closely-knit
community living is very old. It is believed that in ancient
Persia primitive socialist institutions did exist. We can also
discern socialist ideas in political philosophies of Plato
and Aristotle. So far as the coining of the term ‘socialism’
is concerned the credit goes to Saint Simon. The term was
employed by Simon to reject ‘individualism’ that was a
cardinal principle of liberalism. He was very much impressed
by the emerging epoch of science and technology in which
he saw the potential opportunity of establishing an
egalitarian society by eliminating the evils of capitalism

such as stratification of society into classes. He was a
passionate supporter of an equitable society in which each
one would get the ranking according to his capacity and
the reward as per her contribution to social production. On
account of the potentialities of science and technology he
could visualise a progressive an prosperous society that
only needed the administrative efficiency and expansion
of industrialism to establish a socialist society.
Besides industrialism and administrative efficiency, the
earlier socialists also thought of creating a rationally
managed economy that should be founded on proper
planning to ensure multilateral material and scientific
progress. Thus, planned economy is a significant part of
socialist economy. The contributions of Robert Owen,
Charles Fourier, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Louis Blanc and
Saint Simon to the earliest socialist thought in the modern
world are universally recognised. They were, in fact, moved
by poverty and deprivation that appeared in western
societies as a spin-off of Industrial Revolution. Their
conscience pinched them to devise reliable measures
through which the wretched conditions of the have-nots of
society could be made better. Consequently, many of them
suggested that the terrible poverty of the people could be
removed by introducing socio-economic reforms. Robert
Owen believed that the situation could improve by dividing
society into smaller and manageable communities, no
member of which would own private property. Robert Owen
contended that human nature, thought and action were
largely shaped by the social environment and for that reason
he advocated reforms in social environment. Another
socialist thinker, Charles Fourier differed with Owen on
this count. He was an advocate of individualism and
believed that individual freedom in all the aspects of human
life could not only enhance a person’s creativity but also
make him happy. In the middle of the nineteenth century
the socialist ideas of Owen and Fourier were put to practice
in Europe and America. For instance, Owen who himself
was an industrialist purchased a large tract of land in the
state of Indiana in the USA and established on it a social
organisation named New Harmony in 1825. It was prototype
of a socialist society having self reliance, community
ownership of property and cooperation as its operative
principles. The experiment, however, failed leaving Owen
badly impoverished. The committed socialist as he was,
Owen later got engaged in organising trade unions and
promoting cooperative business ventures.
A confusion may arise because the term ‘socialism’ is
also freely used to describe the ideas of Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels. Marxism is also defined as communism
and scientific socialism. The perplexity is the result of the
times during which these ideas were being advocated.
Socialists such as Saint Simon, Robert Owen et al. were
promoting their socialist ideas before Marx and Engels
could develop a systematic theory of socialism. But
International Relations and Area Studies 149
Marxism differed with the earlier socialists in many respects.
The notable differences are in regard with dialectical
materialism, class struggle, violent revolution and withering
away of state, the essential ideas of Marxism are not to be
found in the concept of socialism preached by the earlier
socialists. Another difference is on the issue of atheism.
Marxism is purely a materialistic interpretation of human
existence in which religion does not have a place. Though,
all socialists are not religious but some of them profess
religion. Socialism insists on transforming a capitalist and
exploitative society by means of reforms and evolution
whereas Marxism advocates a violent proletarian revolution
to overthrow a capitalist society. It was Marx who called
his theory as scientific socialism and the theory of his
predecessors as utopian socialism.
Core Ideas of Socialism
Like Marxism, socialism is also an economic ideology that
believes in the abolition of private ownership of means of
production and state control over economic resources of a
state. Socialism emphasises the fact that human beings are
essentially social beings and therefore most of their
productive actions are possible in cooperation with other
members of society. In this sense the commodities that
human beings produce are social outputs. Socialism,
therefore, holds that society is justified to have social
control over material values, property and commodities
because they are the products of social cooperation. This
point of view is diametrically opposed to the position of
the capitalists who consider private ownership of means of
production and property sacrosanct and by amassing wealth
perpetuate their domination over ruling elite and social
institutions. The liberal democracy that trumpets individual
freedom and fair and equal opportunities for all is a political
system that for the most part favours the capitalist class
because they possess the material means to exploit the
opportunities. Fair and equal opportunities for all can be
called a judicious principle if all the members of society
fairly equal. In a society where a numerically smaller group
has taken control of almost all the material resources of
society, the sounding off about individual liberty and equal
opportunity for all sound like a cruel joke. Socialism
contends that true freedom and true opportunities for all
can only be possible if the private ownership of material
resources is replaced by state control of all means of
production.
All the socialists do not agree on the issue of what
should be taken over by the state and what should be
allowed to be privately owned. Sir Thomas More, the
renowned English humanist, in his celebrated treatise Utopia
(1516) recommends that almost everything except a few
items of personal use should be socially controlled. On the
contrary some other socialists hold that only the major
means of production should be taken over under social
control and comparatively medium sized businesses, houses,
150 International Relations and Area Studies
farms, shops etc can be allowed to be owned by individuals.
Proudhon, the renowned French politician, economist and
philosopher in his work, What is Property? (1840) famously
declared, “property is theft”. Proudhon advocated the
creation of a society in which all its members would have
a joint claim over land, natural resources and other means
of production to lead a cooperative, productive life. The
operative principle of such a society, according to
Proudhon, would be mutualism which would help people
exchange commodities and socially created products on
the basis of mutually executed contracts. These interaction
among individuals would be free from state intervention
because Proudhon was the first important thinker belonging
to the modern era who declared himself an anarchist for
whom state remained a coercive institution. Classical
Marxism too holds similar view about state.
As per socialist economy, the goods should be
produced and services must be made available for satisfying
the needs and requirements of society. In other words the
motive behind production and services must be social utility.
Such an economic view is in total contrast of the capitalist
economy which believes that the motive of production and
services should be profit making for the individual
capitalist. Socialist economy recommends that the means
of production should either be owned by workers
cooperative units or socially owned. The workers should
also manage the means of production with the ultimate
objective of producing commodities for the benefit and use
of society. In a socially owned unit of production there is
no place for managerial hierarchy. Nevertheless, hierarchy
among the technocrats based on the level of technical
know ledge is acceptable. The list of prominent
philosophers, scientists, litterateurs, politicians, economists,
social scientists, intellectuals and artistes who sincerely
believe in socialism is very long. Here it is suffice to note
what one of the greatest scientists of all times, Albert
Einstein, has to say about socialism. “I am convinced there
is only one way to eliminate (the) grave evils (of capitalism),
namely through the establishment of a socialist economy,
accompanied by an educational system which would be
oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the
means of production are owned by society itself and are
utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which
adjusts production to the needs of the community, would
distribute the work to be done among all those able to
work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man,
woman, and child. The education of the individual, in
addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would
attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his
fellow-men in place of the glorification of power and success
in our present society”.
FASCISM, COMMUNITARIANISM
Fascism, as a political ideology, usually has a harsh and
negative connotation. It stands for radicalism ,
authoritarianism and ultra-nationalism. Fascism aims at
creating a nation in which all individuals should have a
common ancestral and cultural identity and it should a
totalitarian form of government. It presupposes the existence
of a national community having purity of race as its
distinctive quality and abhors the presence of people of
other races or the progenies of inter-racial marriages. In
political term s, it detests pluralism and im agines
establishing a monolithic society comprising of a people
who are considered to be physical fit, disciplined and ever
prepared to sacrifice everything for the enrichment and
glory of the nation. It advocates ideological indoctrination
of the common masses and to use their force either for
subjugation or annihilation of the minorities whose members
are perceived to be “the other” belonging to foreign races,
religions and culture.
Fascism had played havoc in Europe immediately after
its appearance as a political ideology first in Italy and later
in Germany in the first half of the twentieth century. It was
started as an ideological movement in Italy during the
course of World War I by a political group who preferred
to call itself as national syndicalists. Fascism reject the
political views of both the Rightists and the Leftists because
its political programme differs completely with the two
ideological groups. Its major thrust is to establish a
totalitarian rule of a national community whose members
are perceived to be naturally superior than the people
belonging to other races and culture whom the fascists
consider people of low or inferior races. Though Fascist
maintain that their political agenda is different from the
Rightists, their programmes and practices reveal that they
can actually be called a far-right ideological group.
Etymology and Definition of Fascism
The term ‘Fascism’ is derived from the Latin root word
fasces that stands for the description of an image, a bundle
of rods tied around an axe, which was a symbol of the civic
magistrate in ancient Rome. The image of the fasces
epitomized strength through unity. It is matter of common
knowledge that a single rod in itself remains weak and can
be easily broken into pieces but it becomes the part of a
strong entity when it joins with other rods to create a
bunch which cannot be easily broken. Thus by adopting
the name of Fascism, the proponents of the ideology in
twentieth century aimed at emotional unity of the people
of Italy by reminding them of the past glory of the Romans
when all the members of the nation were supposed to be
uni-racial, disciplined, strong, political masters of the entire
Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, warriors and much
superior than all other races. The Fascists of Italy had also
claimed that their nation could regain its lost glory and
grandeur if their political agenda was wholehearted
supported by the genuine and pure Italians. It was a shrewd
and cunning move on the part of the pioneers of Fascism
to emotionally blackmail the people of Italy.

Fascism is defined in different terms by the scholars
mainly because after its first appearance in Italy in the
beginning of the twentieth century, similar concepts
appeared in other countries which obviously differed in
details with the original Italian version. Roger Griffin
defines fascism as “a genuinely revolutionary, transclass
form of anti-liberal, and in the last analysis, anti-conservative
nationalism”, which is rooted in the imaginary racial and
cultural superiority of a nation. In the words of Mussolini
“Fascism is a revolutionary doctrine against liberalism since
it wants to reduce the size of the State to its necessary
functions”. Another expert Robert Paxton in his book, The
Anatomy of Fascism, expresses that fascism is “a form of
political behaviour marked by obsessive preoccupation with
community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by
compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which
a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants,
working in uneasy but effective collaboration with
traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues
with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal
restraints goals of internal cleansing and external
expansion”.
On account of these representative definitions we can
discern a few features of fascism like it is a political ideology
that rejects liberalism, communism and conservatism. The
other feature is that it aims in building up a nation that is
consisted of the ostensibly superior people in terms of race
and culture and to govern such a state with the help a
totalitarian and dictatorial authority. Thirdly, fascism
despise the presence of racial, religious or ideological
minorities in their nation. “The other” people should either
be enslaved or completely annihilated. Fourthly, fascism
stands for regulation of economic activities by the despotic
authority so as to transform the fascist state into a prosperous
and industrially advanced state. Fifthly, fascists present a
very romantic albeit imaginary description of the past glory
and prominence of its nation in order to emotionally exploit
the susceptible common people to mobilise their support
for the implementation of their ideology. Sixthly, fascism
recommends use of violence against people of other races,
religion and culture to cleanse the nation of the fascists
and it also prescribes war as a desirable means for the
conquest and annexation of other states that are under the
control of the ‘low and inferior people’. Lastly, fascism
propagates and promotes the idea of society dominated by
a masculine, virile and macho traits especially to attract the
youths.
Communitarianism
Communitarianism as an ideology developed in opposition
to overemphasis on individual freedom that is the hallmark
of liberalism. Communitarianism underscores the link
between community and individual. Its principal argument
is that in the absence of community, individual can hardly
survive. Though the community in the narrower sense may
International Relations and Area Studies 151
be defined as family, the broader connotation of community
may be a cultural, ethnic or geographical community, the
members of which share historical bond with each other. In
a sense, communitarianism acquired the mode of an
ideology by responding to the shortcomings of liberalism.
Communitarian thinkers reject, in particular, the so-called
universality of liberal political ideas. The thinkers who
adhere to the notion of communitarianism vehemently
attacked John Rawls’ theory of justice because it presented,
in their estimation, human beings as atomistic individuals.
The major thrust of Rawls’ theory has been that the idea
of justice, which it presents, is universally true; the
communitarian on the contrary argue that each society may
have its own socio-cultural traditions and ethnic standards
because of which a theory propounding universal standards
of justice cannot be relevant to all societies. There are
quite a few authors who have contributed to the ideology of
communitarianism. The notable among them are—Alasdair
MacIntyre (After Virtue), Michael Sandel (Liberalism and
the Limits of Justice), Charles Taylor (Sources of the Self)
and Michael Walzer (Spheres of Justice).
ENVIRONMENT AND
MULTICULTURALISM
Industrialization while increasing the national wealth and
providing comforts also brought many environmental
hazards. Clean air, clean water has become a luxury. If we
want to provide housing for the people, we may resort to
deforestation. Industries that pollute air and water also
provide livelihood to the thousands of workers. Energy is
a source of life. Nuclear energy is the demand of the day.
There is also problem of nuclear waste. Breakdown in
Nuclear plants, accidents can have serious repercussions
lasting for many years. So what was once a technological
issue has become a political problem having national and
international dimensions.
The term culture denotes the set of values, traditions,
believes a community possess. Today there is not a single
society which has only one cultural group. Every society,
every country, has multicultural groups and communities.
How to achieve a desirable unity among diversified groups
is the biggest challenge modern statesmen face. The problem
is more severe in democratic countries.
Politics of Environment
Ecology is a subject that studies environmental problems.
It has been a topic in the study of Biology. The scope of
ecology is the study of the relationship between living
organisms and their surroundings. From 1960’s onwards
ecology became a political term—we have reference to
“green Politics”. Ecologism as a political ideology brought
‘nature’ in the focus. Nature is an interconnected whole
consisting of living and inanimate objects as well. There
is need to keep a balance, lest the interconnectedness gets
152 International Relations and Area Studies
destroyed. This ‘eco-centric perspective’ is a new ideology
in modern day political thinking.
The idea that ‘Nature’ is an important element in human
life takes inspiration from ancient religions. Paganism,
Hinduism, Taoism, always stressed to respect nature. There
were many Gods for air, sea, rivers and so on. Cutting down
a green tree was a sin. Planting trees, feeding animals,
preserving forest life were regarded as sacred duties. Even
today tribal worship the trees as Gods. The famous Chipko
movement testifies the strong tribal feeling towards nature.
Rural life, with agriculture as centre of economic activity,
uncorrupted by modern industrial culture was eco-friendly
system. Around 19th Century with industrialization and
urbanization rapidly advancing, environment suffered
severely. Industry requires raw materials. For that natural
wealth is exploited. To manufacture paper forest are
destroyed. Mining a prime industrial sector took the natural
resources like coal, gold, copper from earth. These cannot
be replaced. In fact, Industrialization is the rape of nature.
There were reactions to this part of development which
is destroying nature and spreading urban culture. In India
Gandhiji’s Hind-Swaraj is a critique of Industrialization.
He pleaded for the rural economy, cottage industries and
self-sufficient villages. His economic theories were totally
eco-friendly. Such writing could be discovered elsewhere
also. In Europe novelist Thomas Hardy, political thinkers
like William Morris and Peter Kropokin, argued for the
village life. In fact, there was a nostalgia for an idealized
rural existence. This was a direct reaction against
industrialization. An important point to be noted is, this
feeling w as stronger in those countries w here the
industrialization was more rapid—Germany for instance. In
Germany, powerful myths about the purity and dignity of
peasant life developed. There was the movement of “Back
to nature” among the German Youth. Interestingly this was
used for political gains by both nationalists and fascists.
It is in the 20th Century, that we find greater awareness
of environmental problems because of industrialization. A
clear understanding has been reached that the economic
progress that is taking place has done great damage to the
nature. This has endangered both the survival of human
race and the planet it lives on.
The dangers to nature are many fold. To increase
agricultural production certain chemicals are used, which
are destroying the fertile nature of earth. The use of certain
pesticides kills many insects which are useful to farmers.
Rachel Carson, in his work The Silent Spring (1962),
made an analysis of the extensive damage done to the wild
life by the increase use of pesticides and other agricultural
chemicals. This is the first work of this kind. References
can also be made to, Goldsmith et al., Blueprints for Survival
(1972), the unofficial UN Report Only One Earth (1972)
and the club of Rome’s the Limit of Growth (1977). These
works pointed out to the dangers of unplanned growth to
the nature. Water and air pollution is causing health hazards
to all living beings. There were reports that because of sea
water pollution caused by oil spill, thousands of fish got
poisoned and were unfit for consumption. It is the moral
duty of the present generation to preserve the natural wealth.
Because of this environmental awareness around 80’s,
some movements started. The organizations like Green
Peace, Friends of the Earth, Animal Liberation Activists,
effectively campaigned, to create a public opinion on the
dangers of pollution, the dwindling reserves of fossil oils,
deforestation and other related issues. From 1980s onwards
the environmental questions have been kept high on the
agenda of Green Parties, which now exist in most industrial
countries.
Environmental issues have international character. What
happens in one country would spread chain reaction to
various countries. Natural calamities like flood, famines,
earthquakes, would show their consequences throughout
world. There is also a historical dimension to the issue.
Most of the industrially advanced countries today were
once colonial powers. They looted the natural wealth in
these colonies. In their pursuit for material wealth they
caused excessive damage to nature. Today when the ex-
colonial countries of Asia, Africa are trying to industrialize
a big opposition is coming from European nations about
danger to environment. They have forgotten who are
original culprits. So the third world countries have taken
up this issue at international forum. Since the environmental
hazard has transnational character, and has become a global
political usage the UN started looking into it. In 1972,
there was the UN conference on Human Environment held
in Stockholm. The conference aimed at establishing an
international framework to promote a coordinated approach
to international environm ental problem s. In 1987
Brundtland Report advocated the idea of “Sustainable
development”. In 1992 at Rio a conference on “Earth
summit” was held.
All these summits aimed at reducing the environmental
hazards and also provide the economic development.
Perhaps, through modern technology, it is possible to
achieve it. But this requires enormous funds. Each industry
should invest substantial am ount in Research and
development. The returns in this field is only long term.
Most of the industries would like to have immediate gains.
They may not care for R & D. For instance most of the
chemical factories dump their waste in the nearby rivers
causing water pollution. It should be their moral duty to
invest in cleaning the river and make water useful. But that
expenditure would not give them any return. They therefore
adopt short cut methods of dumping waste here and there
and avoiding social responsibility. It is possible through
modern technology to recycle the waste and such measures.
But these activities require enormous funds. The argument

of the Third world countries is that since their poverty and
industrial backwardness is result of colonial exploitation,
and since they would like to industrialize their countries,
the developed countries have a moral responsibility of
“transferring technology” which can curb the environmental
pollution. They should share most of funding in Research
and Development.
At Kyoto summit held in 1997, these issues were
discussed. The scientists pointed out to a danger engulfing
the earth. They pointed out there is danger of Global
Warming. This is because of the emission of gases like
carbon dioxide into atmosphere. So the Kyoto conference
established a legally binding commitment for the developed
states to limit such emission in a phased process. However,
effective action is yet to emerge.
Core Themes of Ecology
Ecologism stands apart from traditional political creeds
like Liberty, Democracy and Equality. It examines the
interrelationships that bind humans to all living organisms.
Multiculturalism : Definition and Meaning
The term culture denotes the set of values, traditions,
believes and ways of life a community possess. It
encompasses, the factors like language, religion and even
eating habits and dress code. It reflects a reference to period
of history. For instance we say primitive culture, feudal
culture, modern culture and so on. Prime-a-face culture
gives an identity to a person. He belongs to group. That
group has certain unique features, which makes it different
from other groups. These features give an identity to the
person of that group. So a person is called a Hindu or a
Muslim or African or British.
Although over the years, because of historical reasons
like war, trade, there has been some degree of intermingling
of culture between different groups, still the different groups
in a given community always maintain certain unique and
separate features. We can notice these different and varied
features among the members following the same religion.
The caste and Jati among the Hindus show any number of
multiple cultural traits. Each caste, sub-caste has its own
cultural characters, that are unique in marriages and such
other social rituals.
Many a time a person’s thinking and his judgement on
social and moral issues is determined by the culture he has
inherited. For instance a person like Rudiyar Clippings
professed the theory of ‘white man’s burden’. He reflected
a colonial mind set up which thought of the right of white
man to liberate mankind. The Brahminical superiority in
Hindu religion, the Aryan myth of Hitler, reflect the bearings
of a particular culture. But every society would also have
the social reformers, who would challenge the socially
accepted opinions as outdated and plead for a change in
the outlook of the community on social issues. So basically
International Relations and Area Studies 153
culture is not static. So undergoes certain changes. Yet the
core elements which give it a recognition and separate
identity remain.
There is not a single society which has only one cultural
group. Every society every country, has multicultural groups
and communities. How to bring these different cultural
groups under one setup, and how to achieve a reasonable
unity among the diversified groups so that the cohesiveness
of nation is safeguarded is the biggest challenge. Before
answering this question, we need to find the causes that
have contributed to the growth of multicultural units around
the globe.
 Discovery of new areas of habitants.
 Role of Christian missionaries.
 Technological innovations making the world
shrinking and cutting down distances.
 N ew econom ic policy necessitating the
interdependence of different expertise settled in
different continents.
 A new philosophy of democratic pluralism which
emphasized the need to promote and preserve the
diversity in the society.
In modern world no country, is free from the impact of
m ulticulturalism . W hile in the earlier period,
Multiculturalism meant the existence of different ethnic,
religious and racial groups within a given territory, today
the term has broader implications. It refers to different
cultural patterns, ways of life, and believes followed by the
members of natives of a particular community. For instance
we may have a group supporting homosexuality or women’s
liberation or pleading for permissive society, Black power
and so on. Technically they are all Americans but they
exhibit different and sometimes varied cultures. It is an
accepted rule—at least in democracy—that due recognition
be given to all such groups. No one culture is supreme and
every individual should be given freedom to choose the
way of life he likes.
In dealing with diversified cultural groups three broad
methods could be discovered historically. The first one is
known as annihilation. It is the most cruel and barbaric. In
this inhuman policy what is termed as “alien culture” is
totally wiped out from “Native Land”. The methods are
brutal and violent. The set pattern is accepted as the ultimate
truth and any deviation is resented. An uniform pattern of
living and code of behaviour is accepted as desirable.
Hitler’s campaign against the Jews, the treatment Indian
received from American settlers the cruel suppression of
Buddhists in Tibet by China, the position of Hindus in
Pakistan, the ideology of Taliban are examples of this
annihilation policy.
The second policy usually followed by the Imperial
forces is hegemonic. The superior qualities of the dominant
2105 (MA–IR)—20
154 International Relations and Area Studies
culture are high lightened and through series of devices
like propaganda, the diversified cultures are “assimilated”
into the “mainstream”. In a way it is cultural imperialism.
The argument advanced by the R.S.S, in India that the
Hindu Culture absorbs all other cultures is a classic case of
majoritarianism, engulfing different small cultural traits
and branding them as assimilated culture. In this process
the separate identity of small cultural groups is totally lost.
The Hindu religion absorbed the Buddhist culture, sankhya
and charvaka philosophies and denied them a separate
existence. Though the process is less violent the harm
assimilation policy does is irreparable. The identity of
many small groups are lost forever.
The third method of dealing with different cultures is
more pragmatic, liberal and highly democratic oriented. It
gives due recognition to all cultures. There is no ‘melting
point’ syndrome—which means all small cultures should
merge and melt in the national culture. Instead every culture
group is treated equally and it allows the group to pursue
the way it adheres to it. But all these activities should be
done within the legal frame work. Every group should
follow the limits imposed by law. If the activities of any
cultural group are a threat to other groups or to the peace
of the community. In general, actions would be taken as
per the established law. This is an accepted pattern of all
civilized nations.
It has been observed that if diversified cultural groups
within a nation-state, are not allowed to function freely, the
seeds of disintegration would be sown in. It will result in
the disintegration of the nation. We all know that the
central force that fostered the emergence of Bangladesh is
the refusal of Pakistan authorities to give due recognition
to Bengali language, culture and a short sighted policy of
imposing Punjabi culture and Urdu language on people of
erstwhile East Pakistan. In recent time the disintegration of
Yugoslavia is the case of non-recognition of different
cultural groups operating within that nation. Most of the
south Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan
and even India have the problems of different tribes cultural
groups drifting away from main stream of body politics.
Normally democratic governments treat this problem
institutionally. A federation policy could give some legal
recognition to different linguistic groups as done in India.
There can also be some autonomous regional councils. A
clear constitutional safeguards, that protect different cultural
groups to pursue their culture, go in a long way in keeping
the country united and prevent balkanization. Ultimately
the unity of a nation should evolve from within, rather than
imposed from without.
There are always imbalances in the representative system
of government. Normally a democratic government provide
equal rights for all the citizens to share the political power.
This is done through a well established institutional mechanism
i.e., universal Adult Franchise. But political analysts are of the
view that the mechanism always works for the advantage of
numerically strong population and may introduce what J.S.
Mill called “Tyranny of Majority”. This majority group might
claim many privileges at the cost of other groups. Some groups
may be marginalized or eliminated from policy making process.
The off-repeated argument that white race in the western society
have suppressed coloured races, men have suppressed women,
testify the danger involved to the survival of multiculturalism
even in democracy. In India, Dalits, Muslims, and OBCs always
maintain that their interests are not safeguarded in the present
political set up.
In order to overcome such a problem of imbalances in
the representation system, the multicultural theorists have
suggested some remedies.
FEMINISM
Historically speaking the concept of social Justice is
associated with Gender equality. All persons should be
treated equally and be provided with equal opportunities to
fully develop their potentialities, without discrimination as
to colour, race or Gender. This is the essence of social
equality and democracy adheres to it. No society can be
called democratic if it discriminates its citizens on the basis
of gender. Though today Gender equality is an accepted
form it took many centuries before it could become an
universally accepted value. But still in many Afro-Asian
Countries the female members of the society are not getting
their due share. There are many social religious and cultural
factors responsible for this.
Gender and Sex
There is a significant difference between these two terms
when applied to the study of women’s problems. The term
‘sex’ refers to the biological division between male and
female members. It is used in this context by many
conservatives to perpetuate the subordinate role of the
women. They argue that nature had made women ‘weak’
and ‘dependent’. They cannot take manual works. It is for
the man to earn the bread and for the women to take care
of household things. The biological impulse make women
to play a secondary role in the society. Some thinkers even
went to the extent of questioning the capacity of women to
think. For them ‘knowledge’ is the monopoly of men. So for
a long time there was opposition to female education.
This biological aspect of division is being criticized
today. Modern thinkers use the criteria of “Gender”, while
talking of discrimination. The difference between the terms
“Sex” and “Gender” is that the former is based on biological
meaning giving an impression that it is irrevocable and one
has to live with it. It is ‘natural’ for women to be subservient
to men, because nature had made her physical structure that
way. But the term Gender treats the discrimination as the
manifestation of the male dom inated society. The
discrimination is artificial, it is based on cultural outlook

and it can be and should be reversed, Long time back J. S.
Mill, rejected the biological weakness as natural and argued
that it is the circumstances that determine and shape the
attitude and character of a person. If women are weak and
dependent it is because of their upbringing and
circumstances. In his famous book, On Subjugation of
Women, he argued that by changing the circumstances
through the provisions of proper education, and a share in
the property it is certainly possible to reverse the trend of
“weak woman”. Most of the Liberals hold this view.
Different Ideological Views on Feminism
The people who are fighting for Gender Justice are called
Feminists. Eallier – around 19th century – the term “Gender”
had a medical connection. It was used to describe
feminization of man or the masculization of women. Today
the term issued as a focal point of social justice, equality
and the rights of women for their legitimate share in the
power structure.
There are different views in political philosophy about
Gender Justice and equality. Depending on their commitment
to a particular ideology, the thinkers have reacted in different
ways to this core concept of Gender equality.
Liberalism
As a political ideology liberalism is opposed to any
discrimination. It believes in individual dignity, equality
and freedom of choice. The earliest thinkers who preached
equality of sexes were liberals. They believed in social
reform questioned the orthodox religious views which
sanctified the female subordination and pleaded for legal
remedies to the age old discriminative policies. Classical
liberals like Lock, J. S. Mill and others made a strong plea
for the uplift of women.
Mill in his book On Subjugation of Women, effectively
argued for Gender Justice. He says, “the existing relations
between the sexes the legal subordination of one sex to
another is wrong in itself and now one of the chief hindrance
to human improvement and that it ought to be replaced by
the principle of perfect equality admitting no power of
privilege to one side nor liability on the other”. Women
were in fact ‘enslaved’ class. Their capacities were spent
seeking happiness not in their our lives, but exclusively for
the favour and affection of other sex. The opposition to
sexual equality is not based on reason. Women many a time
become consenting partners in their subordination. They
were taught to live for others. J.S. Mill clearly spelt out how
he would view an ideal relationship between the sexes. If
men exercised their physical power and domination over
women, they would debase themselves. The ideal was
compassionate marriage between strong minded man and
strong minded women. Women should earn their liberation
with the support of men. There should be relationship based
on mutual friendship and respect between the sexes.
International Relations and Area Studies 155
The liberal view, while stressing a policy of non-
discrimination policy in public life would be reluctant to
encourage out-side interference in private life. By and large
it is reformative in nature. Since liberals emerged from
middle class social structure they have certain strong view
on the sanctity of marriage, need for a good family life and
would not go the extreme view of questioning relevance of
marriage as an institution. This is the Radical feminist view
around 20th century. In short liberals treat public and private
spheres separately. In the public sphere on the issues of
voting contesting elections, appointment to public offices
and admission to educational institutions, ‘Gender’ is as
irrelevant as ethnicity or race. In ‘private sphere’ – family
marriage, freedom of choice is the principle and non-
interference from outside authority is a desired goal.
Conservatives
The conservatives are those who want to maintain the status
quo in all aspects of social life. They emphasize the social
and political significance of gender divisions. Their main
argument centres round the theme that the sexual division
of labour between women and men is natural and inevitable.
The society’s organic and hierarchical character is
maintained by Gender division. The conservatives oppose
all reforms aiming at the women uplift. In India the stiff
opposition to social reforms like widow remarriage,
increasing the age of marriage for women, reflected a strong
conservative mentality. Even late as 1980, there were
supports for ‘Sati’ committed in Rajasthan. It was hailed as
a symbol of purity though by a microscopic minority. But
the section is powerful. It blocked the bill for 33%
reservation for women in parliament. The spate of “honour
killings” of couples who dare to question the caste barriers,
dowry deaths, opposition to reform Muslim personnel law
are some of the examples which highlight the power of
conservatives in Indian Society. While such conservative
and reactionary sections in Europe were defeated with the
growth of liberal democratic values the picture in the third
world countries of Asia and Africa is very dark.
Socialists
Like liberals, socialists would not treat Gender as politically
very significant. For them Gender divisions are but the
manifestation of deeper economic and class inequalities.
Marxists see the term “Patriarchy” – which is the core
element in the Gender justice – in the light of Socio –
economic factors. The term patriarchy literally means “Rule
by Father” (The Latin Term Patri – Father).
Under Marxist ideology it takes a new angle. Engles in
his work, Origin of Family Private Property and the State,
analyzed the Gender Justice from economic perspective.
According to him, the development of capitalism and the
concept of private property had changed the status of women
in the society. There was a time in the society where the
family life was “communistic” in nature. Women had
156 International Relations and Area Studies
“mother right”. This guaranteed inheritance rights. The social
position of women was quite good because of femalecentered
family life. The growth of capitalism everywhere had upset
this simple family life. Capitalism works on the principle of
private property owned by men. This had overthrown
“Mother’s Right” and brought about “the world historical
defeat of the female sex”. The institution of family is the
central actor in the oppression of females. The “bourgeoisie
family is Patriarchal”, men would ensure that their property
is passed only to their sons. In marriages men prescribe
morals, which are always for their advantage. Women are
expected to be loyal and pure, have only “husband as their
idea”, while men always indulge in loose moral life.
Women’s repression is sought to be compensated by “glory”.
Selfless devotion to children and husband is nothing but
organized hypocrisy and an evil design to protect male
domination and the right to hold property.
To overcome the repression of women based on male
supremacy and the institution of family some traditional
socialist like Charles Fourier (1772-1827), Robert Owen
(1771-1858) suggested an alternative social system. They
were Utopian socialists. They wanted a system of
“community living” and “free love” in place of patriarchal
family.
Marxists argue that the present family set up is designed
in such a way that women are confined to a domestic sphere
of home and motherhood. The arrangement serves the
economic interests of the capitalist system. Women are in
fact producing next generation of workers for capitalist
economy. So according to Marxists the real emancipation
of women is possible only in a socialist economy. With the
abolition of private property, a new culture based on
cooperation would arrive. It paves way for creation of a new
society based on social harmony and peace. In such a society
the evils of oppression would not rise.
That is the reason why many socialists are not
enthusiastic about the demand for equal political rights
which is the central theme of Liberals. For liberals, legal
and political rights are of paramount importance. These
would enable women to compete with men in all fields of
public life. But for socialists the concept of equality should
apply in terms of economic power – so the issue of ownership
of wealth becomes significant.
There are some differences among the socialists on
Gender Justice. The orthodox Marxists give priority to “Class
Politics” over ‘Sexual Politics’. The class exploitation is
more deeper and severe than sexual discrimination in the
society. The real emancipation of women is possible only
with the overthrow of capitalist system through a revolution
and replacement with socialistic structure. So it is argued
that — the Feminists should concentrate their energies on
labour problems, movement rather than chalk out a separate
programme for women liberation. Because any divisive
movement would weaken the workers movement and help
the capitalist class. However this view is not shared by other
modern Feminist Socialists. For them women problem
certainly needs a separate agenda. The disappointing
progress of women in the Soviet Union and other socialist
countries only strengthen their argument that the sexual
exploitation is as unjust as economic exploitation. Women’s
problems cannot be understood in simple economic terms.
The problems need a deeper psychological, cultural, social
and political perspective.
Fascist View
Fascists as a policy do not believe in equality. They support
the elite oriented state system. Brutal suppression of any
opposition use of force and wars to settle any disputes are
the hallmarks of fascism—with such an anti-equalitarian
ideology, it is not surprising that the idea of sexual equality
never appealed to them. Their golden rule is “a place for
everything and everything in its place”. The place of man
is in war and politics while women are meant for household
work. The Gender division is fundamental in the mankind.
It is “natural” that men should monopolise leadership and
decision making roles and women be confined to a secondary
role. Most of the fascist dictators did not have any
consideration for women and their problems.
Religious Fundamentalism
The biggest challenge to Gender Justice comes from
Religious Fundamentalists. Historically speaking all
religions have adopted an anti – feminist stand. Women
have been described as an obstacle to man’s spiritual
progress. A person who conquered the desire for sex is an
ideal person. The institution of marriage which is very
sacred according to religious scriptures enslaved women.
The concept a divorce was unthinkable for a long time. The
concept of Gender equality was never an accepted value for
any religion. It is not surprising that movement for women
equality started with a revolt against organized religions.
Historically the social reformers faced the ire of religious
leaders in their struggle; with the growth of democracy and
secular ideas the hold of organized religion on social issues
has somewhat loosened. Yet around 80’s we see the growth
of religious revivalism and drastically affecting the human
rights of female members. This is more particular in Afro –
Asian countries. We have established cases of opposition to
family planning methods, treating abortion as sin and a
demand for male child even at the cost of mother’s health.
The triple divorce in Islam make women as easy target
social oppression. Even today more than 80 millions of
women in Africa are subjected to inhuman practice of
circumcision – a religious practice.
Feminism: its Origin and Development
A theory that revolves round women’s problem is known as
Feminism. It firmly believes that the gender divisions are
artificial ‘man made’ and should be eradicated.

Though the term feminism and women liberation
movement become popular around 60’s certain ideas
reflecting feminist views could be found as back as Greek
and Chinese Civilization. In 1405, in Italy a book named
‘Book of Ladies’ written by Christine de Pisan recorded the
achievements of noble women. It also argued for women’s
right to education and for a greater role in public affairs.
Mary Wollstone Craft’s ‘Vindication of Rights of Women’
published in 1792, is the first text of modern Feminism. The
book was in the background of the French Revolution.
By middle of 19th Century Feminism acquired a central
focus. We can term this period as the 1st phase of Feminism.
It emphasized on equal legal and political rights. That was
the period when franchise was being extended to various
sections in the society. It provided an inspiration for women
to demand Franchise Rights. In a way in those countries
where democracy has taken roots an advanced political
movement for women’s rights emerged first. In U.S.A. in
1840 women’s movement emerged getting inspiration from
the campaign to abolish slavery. In 1848, Seneca Falls
convention adopted declaration of sentiments. The
convention drew inspiration from declaration of
independence. One of the main demands of the convention
was the demand for female suffrage. In 1869 National
Women’s Suffrage Association started.
In U.K., the period between 1850 to 1869, marked the
development of movement for women suffrage. In 1867,
when the House of commons was debating the Reform Act,
J.S. Mill moved an amendment to the bill seeking for Female
suffrage. Though the amendment was defeated it paved way
for the growth of feminist movement in U.K. After 1903, the
formation of women’s social and political union led by
Emmeline Pankhurst (1856-1928) and her daughter
Christabel (1880-1950), U.K. suffrage movement adopting
militant tactics. They carried underground activities. They
were called “suffragettes” who carried attacks on public
property and conducted public demonstrations.
This first phase of Feminism ended with the achievement
of women suffrage throughout Europe. New Zealand was
the first to introduce women franchise in the year 1893. In
1920, the 19th amendment to U.S. constitution gave voting
rights to women. Though U.K. introduced the voting rights
to selected sections in 1918 it took almost a decade for
women to get equal voting rights like men.
With the attainment of Right to vote the women
movement, in a way lost its steam. Because till the attainment
of the voting rights the movement had a clear cut ideology.
There was cohesion and unity in the movement. With the
attainment of the desired goal any movement would lack
the driving force to carry on the movement further. So a lull
appeared on the scene. It does not mean that all the problems
facing women were solved with the political rights. Far from
it, the equal rights gave women an opportunity to focus on
other issues of discrimination.
International Relations and Area Studies 157
It was around 60’s that – women movement regenerated
with a new agenda. This could be called the second phase.
The Feminine Mystique authored by Betty Friedan acted as
an impetus to feminine movement in this period. She brought
out the frustration and unhappiness among women, who are
confined to the roles of mothers and housewives. This she
describes as “Problem with no name”. Kate Millet’s Sexual
Politics (1970), Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch,
(1970) expressed radical views on Feminism. These works
focused on personal, psychological and sexual aspects of
women suppression. The Radical feminists were not satisfied
with political rights like voting. They wanted overhaul of
the social system. The second phase stressed “women’s
liberation” not women’s emancipation. In academic circles
the concept of ‘Gender’ became focal point.
Around 90’s we find the organizations fighting for
women’s liberation being spread far and wide. Both in the
developed and underdeveloped countries, feminist
organization made their strong presence felt. However at the
same time we notice, many divisions emerging within these
organizations. To begin with the Feminist movement became
de-radicalized in western Europe. After achievement of
suffrage rights and getting state’s support for welfare schemes
like financial support for child bearing provision of nursery
schools, crèches at places of work, health insurances, the
movement has become lull. Because of this minor divisions
appeared in the movement, we have Black feminism, Post-
modern feminism, Afro-Asian feminist movement and so on.
Many times the divisions are centred around issues like
pornography, abortion, motherhood, prostitution and so on.
The main thrust of Radical Feminism is the female
oppression starts from family and as such they are highly
critical of the institution of family. The liberal argument of
“non-interference” in one’s private life does not hold water
where dealing with women’s problems. May be in advanced
European Countries, the provision for easy divorce,
economic opportunities for independent life, and the culture
of single woman, have given a protection to women from
family oppression but conditions in the Afro-Asian countries
are quite pathetic. Radicals want that European culture to
be an accepted universal phenomena for women liberation.
But the traditions of the third world societies resent this.
This is a contentious issue.
Some other argue that the stereotypic attitude towards
women’s social position should change. For instance women
can be mothers but they need not be burdened with the
responsibilities of rearing children and domestic burdens.
The link between child bearing and child rearing is cultural
not biological. Even the husband can take care of rearing
children. State also can step in. The mind set up should
change. “women are not born, they are made” argues
Radicals. They sincerely believe that human beings are
“androgynous”. A person has blend of both female and
male features. A person should be judged not by sex but by
character and abilities. It has been reported that even in
158 International Relations and Area Studies
advanced country like U.S.A. there is a tendency to blame
“working women” for the growth of violence and drug
abuse among the youth. Certain Profamily New Right Parties
feel that women have given up their role as “models” for
children, and there is no one to guide them in right path.
CITIZENSHIP
Citizenship, relationship between an individual and a state
to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is
entitled to its protection. Citizenship implies the status of
freedom with accompanying responsibilities. Citizens have
certain rights, duties, and responsibilities that are denied or
only partially extended to aliens and other noncitizens
residing in a country. In general, full political rights,
including the right to vote and to hold public office,
are predicated upon citizenship. The usual responsibilities
of citizenship are allegiance, taxation, and military service.
Citizenship is the most privileged form of nationality.
This broader term denotes various relations between an
individual and a state that do not necessarily confer political
rights but do imply other privileges, particularly protection
abroad. It is the term used in international law to denote all
persons whom a state is entitled to protect. Nationality also
serves to denote the relationship to a state of entities other
than individuals; corporations, ships, and aircraft, for
example, possess a nationality.
The concept of citizenship first arose in towns and city-
states of ancient Greece, where it generally applied
to property owners but not to women, slaves, or the poorer
members of the community. A citizen in a Greek city-
state was entitled to vote and was liable to taxation and
military service. The Romans first used citizenship as a
device to distinguish the residents of the city of Rome from
those peoples whose territories Rome had conquered and
incorporated. As their empire continued to grow, the Romans
granted citizenship to their allies throughout Italy proper
and then to peoples in other Roman provinces, until
in AD 212 citizenship was extended to all free inhabitants
of the empire. Roman citizenship conferred important legal
privileges within the empire.
The concept of national citizenship virtually
disappeared in Europe during the Middle Ages, replaced as
it was by a system of feudal rights and obligations. In the
late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the holding of
citizenship in various cities and towns of Italy and Germany
became a guarantee of immunity for merchants and other
privileged persons from the claims and prerogatives of feudal
overlords. Modern concepts of citizenship crystallized in
the 18th century during the American and French
Revolutions, when the term citizen came to suggest the
possession of certain liberties in the face of the coercive
powers of absolutist monarchs.
In England the term citizen originally referred to
membership of a borough or local municipal corporation,
while the word subject was used to emphasize the
individual’s subordinate position relative to the monarch or
state. The word subject is still used in preference to citizen
in British common-law usage and nationality legislation,
but the two terms are virtually equivalent, since the
British constitutional monarchy is now a ceremonial one
that has lost its former political powers over its subjects.
The principal grounds for acquiring citizenship (apart
from international transactions such as transfer of territory
or option) are birth within a certain territory, descent from
a citizen parent, marriage to a citizen, and naturalization.
There are two main systems used to determine citizenship
as of the time of birth: jus soli, whereby citizenship is
acquired by birth within the territory of the state, regardless
of parental citizenship; and jus sanguinis, whereby a person,
wherever born, is a citizen of the state if, at the time of his
birth, his parent is one. The United States and the countries
of the British Commonwealth adopt the jus soli as their
basic principle; they also recognize acquisition of
nationality by descent but subject it to strict limitations.
Other countries generally adopt the jus sanguinis as their
basic principle, supplementing it by provisions for
acquisition of citizenship in case of combination of birth
and domicile within the country, birth within the country
of parents born there, and so on. The provisions of nationality
laws that overlap often result in dual nationality; a person
may be a citizen of two countries. Alternatively, the lack of
uniform rules on citizenship acquisition and loss have
sometimes produced lack of citizenship (statelessness).
The acquisition of citizenship by a woman through
marriage to a citizen was the prevailing principle in modern
times until after World War I. Under this system, the wife
and children shared the nationality status of the husband
and father as head of the family. From the 1920s, under the
impact of woman suffrage and ideas about the equality of
men and women, a new system developed in which a
woman’s nationality was not affected by marriage. The
resulting mixed-nationality marriages sometimes create
complications, particularly in regard to the nationality status
of the children, and accordingly various mixed systems
have been devised, all stressing the woman’s and child’s
freedom of choice.
POST-MODERNISM
Postmodernism is a controversial and confusing term that
was first used to describe experimental movements in
Western architecture and cultural development in general.
Postmodern thought originated principally in continental
Europe, especially France, and constitutes a challenge to
the type of academic political theory that has come to be
the norm in the Anglo-American world. Since the 1970s,
however, postmodern and poststructural political theories
have become increasingly fashionable. Their basis lies in a
perceived social shift—from modernity to postmodernity—

and a related cultural and intellectual shift—from modernism
to postmodernism. Modern societies were seen to be
structured by industrialization and class solidarity, social
identity being largely determined by one’s position within
the productive system. Postmodern societies, on the other
hand, are increasingly fragmented and pluralistic
‘information’ societies in which individuals are transformed
from producers to consumers, and individualism replaces
class, religious and ethnic loyalties. Postmodernity is thus
linked to postindustrialism, the development of a society
no longer dependent upon manufacturing industry, but more
reliant upon knowledge and communications.
Modernism, the cultural form of modernity, stemmed
largely from Enlightenment ideas and theories, and was
expressed politically in ideological traditions that offered
rival conceptions of the good life. Liberalism and Marxism
are its clearest examples. Modernist thought is characterized
by foundationalism—the belief that it is possible to establish
objective truths and universal values, usually associated
with a strong faith in progress. By contrast, the central
theme of postmodernism is that there is no such thing as
certainty: the idea of absolute and universal truth must be
discarded as an arrogant pretence. Although by its nature
postmodernism does not constitute a unified body of
thought, its critical attitude to truth-claims stems from the
assumption that all knowledge is partial and local, a view
it shares with some communitarian thinkers. Poststructuralism,
a term sometimes used interchangeably with postmodernism,
emphasizes that all ideas and concepts are expressed in
language which itself is enmeshed in complex relations of
power. Political theory, then, does not stand above power
relations and bestow dispassionate understanding; it is an
intrinsic part of the power relations it claims to analyse.
Postmodernist thought has been criticized from two
angles. In the first place, it has been accused of relativism,
in that it holds that different modes of knowing are equally
valid and thus rejects the idea that even science is able
reliably to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
Secondly, it has been charged with conservatism, on the
grounds that a non-foundationalist political stance offers no
perspective from which the existing order may be criticized
and no basis for the construction of an alternative, social
order. Nevertheless, the attraction of postmodern theory is
its remorseless questioning of apparently solid realities and
accepted beliefs. Its general emphasis upon discourse, debate
and democracy reflects the fact that to reject hierarchies of
ideas is also to reject any political and social hierarchies.
Friedrich Nietzsche: A German philosopher, Nietzsche
is invariably regarded as the most important precursor of
postmodernism. His work stresses the importance of will,
especially the ‘will to power’, and emphasizes that people
create their own world and make their own values. This
is most memorably expressed in the assertion that ‘God
is dead’. Nietzsche’s nihilism, the rejection of all moral
and political principles, encouraged later postmodern
International Relations and Area Studies 159
theorists to regard truth as a fiction and to link beliefs
and values to the assertion of power.
Martin Heidegger: A German philosopher, Heidegger,
also a precursor of postmodernism, had a considerable
impact upon the development of phenomenology and
existentialism. Fundamental to his philosophical system
was the question of the meaning of Being, by which he
meant self-conscious existence. All previous political
philosophic had made the mistake of starting out from
a conception of human nature rather than recognizing
the ‘human essence’ as a ‘realm of disclosure’. This had
led to the dominance of technology over human
existence, from which, Heidegger believed, humans could
escape by developing a more receptive relationship to
Being. Heidegger’s most famous work is Being and Time
(1927).
Jean-François Lyotard: A French philosopher, Lyotard
was primarily responsible for popularizing the term
postmodern and for giving it its most succinct definition:
‘An incredulity towards metanarratives’. By this he meant
a scepticism about all creeds and ideologies that are
based upon universal theories of history which view
society as a coherent totality. This stems from science’s
loss of authority as it has fragmented into a number of
forms of discourse and as ‘performativity’, or efficiency,
has displaced truth as its standard of value. Lyotard’s
post-Marxism also reflects his belief that communism
has been eliminated as an alternative to liberal capitalism.
His most important work is The Postmodern Condition
(1979).
Michel Foucault: A French philosopher, Foucault was
principally concerned with forms of knowledge and the
construction of the human subject. His early work
analysed different branches of knowledge as
‘archaeologies’, leading to an emphasis upon discourse,
or ‘discursive’ formation. Central to this was his belief
that knowledge is deeply enmeshed in power, truth
always being a social construct, and that power can be
productive as well as prohibitive. Foucault’s key works
include Madness and Civilization (1961), The Order of
Things (1966) and History of Sexuality (1976).
Jacques Derrida: A French philosopher, Derrida is the
main proponent of deconstruction, although it is a term
he is reluctant to use. Deconstruction (sometimes used
interchangeably with poststructuralism) is the task of
raising questions about the ‘texts’ that constitute cultural
life, exposing complications and contradictions of which
their ‘authors’ are not fully conscious and for which they
are not fully responsible. Derrida’s concept of ‘difference’
rejects the idea that there are fixed differences in language
and allows for a constant sliding between meanings in
that there are no polar opposites. His major works include
Writing and Difference (1967), Margins of Philosophy
(1972) and Specters of Marx (1993).
160 International Relations and Area Studies

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Consociational Democracy has the follow ing 7. Natural Rights are ‘Nonsense upon Stilts’, said:
characteristic/s: A. James Mill B. Wesley Hohfeld
1. Grand coalition C. Jeremy Bentham D. Harold Laski
2. Mutual veto 8. The feminist concept ‘personal is the political’ means:
3. Segmented autonomy A. There is no difference between public and private
4. Direct democracy domains.
A. All of them B. 1, 3 and 4 B. Inequalities of power in the public and private
C. 2, 3 and 4 D. 1, 2 and 3 domains reinforce each other.
2. What is the first virtue of social institution, according C. Feminists do not value privacy.
to Rawls? D. All matters of the private domain should be subject
A. Wealth B. Strength to state action.
C. Militarism D. Justice
9. Which of the following is not a valid difference
3. Match the following ideas with the thinker: between Rawls’ and Nozick’s political philosophy?
Ideas Thinker A. Rawls was liberal, Nozick was libertarian.
(a) theory of forms 1. Isaiah Berlin B. Rawls’ theory is an end-state theory of justice,
(b) withering away of state 2. Rousseau Nozick’s is procedural.
(c) negative liberty 3. Marx C. Rawls supported redistribution while Nozick
(d) republic 4. Plato opposed it.
Codes: D. Rawls was opposed to private property rights while
(a) (b) (c) (d) Nozick upheld them.
A. 4 3 1 2 10. Which of the following are positive conceptions of
B. 1 4 2 3 liberty?
C. 2 1 3 4 1. Not just availability of options, but also ability to
D. 3 2 4 1 choose wisely.
4. Match the following: 2. Being free from legal constraints.
Philosophy Philosopher 3. State intervening in economy to ensure meeting
(a) Existentialism 1. Bakunin of basic needs.
(b) Anarchism 2. Charles Taylor 4. Not being deliberately interfered with by other
(c) Communitarianism 3. Sartre individuals.
(d) Positivism 4. Auguste Comte A. 1 and 2 B. 2 and 4
Codes: C. 1 and 3 D. 3 and 4
(a) (b) (c) (d) 11. Which of the following is not true of conservatism?
A. 3 4 2 1 A. They believe in organic society
B. 1 3 2 4 B. They give importance to traditionalism rather than
C. 2 1 3 4 rationalism
D. 3 1 2 4 C. They oppose all change
5. What defines a good society, according to Rawls? D. They support gradual and reformist change
A. A wealthy society 12. Communitarianism is opposed to which liberal
B. A society that owns the most land assumptions:
C. A just society 1. Universal principles of justice
D. A strong society 2. Right to private property
6. Which of the following are true about social contract 3. Abstract individualism
theory? 4. Limited State
1. The image of a hypothetical stateless society (state A. 1 and 4 B. 2 and 3
of nature) is established. C. 1 and 3 D. 2 and 4
2. Individuals seek to escape from the insecurity in 13. With whom are the following ideas associated?
the state of nature. (a) Imperialism as the highest 1. Joseph Stalin
3. The social contract obliges individuals to obey stage of capitalism
the state. (b) Revolution from above 2. Leon Trotsky
4. The social contract is an involuntary agreement. (c) Permanent revolution 3. Vladimir Lenin
A. 1, 2 and 4 B. 2, 3 and 4 (d) Ideological and repressive 4. Louis Althusser
C. 1, 2 and 3 D. 1, 2, 3 and 4 state apparatus
 International Relations and Area Studies 161

Codes: (a) John Rawls 1. Entitlement Theory

(a) (b) (c) (d) (b) Maratha Nussbaum 2. Capability Approach
A. 4 3 2 1 (c) Robert Nozick 3. Global Justice
B. 3 1 2 4 (d) Thomas Pogge 4. Distributive Theory
C. 2 1 4 3 Select the correct answer:
D. 1 4 2 3 (a) (b) (c) (d)
14. Match the following: A. 4 2 1 3
(a) Deliberative Democracy 1. J.J. Rousseau B. 2 3 1 4
(b) Radical Democracy 2. Jurgen Habermas, C. 4 3 2 1
Amy Gutmann D. 3 4 1 2
(c) Cosmopolitan 3. Chantal Mouffe, 19. Match List-I with List-II based on the important work
Democracy Ernesto Laclau authored by each of the following political thinker.
(d) Direct Democracy 4. David Held (a) J.J. Rousseau 1. Perpetual Peace: A Philoso-
Codes: phical Sketch
(a) (b) (c) (d) (b) Immanuel Kant 2. Discourses on the
A. 2 3 4 1 Arts and Sciences
B. 4 1 3 2 (c) John Rawls 3. The Structural Transforma-
C. 1 2 4 3 tion of the Public sphere
D. 3 4 2 1 (d) Jurgen Habermas 4. Political Liberalism

15. What did CB MacPherson characterise the classical Select the correct answer:
liberal view on individualism as? (a) (b) (c) (d)
A. 4 2 1 3
A. Possessive individualism
B. 2 1 4 3
B. Acquisitive individualism
C. 2 3 1 4
C. Capitalist individualism
D. 3 4 1 2
D. Liberal individualism
20. Match the following scholars with the tradition of
16. Match each of the following social theorists
thought they are primarily associated with.
methodological contribution in social sciences with
(a) Edmund Burke 1. Communitarianism
the associated term:
(b) Robert Nozick 2. Libertarianism
(a) Max Weber 1. Historical Materialism
(c) Jeremy Bentham 3. Conservatism
(b) Karl Popper 2. Paradigm Shift
(d) Alasdair MacIntyre 4. Utilitarianism
(c) Thomas Kuhn 3. Falsification
(d) Karl Marx 4. Ideal Type Select the correct answer:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Codes:
A. 1 2 3 4
(a) (b) (c) (d)
B. 2 3 4 1
A. 1 2 3 4
C. 2 1 4 3
B. 2 3 1 4
D. 3 2 4 1
C. 4 3 2 1
D. 3 4 1 2 21. Match List-I with List-II for the following political
thinkers based on the important work authored by
17. Which of the following is true about John Locke’s
each of the following:
views about human understanding?
(a) Hobbes 1. Emile
1. There is no innate knowledge and mind is a tabula
(b) J.S. Mill 2. The Eighteenth Brumaire
rasa (blank tablet).
of Louis Bonaparte
2. Ideas are the materials of knowledge and all ideas (c) Karl Marx 3. Principles of Political
come from experience. Economy
3. Experience is of two kinds—sensation and (d) J.J. Rousseau 4. De Cive
reflection.
Select the correct answer:
Select the correct answer: (a) (b) (c) (d)
A. 1 and 2 B. 2 and 3 A. 4 3 2 1
C. 1, 2 and 3 D. None of the above B. 4 1 3 2
18. Match List-I with List-II based on the idea of justice C. 1 2 3 4
each of the following scholars advocate. D. 3 4 1 2
2105 (MA–IR)—21
162 International Relations and Area Studies
22. The Social contract theory paved the way for: 33. Who said ‘Natural rights are simple nonsense’?
A. rise of absolute monarchy A. Hobbes B. Hegel
B. democracy C. Bentham D. Laski
C. growth of autocratic government 34. Identify the odd-one out from the social contract
D. direct democracy theory:
23. The social contract theory replaced: A. Thomas Hobbes B. John Locke
A. force theory B. divine right theory C. J.J. Rousseau D. J.S. Mill
C. patriarchal theory D. matriarchal theory 35. Which one of the following is an apt description of
24. Which of the following is not true for participatory Bodin’s theory of sovereignty?
democracy? A. Absolute sovereignty B. Limited sovereignty
A. It regards competitive theory of democracy as C. Political sovereignty D. Popular sovereignty
unduly minimalist 36. Who among the following thinkers criticized the
B. It calls for reforms in social and political structures Austinian theory of sovereignty on the ground that
of decision-making law is not the command of the sovereign but an
C. It justifies political apathy expression of the community’s sense of right?
D. It calls for radical transformation of citizenship A. Laski B. Krabbe
C. Duguit D. Gierke
25. Who originally coined the term ‘property as theft’?
A. Immanual Kant B. Karl Popper 37. Associations are not persona ficta but real persons
C. Adam Smith D. Proudhon existing prior to the State. This view was propounded
by:
26. Who of the following would you associate with ‘the A. Hobbes B. Hegel
end of ideology’ thesis? C. Duguit D. Gierke
A. Francis Fukuyama B. Daniel Bell
C. Isaiah Berlin D. Brian Barry 38. About which of the following thinkers it has been
said that his theory of the State is “an incongruous
27. Who among the following offers a critique of the mixture of natural rights and physiological metaphor”?
classical conception of democracy? A. Bradley B. Spencer
A. Joseph Schumpeter B. Philip Pettit C. Bluntschli D. Burke
C. C.B. Macpherson D. Carole Pateman
39. Who said that ‘democracy is a form of government in
28. Which thinker gave the ‘triadic’ concept of liberty? which everyone has a share’?
A. Gerard Macullum B. Isaiah Berlin A. Gettell B. Aristotle
C. Charles Taylor D. John Locke C. Herodotus D. Dicey
29. Which of the following best describes John Rawls’s 40. The idea of social contract has been recently revived
theory of justice? under a new form by:
A. Justice is given by the state A. Nozick B. Rawls
B. Justice consists of treating equals and unequals C. Oakshott D. Hannah Arendt
similarly 41. The theory of social contract primarily seeks:
C. Justice is a distributive principle A. to explore the historical origin of the State
D. Justice is blind B. to explain the basis of political obligation
30. Who presented the concept of “Iron Law of C. to justify the status quo
Oligarchy”? D. to bring out a radical transformation of society by
A. C. Wright Mills B. Vladimir Lenin revolution
C. Gaetano Mosca D. Robert Michels 42. The Historical Theory of the Origin of the State was
31. Taylor, Walzer, MacIntyre, Sandel—What kind of a propounded by:
A. Sir Henry Maine B. Triestske
philosophical position do these four philosophers
C. Oppenheimer D. Durkheim
represent?
A. Marxism B. Multiculturalism 43. Which one of the following theories held that the
C. Communitarianism D. Feudalism State is a product and manifestation of the
irreconcilability of class antagonisms?
32. The idea of social contract has been recently revived A. Evolutionary Theory
under a new form by: B. Anarchist Theory
A. Robert Nozick B. John Rawls C. Marxist-Leninist Theory
C. Michael J. Oakshott D. Hannah Arendt D. Guild-Socialist Theory
2105 (MA–IR)—21-II
 International Relations and Area Studies 163

44. What is the correct order of primacy of the following Codes:

layers of social structure according to the Materialistic (a) (b) (c) (d)
Interpretation of History? A. 2 4 1 3
1. Relations of production B. 3 5 1 2
2. Ideology C. 2 1 3 4
3. Forces of production D. 5 4 2 1
4. Legal and Political organizations 51. Which one among the following is regarded as a civil
Select the correct answer using the codes given below: right?
A. 1, 3, 2, 4 B. 3, 1, 4, 2 A. Right to public employment
C. 3, 4, 1, 2 D. 2, 3, 4, 1 B. Freedom of speech and expression
C. Right to elect and to be elected
45. “By liberty I mean the eager maintenance of that D. Right to property
atmosphere in which men have the opportunity to be
their best selves.” Laski. 52. For the removal of the abuses of the factory system
Robert Owen advocated:
Which one of the following expresses the view implied A. the organization of a strong trade union movement
in the above statement? B. a revolutionary change of class relations in society
A. Liberty is the absence of restraint C. the organization of producer’s co-operatives
B. Liberty is what the law permits D. a reward system based on the principle of ‘to each
C. Liberty is the ability to do what one desires according to his needs’
D. Liberty is the maintenance of conditions for the
growth of human personality 53. Which of the following statements are consistent with
the Pluralist theory of sovereignty?
46. Which one of the following statements about the 1. Although the State is also an association, the
welfare state is correct? possession of coercive power by the State endows
A. A welfare state is the same as a socialist state it with a superior right over other associations.
B. The welfare state is based on the principles of 2. The associations in the State are as real and as
classical liberalism self-sufficient as the State itself.
C. The welfare state is collectivist state 3. Law is prior to the State.
D. The welfare state embodies the principles of 4. All other associations having valuable social
neoliberalism functions to perform are as much ‘sovereign’ as
47. Bentham was a supporter of the theory of: the State is for its purpose.
A. natural rights B. historical rights A. 1, 2 and 3 B. 1, 2 and 4
C. legal rights D. ethical rights C. 1, 3 and 4 D. 2, 3 and 4

48. Who among the following thinkers held the view that 54. Laissez Faire policy means:
equality and liberty are antithetical? A. Fair legislation
A. Lord Acton B. Karl Marx B. Control over trade
C. Harold Laski D. G.D.H. Cole C. Withdrawal of some restrictions
D. Control over industry
49. Rawl’s principle of distributive justice is based on the
55. Who among the following argued that universal
notion of:
suffrage does injustice to property owners?
A. desert B. difference principle
A. Henry Maine B. H.J. Laski
C. equality D. entitlement
C. J.S. Mill D. W.F. Willoughby
50. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer
56. J.S. Mill recommended complete freedom of speech
by using the codes given below the lists:
and censorship:
List-I List-II
A. in the case of a false view
(a) Justice is the interest of the 1. Duguit
B. in the cases of a false view and a view that is
stronger
partially true and partially false
(b) Justice is doing one’s own 2. Thrasymachus
C. in the case of view that is both—partially true and
work which is in consonance partially false
with his own nature D. in all cases irrespective of whether a view is
(c) Justice is ultimately the 3. Rawls partially or wholly true or false
principle of social solidarity
(d) Justice is fairness 4. Plato 57. Who among the following was of the view that control
5. Spencer of a corporate world on mass media has transformed
164 International Relations and Area Studies
the press from a watchdog of democracy to a system A. Guarantees of civil liberties and rights
of thought control for duping ordinary citizens into B. Government is vested with unfettered powers
conforming to corporatism? C. The independence of organized groups and
A. Noam Chomsky B. Raymond Aron interests from government
C. John Rawls D. Karl Popper D. Regular elections that respect the principle of ‘one
person—one vote; one vote—one value’
58. Who among the following described democracy as
the ‘tyranny of the majority’? 67. Participatory democracy seeks to enhance which one
A. J. Rousseau B. De Tocqueville of the following?
C. John Dunning D. James Madison A. Decentralization
B. Representation of disadvantaged sections
59. Who among the following is not an exponent of C. Active accountability
‘Elitist Theory of Democracy’? D. Political accountability
A. Michel B. Pareto
68. The libertarians among the neo-liberals are opposed
C. Mosca D. C. Macpherson
to:
60. Who among the following theorists advocated A. rolling back the state
participatory democracy? B. slimming the bureaucracy
A. F.A. Hayek B. C.B. Macpherson C. restriction on monopolies
C. Michael Oakeshoot D. Gaetano Mosca D. freedom of the market
61. Who among the following has described “democracy 69. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
as the institutional arrangement for arriving at political A. Karl Marx : The Poverty of Philosophy
decisions in which individuals acquire the power to B. V.I. Lenin : State and Revolution
decide by means of a competitive struggle for the C. Josef Stalin : Wage, Labour and Capital
People’s vote”? D. Friedrich Engels : Origin of Family, Private
A. Robert Dahl B. Peter Bacharach Property and the State
C. C. Wright Mills D. Joseph Schumpeter 70. Match List-I (Theorists) with List-II (Theories) and
select the correct answer.
62. Which one of the following is not the reason for the
List-I List -II
rejection of liberal democracy by Marxists?
(a) Sydney Webb 1. Syndicalism
A. Piecemeal reform of Capitalism is not possible
(b) Georges Sorel 2. Fabian Socialism
B. Popular participation in liberal democracy is (c) Saint Simon 3. Utopian Socialism
limited (d) Edward Bernstein 4. Revisionism
C. Unelected and unaccountable centers of power in
liberal democracies Codes:
D. In liberal democracy, the government is limited (a) (b) (c) (d)
A. 2 1 3 4
63. Who among the following favoured qualification as B. 2 1 4 3
the basis for right to vote? C. 1 2 3 4
A. J. Bentham B. J.S. Mill D. 1 2 4 3
C. T.H. Green D. E. Barker
71. Which one of the following principles, did fascism
64. Participatory democracy calls for: not subscribe to?
A. greater involvement of the legislature in the A. Corporatist understanding of society
business of legislature B. Racial superiority
B. active engagement of the representatives in the C. Dictatorship of the proletariat
affairs of their constituencies D. Obedience and discipline
C. greater and active engagement of citizens in 72. Given below are two statements, one labelled as
government Assertion (A) and the other labelled as Reason (R):
D. increasing the voter turnout in elections
Assertion (A): Marxists are skeptical about that
65. ‘Democracy is desirable because the aggregate likelihood of an equitable social order following from
satisfaction it offers is better than that in other systems interdependence and transnationalism.
of rue,’ is the argument forwarded by:
Reason (R): Marxists believe that dominant classes of
A. liberals B. utilitarian the core states would use their power to control those
C. marxists D. socialists process ensuring that interdependence remains highly
66. Which one of the following is not a characteristic of asymmetrical and that transnational institutions and
Liberal Democracy? regimes reinforce the capitalist system.
 International Relations and Area Studies 165

Select the correct answer from the codes given below. B. Formation of self-governing 2. Democratic
A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct autonomous association of, socialism
explanation of A people that will work on
B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct cooperative basis to establish
explanation of A partnership between groups
C. A is true, but R is false and State.
D. A is false, but R is true C. Combination of human 3. Syndicalism
fellowship just social system,
73. The most outstanding contemporary advocate, of common ownership and
libertarianism is: mutual service
A. Rawls B. Habermas D. A system of revolutionary 4. Anarchism
C. Dworkin D. Nozick tactics using non-political
74. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer: methods to create an
List-I List-II economic federation
(Thinker) (Phrase) Codes:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(a) Hayes 1. “Of all the evils I hate, I think
A. 4 1 2 3
I hate nationalism most.”
B. 2 1 4 3
(b) Organsko 2. “An organized self interest of
C. 4 3 2 1
the whole people.”
D. 2 3 4 1
(c) Rabindranath 3. “As a belief nationalism has
Tagore been a curse and nothing but 77. “Everything for the State, nothing against the State,
a curse.” nothing outside the State” sums up the philosophy of:
(d) Victor 4. “To believe that nationalism A. Marxism B. Fascism
Golancz will vanish because it is C. Fabian Socialism D. Guild Socialism
dangerous or the nations will 78. Which one of the following is not the characteristic
wither away because there are of ‘a six point syndrome’ of totalitarianism propounded
other ways of organizing by Friedrich and Brzezinski?
mankind is false”. A. An official ideology
Codes: B. A system of terroristic policy
(a) (b) (c) (d) C. A monopoly of means of communication
A. 1 2 4 3 D. A divine right to rule
B. 3 4 2 1 79. Consider the following statements:
C. 1 4 2 3
Classical liberalism stands for:
D. 3 2 4 1
1. a state which is merely a watchman
75. Marxism believes that: 2. individualism
A. the real is the rational and the rational is the real 3. welfarism
B. social relations are rooted in the material 4. free market
conditions Which of these statements are correct?
C. economic relations can be understood in the light A. 1 and 2 B. 1, 2 and 3
of the progress of human mind C. 3 and 4 D. 1, 2 and 4
D. it is human consciousness that determines the
80. Consider the following statements:
social life of man
1. Authority that does not accept freedom is
76. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer: authoritarianism.
List-I List-II 2. Authoritarianism does not distinguish between
(Characteristic (Political authoritative personality and authoritarian
Features) Ideology) personality.
(a) Formation of the natural harmo- 1. Guild 3. Authoritarianism is directive in its orientation and
nious, organic communities for socialism is disregardful of public opinion.
the free development of the 4. Authoritarianism thinks that it knows what is good
individual and the abolition for the citizens.
of the main source of Which of the above statements associated with
coercion-state authoritarianism are correct?
166 International Relations and Area Studies
A. 1 and 2 B. 2 and 3 Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
C. 1, 3 and 4 D. 1, 2, 3 and 4 A. 1, 2 and 3 B. 1, 2 and 4
C. 3 and 4 D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
81. Consider the following statements:
87. Consider the following statements:
Marxism is critical of liberalism for its:
1. Fascism can be described as a protagonist of a
1. narrow concern with civic and political rights.
radical totalitarian state.
2. legitimization of capitalist class relations.
2. Hitler and Mussolini tried to transcend class-
3. inability to perceive surplus value generated in
conflict in the name of greater and higher ideal of
capitalist production system. nationalism.
Which of the statements given above are correct? 3. Fascism accepted capitalism but did not stress its
A. 1, 2 and 3 B. 1 and 2 subordination to the ideal of welfare state.
C. 2 and 3 D. 1 and 3 Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
82. Democratic socialism distinguishes itself from scientific A. 1 and 2 B. 1, 2 and 3
socialism by which of the following attributes? C. 3 only D. 2 and 3
1. Rejection of market mechanism to decide on 88. Who among the following propagated the idea of
production and distribution policies. Cultural Revolution under Socialism?
2. Acceptance of central planning. A. Karl Marx B. Mao-Tse-Tung
3. Insistence on democratic methods of decision- C. V.I. Lenin D. J. Stalin
making.
89. As per Marxism, which one of the following serves as
Select the correct answer using the codes given below: the force, spurring social developing?
A. 1, 2 and 3 B. 1 only A. Materialism B. The Communist Party
C. 2 and 3 D. 3 only C. Socialist ideology D. Class contradictions
83. With whom of the following is conservation, as a 90. Which one of the following ideas is integral to
political ideology associated? Marxism?
1. Burke 2. Hobbes A. Materialist dialectics
3. Hegel 4. Oakeshoot B. Priority of the economic factor
Select the correct answer using the codes given below: C. Surplus value as mode of appropriation of surplus
A. 1, 2 and 3 B. 2 and 4 under capitalism
C. 1 and 3 D. 1, 3 and 4 D. Concept of class struggle
84. Which one of the following is not a tenet of Stalinism? 91. What is the cornerstone of Marxism?
A. The theory of permanent revolution A. Attack on bourgeois way to life
B. Socialism in one country B. Economic determinism
C. Intensification of class struggle with socialist C. Materialist conception of history
advance D. A distinctive philosophy of the state
D. Strong State under socialism 92. On what basis does Marx’s dialectic materialism
85. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer interpret and analyse the social events?
using the code given below the Lists: A. Material Forces B. Communal Forces
List-I List-II C. Political Forces D. International milieu
(a) Dictatorship of the proletariat 1. Liberalism 93. Which one of the following thoughts lays stress on
(b) Avowal of rights 2. Communism rights of recognition and belonging?
(c) Glorification of state 3. Anarchism A. Neo-Liberalism B. Conservatism
(d) Opposition to state in general 4. Fascism C. Communitarianism D. Democratic socialism
Codes: 94. The ‘realistic’ theory of democracy as a critique of the
(a) (b) (c) (d) classical democracy was formulated by:
A. 2 4 1 3 A. Ernest Barker B. Harold Laski
B. 3 1 4 2 C. Schumpeter D. Hannah Arendt
C. 2 1 4 3
95. The nineteenth century liberals were distrustful of
D. 3 2 1 2
democracy because:
86. Who among the following thinkers are associated with A. it was in conflict with the principle of liberty
early socialism sometimes termed as utopian B. it was opposed to hereditary rule
socialism? C. it emphasized the idea of economic justice
1. Robert Owen 2. Saint Simon D. it tended to undermine the power of landed
3. Charles Fourier 4. Proudhon aristocracy
 International Relations and Area Studies 167

96. Which one of the following statements about 104. Who among the following has expressed that an
totalitarian democracy is correct? important view of representative democracy is that it
A. Totalitarian democracy is a contradiction in terms is a mode of selecting leaders from a given set of
B. Totalitarian democracy is a form of democracy elites who compete for people’s vote?
consistent with mass society A. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar B. J. Schumpeter
C. Totalitarian democracy was prevalent in ancient C. Robert Dah l D. Norberto Bobbio
Greece and the Middle Ages 105. “The problem of a just society is not the single problem
D. Totalitarian democracy serves best the interest of of economic equality but the much more difficult
each and every member of society problem of achieving simultaneously in one society
both liberty and equality”.
97. Which one of the following has been justified by the
New Right? Which system does this passage justify.
A. Free market society with welfare state A. Capitalism B. Communism
B. Free market society with minimal state C. Fascism D. Democratic Socialism
C. Free market society with planning in detail 106. Which one of the following principles is rejected by
D. Bureaucratic control and non-market economy Fascism?
98. Who among the following has/have identified rule- A. Racial/national superiority
making, rule application and rule adjudication as three B. Obedience and personal loyalty to the leader
C. Organic solidarity
authoritative governmental functions?
D. Rights and liberties
A. Almond and Coleman
B. Robert Dahl 107. The subordination of the individual to the State is an
C. Harold J. Laswell essential feature of which one of the following?
D. David Easton A. Socialist doctrine B. Feudal doctrine
C. Conservative doctrine D. Fascist doctrine
99. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched?
A. Structural functional approach : Bosanquet 108. Which among the following ideologies views
B. Behavioral approach : Charles Merriam government and all forms of institutionalized authority
as a constraint on individual liberty?
C. Conflict approach : Seymour Lipset
A. Liberalism B. Anarchism
D. Marxist approach : Jacques Derrida
C. Individualism D. Guild Socialism
100. Who among the following made the statement:
109. Which one of the following is the correct statement?
“Sovereignty is the supreme power of State, over Totalitarian State is the one which:
citizens and subjects unhindered by law”? A. commands unquestioning obedience to the
A. J. Bodin authority of the ruler
B. H. Gardner B. guarantees conditions in which the individual can
C. Harold J. Laski realize his true self
D. Ayatollah Rohallah Khomeini C. claims to regulate every sphere of individual’s
101. Which one of the following is the correct statement? life and activities
In the Pluralist Theory: D. as a natural organism possesses a will of its own
to promote a good life
A. the State is one among several associations
B. the State is the sovereign association 110. What amongst the following is the main thrust of
C. the State is subordinate to other associations Neo-liberalism?
D. the State includes the whole society A. To place market efficiencies as foundation for
political freedom and to argue for a limited role
102. The idea of equality is not manifest in the thoughts for the State
of which one among the following? B. Commitment to an autonomous attitude to State,
A. Eric Voegelin B. Julius K. Nyerere society and individual
C. R.H. Tawney D. George Bernard Shaw C. To accord priority to the will of the majority
103. Social democracy articulates its concern for the weak D. To extend power of a State beyond its borders
and vulnerable on the basis of which of the following? 111. Which one of the following cannot be considered as
A. Uniform civil code, State ownership of industry a theorist of democracy?
and public health A. Alexis de Tocqueville
B. Welfarism, redistribution and social justice B. J.J. Rousseau
C. Trade unions, markets and more political parties C. J.S. Mill
D. Unity, heroism and anti-capitalism D. E.W. Nietzsche
168 International Relations and Area Studies
112. Consider the following statements about citizenship. A. Trotsky B. Karl Marx
(a) Citizenship confers on a person the membership C. Bolsheviks D. Mensheviks
in a political community 123. Fascism as a political theory originated in:
(b) In Democratic Societies, a citizen is one who enjoys A. France B. Germany
the right to participate in the political process C. Italy D. Russia
(c) Exercising the right to vote is an essential
condition for being a citizen in a Democratic 124. Which political theory propounded that state will
Polity ultimately disappear:
(d) Most democracies today grant citizenship only to A. Syndacatism B. Fabian socialism
those persons who were born within their territory C. Fascism D. Communism
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 125. Who said “Law is the command of a determinate
A. (a) only B. (b) and (c) sovereign”?
C. (a) and (b) D. (a), (b), (c) and (d) A. John Austin B. Laski
C. Bentham D. None of these
113. What is negative liberty?
A. Absence of constraints of law 126. Those who are active against the very existence of
B. Absence of external hindrances state are known as:
C. Freedom to pursue one’s own good A. Fascists B. Anarchists
D. Freedom to choose C. Socialists D. None of these

114. The concept of Rights, Property, Liberty, Equality 127. The concept of ‘Surplus Value’ is given by:
and Justice are related to: A. Mao B. Lenin
A. Dictatorship B. Aristocracy C. Marx D. None of these
C. Democracy D. Oligarchy 128. The system of ‘Basic Democracies’ was introduced
115. The legal theory of Rights believes that: by:
A. The rights are created by the state A. Gen. Yahya Khan B. Gen. Zia-ul-Haq
B. The rights are created by the nature C. Z.A. Bhutto D. None of these
C. The rights are created by the society 129. Nazism as a theory originated in:
D. The rights are eternal A. Germany B. Russia
116. Civil rights are given to the individuals by: C. Italy D. None of these
A. The State B. The People 130. “Political Science begins and ends with the state” is
C. Nature D. Society said by:
A. Paul Janct B. Stephen Leacock
117. Who said, “Liberty is the opposite of O ver
C. Professor Garner D. None of these
Government”?
A. Locke B. Laski 131. According to Aristotle which is the bad government
C. Hobbes D. Seeley of the rich:
A. Tyranny B. Oligarchy
118. Rights are, “embodiment of ethical ideas”, is attributed
C. Democracy D. None of these
to:
A. Bosanquet B. Hegel 132. “Theory of Divine Right of King” was presented by
C. T.H. Green D. J.S. Mill King James of England in century:
A. 16th B. 17th
119. Customary rights are supported by: C. 18th D. None of these
A. Cicero B. Laski
C. Ritchie D. J.S. Mill 133. Sovereignty is which one of the following bases of
the state:
120. How many essentials are required to constitute a state? A. Physical B. Natural
A. Three B. Four C. Spiritual D. None of these
C. Five D. Six
134. Law is “the body of Principles recognized and applied
121. Laissez Faire policy means: by the state in the administration of justice” is said
A. Withdrawal of ‘some restrictions’ by:
B. Fair legislation A. Holland B. Green
C. Control over trade C. Salmond D. None of these
D. Control over industry
135. The word “polis” means:
122. Materialistic interpretation of history was propounded A. Civilized people B. Form of government
by: C. A city state D. None of these
 International Relations and Area Studies 169

136. In which century Austinian theory of Sovereignty was A. Jeremy Bentham B. J.S. Mill
refuted by Pluralists? C. John Locke D. None of these
A. 18th B. 19th
150. The Fascism of Plato got birth in 4th Century BC,
C. 20th D. None of these
whereas the modern Fascism is the Product of early:
137. Commune system is a part of the political system of: A. 18th Century B. 19th Century
A. China B. India C. 20th Century D. None of these
C. USA D. None of these 151. “An Essay Concerning Human understanding” was
138. The writer of Social Contract and the Islamic State is: published in 1690, is the most important work of:
A. Ilyas Ahmad B. Ibn Khuldun A. J.S. Mill B. Bentham
C. Iqbal D. None of these C. Thomas Hobbes D. None of these
139. Who is the author of “Politics in Pakistan: The Nature 152. The course of Athenian education was divided into:
and Direction of Change”? A. Three stages B. Four stages
A. Khalid B Sayeed B. Ilyas Ahmad C. Five stages D. None of these
C. Hafeezur Rehman D. None of these
153. Who was the Father of English Utilitarianism?
140. George H. Sabine is the author of: A. John Austin B. James Mill
A. A history of Political Theory C. Jeremy Bentham D. None of these
B. Republic 154. “A History of Political Theory” was written by:
C. The spirit A. S.T. Jones B. G.H. Sabine
D. None of these C. Gettle D. None of these
141. Plato is the author of:
155. According to John Locke the worst form of
A. Republic
Government is:
B. Social Contract A. Monarchy B. Aristocracy
C. History of Political Thought C. Democracy D. None of these
D. None of these
156. Eighteenth Century Rationalist Montesquieu was born
142. Who talks about the ‘End of Ideology’? in the year 1689 in the house of an eminent French
A. Aristotle B. Daniel Bell lawyer. He died in:
C. Paul Janet D. None of these A. 1735 B. 1745
143. Who is known as the founding father of Utilitarianism: C. 1755 D. None of these
A. James Mill B. Jeremy Bentham 157. Plato was born 427 BC and died at the age of:
C. C. Wright Mills D. None of these A. 80 B. 76
144. ‘Participatory Democracy’ advocated by: C. 74 D. None of these
A. Hayek B. Macpherson 158. GENERAL WILL as concept was introduced by:
C. Oakeshott D. Mosca A. Rousseau B. Hobbes
145. Lenin reached the conclusion that the disintegration C. Locke D. None of these
of capitalism would begin in the: 159. Karl Marx is known for his theory of:
A. Industrial heartland B. Tsarist Russia A. Dialectical Spiritualism
C. Colonial periphery D. USA B. Force as the Basis of State
146. The Bolshevik movement in Russia was led by: C. Materialistic Interpretation of history
A. Stalin B. Trotsky D. None of these
C. Lenin D. None of these 160. “Man by nature is a social and political animal” is the
147. The term, “anarchism” has been derived from the word cornerstone of the philosophy of:
‘anarchia’ which is basically a: A. Plato B. Socrates
A. Greek word B. Latin word C. Aristotle D. None of these
C. French word D. None of these 161. The author of the Book The Laws was:
148. Anarchism is the extreme left wing of Socialism. It A. Hormer B. Plato
was first expounded as political doctrine by: C. Solon D. None of these
A. William Godwin B. Prince Kropotkin 162. The center of Learning to the Greeks was the city state
C. Proudhon D. None of these of:
149. “Introduction to the Principles of Morals and A. Sparta B. Athens
Legislation (1789)” was written by: C. Carthage D. None of these
2105 (MA–IR)—22
170 International Relations and Area Studies
163. “Principle of Utility” as a formula was the idea of: 176. The concept of justice in the sense of greatest
A. James Mill B. Herbert Spencer happiness of the greatest number was postulated by:
C. Jeremy Bentham D. None of these A. Mark B. James Mill
C. Spencer D. None of these
164. “Two treatises on civil Government” constitute the
basic source of Political thought of: 177. Liberal Democracy means:
A. Sir Robert Filmer B. Locke A. Government by majority
C. Plato D. None of these B. Government by people
C. Limited majority rule
165. Marx and Engels produced the famous book D. Political power is limited by the rule of law
‘Communist Manifesto’ in:
A. 1848 B. 1845 178. The doctrine of proportionate equality was
C. 1883 D. None of these pronounced by:
A. Aristotle B. Rousseau
166. Montesquieu by birth belonged to: C. Marx D. None of these
A. Germany B. England
C. France D. None of these 179. Allama Iqbal characterized as “the sharp agent of
devil” to a political philosopher namely:
167. “Greatest Happiness of the Greatest Number” was the A. Chanki Kutalia B. Machiavelli
idea of: C. Karl Marx D. None of these
A. Austin B. Ibn-i-Khaldun
180. The concept of sovereignty was introduced for the
C. Laski D. None of these
first time into politics by:
168. Monistic theory of sovereignty is stated by: A. Hugo Grotious B. Jean Bodin
A. Aristotle B. Bodin C. Thomas Hobbes D. None of these
C. Austin D. Locke
181. The Fascism of Plato got birth in 4th century BC,
169. Fascism believes in: whereas the modern Fascism is the product of:
A. Dignity of individual B. Propaganda A. 18th Century B. 19th Century
C. Socialism D. Force C. 20th Century D. None of these
170. Rule of law prevails in: 182. “A summary of Plato’s Laws” was written by:
A. Dictatorship B. Aristocracy A. Al-Farabi B. Al-Ghazalli
C. Democracy D. Oligarchy C. Al-Mawardi D. None of these
171. “Justice as treating equals equally and unequals 183. The doctrine which is a curious blend of German
unequally” who said this: Idealism, English economics and French revolutionary
A. Aristotle B. J.S. Mill and social thoughts is known as:
C. T.H. Green D. None of these A. Socialism B. Communism
C. Fascism D. None of these
172. Which of the following are elements of Marxism?
A. Concept of surplus value 184. Montesquieu restricts forms of Government upto:
B. Dialectical Materialism A. 3 B. 4
C. Doctrine of class struggle C. 5 D. None of these
D. None of these 185. John Austin presented his history of sovereignty in a
173. The concept of ‘legal sovereignty’ was for the first book which was published in:
time given by: A. 1632 B. 1732
A. Hobbes B. Locke C. 1832 D. None of these
C. Bentham D. None of these 186. The famous book “The Spirit of Laws” written by
Montesquieu was published in:
174. The natural rights of the people according to Locke
A. 1734 A.D B. 1754 A.D
are:
C. 1784 A.D D. None of these
A. Right to life, liberty and property
B. Right to self-preservation and right to property 187. Benito Mussolini was the originator of:
C. Right to life and equality and right to property A. National Socialism B. Guild Socialism
D. None of these C. Fascism D. None of these
175. The welfare theory believes that the state is: 188. The legal theory of rights believes that:
A. Means B. An end A. The rights are created by the state
C. An organism D. None of these B. The rights are created by the nature
 International Relations and Area Studies 171

C. The rights are created by the society 200. Which of the following views believes that the state
D. The rights are eternal originated with class division and class struggle in
society?
189. Customary rights are supported by:
A. Liberal view B. Marxist view
A. Cicero B. Laski
C. Ritchie D. J.S. Mill C. Pluralist view D. Traditional view
201. “It is not the consciousness of man which determines
190. Who said that “Oh! Disrespectable democracy! I love
you!”? the material conditions of life but it is material
A. G.B. Shaw B. Lord Bryce conditions of life which determine their consciousness”
– this statement is given by:
C. Rousseau D. Marx
A. Gettell B. Karl Marx
191. Who among the following defines political science as C. Galbraith D. Catlin
the study of “the act of human and social control” or
202. “Politics is that part of social science which treats of
the “study of control relationship of wills”?
the foundations of state and the principles of
A. Robson B. Pollock
government”. Who made this statement?
C. Maitland D. Catlin
A. Willoughby B. Seeley
192. ——— is the parent science of all the social sciences. C. Paul Janet D. S.L. Wasby
A. Sociology B. History
C. Philosophy D. None of the above 203. Guild and Palmer strongly pleaded that the subject of
politics should be:
193. Which of the following deals with morality and A. The political parties
formulates rules which should influence the behaviour B. To secure obedience
of man while living in society? C. Negative
A. Philosophy B. Ethics D. Power instead of the state
C. Sociology D. None of the above
204. The Father of modern sociology, A. Comte, portrayed
194. Ethics is concerned with man as a man and as such, society as a potentially harmonious and ordered
it is prior to: structure in which all social classes:
A. Society B. Science A. worked for social change
C. Political Science D. History B. worked for the common good
195. Who among the following prominent writers has given C. worked for the individual
psychological explanations of almost all the political D. worked for capitalists
problems? 205. Socialist states are based on marxian ideology and are
A. Le Bon B. Baldwin known as the:
C. Graham Wallas D. All of the above A. Blue world B. Green world
196. Political scientists have borrowed such ideas as C. Red world D. Yellow world
‘cultural relativism’, ‘social evolution’, ‘cultural 206. Who among the following considers Marxism to be
diffusion’ from: an ideology rather than a political theory?
A. Anthropology B. Sociology A. Germino B. David Held
C. Philosophy D. Economics C. R.A. Dahl D. G.H. Sabine
197. Who among the following said that politics has its 207. Arrange the following works of Isaiah Berlin in
roots, psychologically, in the study of mental habits chronological order of his publications.
and vocational activities of mankind?
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
A. Barker B. Plato
(a) Concepts and Categories : Philosophical Essays
C. Bryce D. Wallas
(b) Four Essays on Liberty
198. Ivor Brown points out that economics deals mainly (c) Vico and Herder : Two Studies in the History of
with ——— and politics is concerned with ———— Ideas
A. wealth, government (d) Karl Marx : His Life and Environment
B. business, state Codes:
C. commodities, human beings A. (a), (b), (c) and (d) B. (c), (b), (a) and (d)
D. production, administration C. (d), (b), (c) and (a) D. (b), (d), (a) and (c)
199. Which of the following theories of the origin of the 208. Who among the following said that political theory
state was accepted by liberalism? stands for an abstract model of the political order?
A. Pluralist theory B. Marxist theory A. T.P. Jenkin B. R.A. Dahl
C. Historical theory D. Institutional theory C. W.T. Bluhm D. Weinstein
172 International Relations and Area Studies
209. Which one of the following statements is not true? 215. Match the following:
A. Classical political theory is qualitative. List-I List-II
B. Behavioural political theory is quantitative. (a) Modern political thinker (i) Plato
C. Post-behavioural political theory is both (b) Positivist school (ii) Machiavelli
qualitative and quantitative. (c) Normative political theory (iii) August Comte
D. Behavioural theory is not specially concerned with (d) Scientific/inductive (iv) Aristotle
Anglo-American model. method
Codes:
210. Which one of the following statements is not true? (a) (b) (c) (d)
A. Neo-liberalism refers to significant revival of A. (ii) (iii) (i) (iv)
interest in classical liberalism. B. (ii) (iv) (i) (iii)
B. Neo-liberal ideas were taken up by the political C. (i) (ii) (iv) (iii)
parties of the New Right in Britain. D. (iv) (i) (iii) (ii)
C. The revival of classical liberalism occurred as a
216. Match the items of List-I with items of List-II by
reaction against the onset of a world recession in
selecting the correct answer from the codes :
the 1970s. List-I List-II
D. T.H. Green accepted the classical liberal notion of (Thinkers) (Theories)
liberty only. (a) Mao Tse Tung (i) Proletarian Dictatorship
211. Who among the following said that ideology should (b) Lenin (ii) Cultural Revolution
neither be thought of as liberating or oppressive, nor (c) Marx (iii) One Country Socialism
as true or false. It can be any these things? (d) Stalin (iv) Communist Party as the
A. Andrew Heywood B. John Rawls Vanguard of the proletariat
C. Andrew Gamble D. Bill Coxall Codes:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
212. For Locke, which of the following statements is not A. (ii) (iv) (i) (iii)
true? B. (iii) (i) (iv) (ii)
(a) The state must be a constitutional state. C. (iv) (ii) (i) (iii)
(b) Government must posses discretionary power. D. (ii) (iv) (iii) (i)
(c) It is a tolerant state.
217. Rearrange the following works of Karl Marx in
(d) The right to property is not a natural right. sequential order in terms of Publication Year.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: (a) Critique of Political Economy
A. (a) and (c) B. (a) and (b) (b) Poverty of Philosophy
C. (b) only D. (d) only (c) Communist Manifesto
(d) The Holy Family
213. For Rousseau, which of the following statements is
Codes:
not true?
A. (d), (b), (c) and (a)
(a) Two original instincts i.e., self-love and sympathy B. (a), (c), (d) and (b)
make up man’s nature. C. (b), (a), (d) and (c)
(b) A thinking man is a depraved animal. D. (d), (c), (b) and (a)
(c) Family is the only natural society.
(d) General will is not a group mind. 218. Communitarian theory lays emphasis on:
A. Community as an inescapable ideal
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: B. Unlimited freedom of the individual
A. (a) and (b) B. (b) and (c) C. Limited role of the state
C. (c) only D. (d) only D. Partial regulation of market economy
214. For J.S. Mill, which of the following statements is not 219. Given below are the two statements, one labelled as
true? Assertion (A) and the other labelled as Reason (R).
(a) Pleasures differ in quality as well as in quantity. Select the correct answer from the codes given below.
(b) Mill makes use of the non-utilitarian arguments. Assertion (A): Behavioural political theory sought to
(c) The felicific calculus is absurd. eliminate the role of values and make Political Science
(d) Pleasures can be objectively measured. a pure science and quantitative.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: Reason (R): Political Science, being a social science,
A. (b) and (c) B. (a) and (b) can never be value-free as it deals with human beings
C. (a), (b) and (c) D. (d) only who are value-bound.
 International Relations and Area Studies 173

A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct (c) Theory of state as a corporate body.
explanation of (A). (d) Organic conception of state.
B. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is not the correct Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
explanation of (A). A. (a) and (d) B. (a) and (c)
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false. C. (b) and (c) D. (a) and (b)
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true.
225. Dialectical materialism of Karl Marx postulates that:
220. Which of the following were described by David (a) Matter is in a state of motion.
Easton as intellectual foundations of the System (b) Motion in the matter is due to the pressure of
Analysis? Give the correct answer from the codes environment.
given below: (c) Law of transformation is both quantitative and
(a) Regularities (b) Verification qualitative.
(c) Techniques (d) Quantification (d) Conflict in matter is continuous and endless.
Codes:
A. (a) B. (a), (b) Identify the correct answer:
C. (a), (b), (c) D. (a), (b), (c), (d) A. (a), (b) and (d) B. (a) and (c)
C. (b) and (d) D. (c) and (d)
221. Who among the following referred to the ‘decline’ of
political theory? 226. Which of the following statement is correct regarding
(a) David Easton and Alfred Cobbon J.S. Mill?
(b) Lasslett and Robert Dahl (a) State is justified in confirming itself to limited
(c) Will Durant functions
(d) Nathenial Hawthorn (b) Welfare policies are more important.
A. (b) and (c) B. (c) and (d) (c) State intervention into ‘self-regarding’ action.
C. (a) and (c) D. (a) and (b) (d) State intervention into ‘other regarding action’ is
justified.
222. Which of the following statements relating to Mao’s
theory of contradictions are true? Choose the correct answer:
(a) Contradictions are universal in all times and in all A. (b) and (c) B. (a) and (b)
societies. C. (a) only D. (d) only
(b) Antagonistic contradictions exist among the 227. The Magna Carta, the Glorious Revolution and the
hostile classes in terms of ownership of productive writings of John Locke all contributed to the
forces. strengthening of Great Britain:
(c) Non-antagonistic contradictions could exist A. Absolute Monarchy
among people which could be resolved without B. Ethnic Rivalaries
resorting to violence. C. Parliamentary Democracy
(d) Contradictions have no place in a socialist system. D. Imperialist Policies
Choose the correct answer from the below: 228. Which one of the following is not a factor, for
A. (d) and (a) B. (b) and (d) Fukuyama, leading to the triumph of liberal
C. (a), (b) and (c) D. (a), (b), (c) and (d) democracy?
A. The struggle for ‘recognition’.
223. Given below are two statements one labelled as
B. The logic of science’s mastery over nature.
Assertion (A) and the other labelled as Reason (R).
C. The absence of major contradictions in liberal
Assertion (A): For John Locke, Natural Rights are a democracy.
product of nature. D. The triumph of liberalism is more in terms of
Reason (R): State has to protect and safeguard these economics than ideologies.
rights. 229. Who among the following said, “Post-behaviouralism
A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the right was a genuine revolution, not a reaction; a becoming,
explanation of (A) not a preservation; a reform, not a counter
B. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the right reformation”?
explanation of (A) A. James Bryce B. Charles E. Merriam
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false C. David Easton D. G.A. Almond
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true
230. Who among the following said, ‘We can not shed our
224. John Locke’s contribution chiefly lies in his: values in the way we remove our coats’?
(a) Consent theory. A. Leo Strauss B. Alfred Cobban
(b) Limited Government. C. Jean Blondel D. David Easton
174 International Relations and Area Studies
231. Who among the following characterised early
liberalism as ‘possessive individualism’?
A. F.A. Hayek B. Robert Nozick
C. C.B. MacPherson D. Rawls
232. Given below are two statements, one labelled as
Assertion (A) and the other labelled as Reason (R).
Identify the correct answer.
Assertion (A): F.A. Hayek portrayed state intervention
and collectivism, even in their moderate forms, as
inevitably leading to an erosion of Liberty.
Reason (R): He is a supporter of laissez faire and
opponent of Keynesian economics and the welfare
state.
Codes:
A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct
explanation of (A).
B. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct
explanation of (A)
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true
233. Which one of the following statements is not true?
A. Marx drew distinction between ‘ideology’ and
‘science’.
B. Napoleon denounced ideology as cloudy
metaphysics that ignored history and reality.
C. De Tracy coined the term ideology.
D. Daniel Bell talked of ‘ideology without an end’.
234. For whom, “ideas” and not the “material conditions of
production” are the effective causes of revolution?
A. Karl Marx B. Lenin
C. Engels D. Stalin
235. Who of the following said that felicity is “continued
success in obtaining those things which a man from
time to time desires”?
A. Bentham B. J.S. Mill
C. Hobbes D. Rousseau
236. Which of the following is not an idea of Rousseau?
A. A thinking man is a depraved animal
B. Science is the fruit of idle curiosity
C. Philosophy is mere intellectual frippery
D. General will is the sum total of wills
237. For J.S. Mill which one of the following is not true?
A. Pleasures differ in quality
B. The felicific calculus is absurd
C. The principle of utility is the final end of life
D. Liberty consists in doing what one desires
238. For Karl Marx, who among the following is not a
Utopian socialist?
A. St. Simon B. Proudhon
C. Fourier D. Engels
239. Given below are two statements, one labelled as
Assertion (A) and other labelled as Reason (R). Select
the correct answer from the codes given below:
Assertion (A): For Gandhiji, Satyagraha is not identical
to passive resistance.
Reason (R): Satyagraha denoted a legitimate, moral
and truthful form of political action by the people
against the Brutal state power.
Codes:
A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct
explanation of (A)
B. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct
explanation of (A)
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true
240. Who coined the slogan “No control, no co-operation”?
A. Mahatma Gandhi B. J. Nehru
C. Aurobindo D. Subhash Bose

ANSWERS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
D D A D C C C B D C
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
C C B A A C C A B D
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
A B B C D B A A C D
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
C B C D A B D B A B
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
B A C B D B C A B A
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
B C D C C D B B D B
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
D A B C B B C A C A
 International Relations and Area Studies 175

71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
C A D D B A B B D D
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
B D D A C A B B D A
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
B A C C A A A A B A
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
A A B B D D D B C A
111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
D C A C A A D A C B
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130
A B C D A B C D A C
131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
B B C C C C A A A A
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
A B B B C C B A A C
151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160
D A C B C C A A C C
161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170
B B C B A C D C B C
171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
A B A A A B D A B B
181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190
C A A A C D C A C A
191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
D A B C D A C C C B
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210
B C D B C A C C D D
211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220
A D D D A A A A B D
221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230
D C A D A D C D C D
231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240
C A D B C D C D A C

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SOCIOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE
Introduction
In the family of social sciences, Sociology is comparatively
a new entrant. But because of its dealing with social
problems, social relationships and social interactions the
importance of the study of this subject has considerably
increased. It has considerably developed in methodology,
scope and approach. Attempts are now being made to study
every social problem scientifically and objectively,
eliminating subjectivity to the extent possible a distinctive
way of examining human interactions. Sociology is the
systematic study of social behaviour and human groups. It
focuses primarily on the influence of social relationships
upon people’s attitudes and behaviour and on how societies
are established and change. As a field of study sociology
has a very broad scope. It deals with families, gangs, business
firms, computer networks, political parties, schools, religions,
and labour unions. It is concerned with love, poverty,
conformity, technology, discrimination, illness, alienation,
overpopulation and community.
Definition
Sociology is being defined differently by our sociologists
and other’s each one of course, has its own news about the
nature and scope of the subject, as he conceives it.
According to Ward “Sociology is science of society”.
George Simmel opines that it is a subject which studies
human inter-relationship.
Giddins is of the view that “Sociology is scientific
study of society”.
Max Weber has viewed sociology as “Science which
attempts imperative understanding of social actions”.
Sorokin is of the opinion that sociology is a study first
of all the relationship and correlations between various
176
classes... second between the social and non social aspects
of life and third it studies general characteristics common
to all classes of society.
Ogburn has said that, “Sociology is concerned with the
study of social life and its relations to the factors of culture,
natural environment, heredity and group.”
Durkheim while defining sociology has said that, “It is
the science of collective representation.”
We may thus conclude these definitions with the
definition of E.S. Bogardus when he says that, “Sociology
may be defined as the study of the ways in which social
experiences function in developing, maturing and repressing
human beings through inter-personal stimulations.”
From all these definitions it becomes clear that sociology
is concerned with social relationships and studies society,
human interactions, inter-personal and intra-personal
relations. It tries to study scientifically social institutions,
organizations and systems. These definitions also make it
amply clear that sociologists view the subject differently
and that there is no unanimity in this regard.
Subject Matter of Sociology
While discussing its subject matter of sociologist, Sorokin
said that, “It seems to be a study, first of the relationship
and correlation between various classes of social
phenomena” (correlation between economic and religious,
family and moral, judicial and economic, mobility and
political phenomena and so on); second that between social
and non social (geographical, biological) phenomena; third
the study of general characteristics common to all classes of
phenomena. Thus according to his view point sociology
studies social events, relationships between social and non
social phenomena and generalized study of facts common
to all aspects of social life.
In his book ‘Society, Culture and Personality’ he has
said that sociology is more or less concerned with the

working of human beings. In this study he covers the study
of human behavior, social organizations, social phenomena
and social values. He is thus altogether opposed to formal
school of thought.
Is Sociology a Science?
There is a continuing controversy about the nature of
sociology. According to some sociologists it is a science,
while others strongly refute this claim.
What is a scientific study? For a scientific study it is
essential that the whole study should be systematic and
without any subjectivity. A scientist is supposed to have a
clear vision and a pointed approach. He should have capacity
to record unbiased decisions and properly classify data’s.
He should also have vision to collect only such data as is
useful for his study. He should conclude his findings after
verification of data’s and not on morality or certain pre-
supposed philosophies, nations and ideas.
The most important element of a scientific study is that
a scientist should deal with bear facts and not with ideal
situations. Thus this study should be both factual and
systematic. Then another element is that its results should
have universal application. Then in a scientific study there
should be cause effect relationship and it should also be
capable of making certain safe predictions.
Is Sociology A Science? Now a question arises as to
whether sociology is science or not. Those who support the
cause of sociology as science plead that a present day
sociologists must be methodological. He must base his
conclusions on impartially collected, analyzed and
interpreted data. He should also be willing to get his data
tested anywhere to established its validity. They also argue
that like natural scientists, Sociologists are concerned with
hard facts and not with ideal situations. They try to analyses
facts of social life as these are. They also believe that there
are many social facts and theories which the sociologists
have developed after hard labour and these are universally
applicable, under similar circumstances. They also point
out that like natural scientists, the sociologists are very
much concerned with cause effect relationship e.g. social
stratification and social disorganizations are the outcome of
certain causes, which have their effects as well. As with the
natural scientists, so with the sociologists, it is equal true
that like the former the latter can make some safe predictions.
They thus argue that “sociology is a science which attempts
the interpretative under-standing of social action in order to
arrive at a casual explanation of its causes and effects.”
Sociology- Not a Science: There is other side of the
picture as well. Many believe that society is not a perfect
science. Like the results of natural sciences, the results
obtained by social scientists cannot be generalized and
these also cannot be same under all circumstances and at all
places. The conditions always differ from society to society
and social changes are unavoidable. These are also very
International Relations and Area Studies 177
complex. Then it is said that each human beings has his
own limitations and he provides information keeping those
limitations into consideration. He is not prepared to disclose
secrets and thus the information provided is not factual. It
is also said that the many situations are not within the
control of sociologists and repeat experimentation is almost
impossible.
Each sociologist has subjective approach to the problem
under investigation. There is no stage of investigation in
which there is no subjectivity. Each one has some secrets
which he is not prepared to disclose to the investigators.
Unlike natural scientist, a sociologist has no laboratory
facilities and also has no control over material to be
experimented i.e., human beings. Not only this, but it is not
possible to repeat experiments. It is more or less not possible
to make the safe predictions because nature of social
problems with which the sociologists are not the same all
over the world.
Nature of Sociology
What is real nature of sociology about this controversy is
likely to continue. According to Robert Stead Sociology is
a social science and not a natural science, because it deals
with human beings and social phenomena. It is positive and
not normative science because it studies social phenomena
as it is and not as it ought to be. It is pure and not applied
science because it studies underlying factors of a social
phenomenon. Sociology is an abstract and not a concrete
science because it studies society in general. It deals with
society, which in itself is abstract and as such the subject
cannot be concrete. It is a science of generalization and not
that of particularization because it studies a social problem
in general and not in particular way. It does not study a
social phenomenon from a particular angle. It is an empirical
or rational science because it tries to follow logical method
of data collection.
Scope of the Sociology
Sociologist and others differ what should be the scope of
sociology. August Comte makes us believe that sociology
should try to study social phenomena on scientific lines. He
has thus laid stress on scientific approach. Emile Durkheim
has tried to separate sociology from other social science
subjects and also tried to give an independent status to this
subject. In his own way Pareto has tried to give it scientific
orientation. According to him in sociology there should be
no place for inferences. He is sure that there is basic unity
among various social phenomena. He is of the view that
sociology is much of science and social problems should
and can be scientifically studied. Max Weber has however
said that sociology should merely be interpretative
understanding of social actions and nothing beyond that.
Former or Specialist School of Thought: There are
two main schools of thought about the scope of sociology.
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Formal school of thought believes that scope of sociology
should not be generalized but confined to the study of some
specific aspects of society. The exponents of this school
wish to keep the subject pure and independent. According
to them it should deal with social relationships, social
activities and processes of socialization.
Max Weber, who is the chief exponent of this school
of thought, has said that sociology should deal with
interpretations of social behaviours only.
Vier Kandt, , who is another exponent of this school
of thought, is of the view that sociology should confine
itself to the study of formal and not the actual behaviour of
the people in the society.
Simmel has given an abstract concept of sociology, in
which stress has been laid on social relationship and social
interactions. For him, every society is the mix of this two.
Social relations are nothing but social interactions between
two individuals. He has said that society is not collections
of individuals but it is essentially a psychic interaction
between the individuals. It is sum total of social relations
between the individuals living in it.
According to Simmel sociology should not be made a
general science devoted to the study of social relations in
general. It should be confined to the study of specific social
relations because now these are being studied in the context
of social production and social heritage.
Vone Wiese is another exponent of this school of
thought. He believes that subject matter of sociology is
different from other social sciences. He does not agree with
the idea that sociology is combination of social sciences
but it is a subject which combines different social science
subjects. For him sociology as a special science has more
importance than general sociology.
It should separate its subject matter from other social
sciences.
Synthetic School of Thought: The school of thought
believes that sociology should study society as a whole and
not confine itself to the study of only limited social
problems. Auguste Comte believes that the scope of sociology
should be considerably widened. According to him the
study of one aspect of society can lead to misleading results
because all aspects of society, like parts of human body, are
inter-linked. Hobb-House and Sorokin also contribute to
this view point. They too believe that Sociology should
study society as a whole. The supporters of this school of
thought agree that in our modern times no social science
subject can remain isolated altogether ignoring other subjects
of study. The scope of sociology, they argue should be
general and not narrow. Durkheim has gone to the extent of
saying that “Sociology is science of collective representation.”
Sorokin is the main exponent of this school of thought.
He is not satisfied with the traditional views about sociology
and thus wants to give it a new approach. According to him
sociology is a systematic science and it has manifold inter-
actions. It is concerned with general facts of social life. He
is keen to give systematic interpretation of society.
Early Thinkers
August Comte
In France, the 19th Century was an unsettling time for the
nation’s intellectuals. French monarchy had been deposed
in the revolution of 1789 and Napoleon had suffered defeat
in his effort to conquer Europe. Philosophers and
intellectuals were finding the ways out to improve the
society. August Comte (1798-1857) is considered as the
most influential philosopher of the early 1800s. He believed
that in order to improve society the theoretical science of
society should be developed and a systematic investigation
of behaviour should be carried. He coined the term sociology
to apply to the science of human behaviours. The term
Sociology has been derived from Latin word ‘socious’ means
‘society’ and Greek word ‘logus’ means ‘science’.
Comte hoped that the systematic study of social
behaviour would eventually lead to more rational human
interactions. In Comte’s hierarchy of the Sciences, Sociology
was at the top. He called it the “queen”, and its practioners
“scientist-priests.”
Emile Durkheim
Durkheim is considered as one of the founding fathers of
sociology. He made many pioneering contributions to
Sociology including his most important theoretical work on
Suicide. Durkheim (1858-1917) was son of a rabbi, he was
educated in both France and Germany. He has an impressive
academic record and was appointed as one of the first
professors of the Sociology in France. Durkheim asserted
that behaviour must be understood in the larger social
context, rather an individual action.
Though intensive study of Arunta tribe, he focused on
the important functions of religion in reinforcing group
Solidarity. According to Durkheim the growing division of
labour in industrial society and increasing specialization
leads to what he called as Anomie. In the state on anomie
the confusion and the inability to cope with the
circumstances also results in cases of suicide.
Max Weber
Max Weber was born in Germany (1864-1920). He studied
legal and economic history, but gradually developed an
interest in sociology. Later he became professor and taught
at various German universities. He taught the “Verstehen”,
to his students. He said that in order to fully comprehend
behaviour, we must learn the subjective meanings people
attach to their actions — how they themselves view and
explain their behaviour. He is also credited for his key
conceptual tool: the Ideal type. The concept of ideal type
can be used to study the family, religion, authority, and
economic systems, as well as the analyze bureaucracy.
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Karl Marx
Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a critique of existing institutions
that a conventional academic career was impossible. He was
a revolutionary and spent most of his life in exile from his
native Germany. He was very much influenced by the ideas
of Friedich Engles (1820-1895) with whom he formed a
lifelong friendship.
Marx lived in extreme poverty in England. He pawned
most of his possessions, and several of his children died of
malnutrition and disease.
In Marx’s analysis, society was fundamentally divided
between two classes i.e., Bourgoise and Plorotariate who
have opposite interests. In his examination of industrial
society, he saw the factory as the center of conflict between
the exploiters (the owners of the means of production) and
the exploited (the workers).
Marx’s influence on contemporary thinking has been
dramatic. His writings inspired those who led the communist
revolutions in Russia, China, Cuba, Vietnam, and elsewhere.
Perspectives in Sociology
Sociologists view society in different ways. Some see the
world basically as a stable and ongoing entity. They are
impressed with the endurance of the family, organized
religion, and other social institutions. Some sociologists see
society as composed of many groups in conflict, competing
for scarce resources. To other sociologists, the most
fascinating aspects of the social world are the everyday,
routine interactions among individuals that we sometimes
take for granted. The four perspectives that are most widely
used by sociologists will provide an introductory look at
the discipline. These are the functionalist, conflict,
interactionist and critical perspectives.
Functionalist Perspective
Also known as functionalism and structural functionalism,
functionalist perspective is based on the assumption that
society is stable, orderly system. This stable system is
characterized by societal consensus, whereby the majority
of members show a common set of values, belief and
behavioural expectation. According to this perspective a
society is composed of interrelated parts, each of which
serves a function and contributes to the overall stability of
the society. Societies develop social structure or institutions
that persist because they play a part in helping society
survive. These institutions include the family, education,
govt., religion, and the economy. If anything adverse
happens to one of these institutions or part are affected and
the system no longer functions properly.
Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), a Harvard university
sociologist was a key figure in the development of
functionalist theory. Parson had been greatly influenced by
the works of Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and other
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European sociologists. Under the functionalist approach, if
an aspect of social life does not contribute to a society
stability or survival- if it does not serve some identifiably
useful function or promote value consensus among member
of a societyit will not be passed on from one generation to
the next.
As an example of the functionalist perspective, let us
examine prostitution. Why is it that a practice so widely
condemned continues to display such persistence and
vitality? Functionalists suggest that prostitution satisfies
needs of patrons that may not be readily met through more
socially acceptable forms such as courtship or marriage. The
“buyer” receives sex without any responsibility for
procreation or sentimental attachment; at the same time, the
“seller” gains a livelihood through this exchange.
Through such an examination, we can conclude that
prostitution does perform certain functions that society that
seems to need. However, this is not to suggest that
prostitution is a desirable or legitimate form of social
behaviour.
Manifest and Latent Functions
Manifest function are intended or overly recognized by the
participants in a social unit. In contrast, latent function is
unintended function that is hidden and remains
unacknowledged by participants. For example, a manifest
function of education is the transmission of knowledge and
skills from one generation to the next, a latent function is
the establishment of social relations and networks. Merton
noted that all features of a social system may not be
functional at all times, dysfunctions are the un-desirable
consequences of any element of a society. A dysfunction of
education in United States is the perpetuation of gender,
racial and class inequalities. Such dysfunction may threaten
the capacity of a society to adopt and survive.
Conflict Perspective
According to conflict perspectives, group in society are
engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scare
resources. Conflict may take the form of politics, litigation,
negotiations or family discussions about financial matter.
Simmel, Marx and Weber contributed significantly to this
perspective by focusing on the inevitability of clashes
between social groups. Today, advocates of the conflict
perspective view social continuous power struggle among
competing social group.
Karl Marx viewed struggle between social classes as
inevitable, given the exploitation of workers under
capitalism. Expanding on Marx’s work, sociologists and
other social scientist have come to see conflict not merely
as a class phenomenon but as a part of everyday life in all
societies. Thus, in studying any culture, organization, or
social group, sociologists want to know who benefits, who
suffers and who dominates at the expense of other. They are
180 International Relations and Area Studies
concerned with the conflict between women and men, parents
and children, cities and suburbs and whites and African
Americans, to name only few. In studying such questions,
conflict theorists are interested in how society’s institutions
including the family, govt., religion, education and the
media— may help to maintain the privileges of some groups
and keep others in a subservient position.
Like functionalist, conflict sociologists tend to use the
Marco-level approach. Obviously, through, there is a striking
difference between these two sociological perspectives.
Conflict theorists are primarily concerned with the kinds of
changes that can bring about, whereas functionalists look
for stability and consensus.
The conflict model is viewed as more “radial” and
“activist” because of its emphasis on social change and the
need for redistribution of resources to eliminate existing
social inequality. On the other hand, the functionalist
perspective, because of its focus on stability, is generally
seen as more “conservation” (Dahrendorf,1958)
Currently, conflict theory is accepted within the
discipline of sociology as one valid way to gain insight
into a society.
One important contribution of conflict theory is that it
has encouraged sociologists to view society through the
eyes of those segments of the population that rarely influence
decision making.
Feminist theory builds in important way on the conflict
perspective. Like other conflict theorists, feminist scholars
see gender differences as a reflection of the subjugation of
one group (women) by another group (men). Drawing on the
work of Marx & Engels, contemporary feminist theorists
often view women’s subordination as inherent in capitalist
societies. Some radical feminist theorists, however, view the
oppression of women as inevitable in all male-dominated
societies, including those labeled as capitalist, socialist and
communist (Tuchman, 1992).
Interactionist or Interpretive
The functionalist and conflict perspectives both analyze
behaviour in terms of society wide patterns. However, many
contem porary sociologists are more interested in
understanding society as a whole through an examination
of social interactions such as small groups conducting
meetings, two friends talking casually with each other, a
family celebrating a birthday and so forth. The interactionist
perspective generalizes about fundamental or everyday forms
of social interaction. Interactionism is a sociological
framework for viewing human beings as living in a world
of meaningful objects. These “objects” may include material
things, actions, other people, relationships and even symbols.
Focusing on everyday behaviour permits interactions to
better understand the larger society.
George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) is widely regarded
as the founder of the interactionist perspective. Mead was
interested in observing the minutest forms of communication-
smiles, frowns, nods of the head- and in understanding how
such individual behaviour was influenced by the larger
context of a group or society.
Interactionists see symbols as an especially important
part of human communication. In fact, the interactionist
perspective is sometime referred to as the symbolic
interactionist perspective. Such researchers note that both a
clenched fist and a salute have social meaning which are
shared and understood by the members of a society. In the
U.S, a salute symbolizes respect, while a clenched fist
signifies defiance. However in another culture defferent
gestures might be used to convey a feeling of respect or
defiance.
Let us examine how various societies portray suicide
without the use of words. People in the U.S point a finger
at the head (shooting); urban Japanese bring a fist against
the stomach (stabbing); and the south fore of Papua New
Guinea, clench a hand at the throat (hanging). These types
of symbolic interaction are classified as forms of non-verbal
communication, which can include many other gestures,
facial expressions, and postures.
Erving Goffman (1922-1982) made a distinctive
contribution by popularizing a particular type of
interactionist method known as the dramaturgical approach.
The dramaturgist compares everyday life to the setting of
the theater and stage. Just as actors present certain images,
all of us seek to present particular features of our
personalities while we hide other qualities. Thus, in a class,
we may feel the need to project a serious image; at a party,
it may seem important to look like a relaxed and entertaining
person.
Critical Perspective
This perspective says that we live in a society dominated
capitalist society, based on exchange principles of value
and profit. Capitalist society is not a peaceful society but
based on unequal exchanges of power and privileges.
Critical theory is a social theory whose aim is critiquing
and changing society and culture, unlike traditional theory
whose aim is only understanding or explaining it. For e.g.
Instead of seeing the behaviour of homeless youth as of
criminal behaviour, the critical perspective would ask why
did the youth become homeless and why are they connected
to criminal behaviour?
Critical theorists like Horkheimer criticized science
calling it harmful and destructive as it is controlled by the
elite and powerful. They also critique the role of media in
society, as it diverts the attention of people and only makes
them consumers.
Summary
In the family of social sciences, sociology is a new entrant.
Sociologists are not unanimous about definition of
sociology. Wide variety of definition of the subject shows

that there are differences of opinion about the scope of the
subject. These definitions however make clear that sociology
is concerned with human relations and social institutions.
There is a continuing controversy about the nature of
sociology. Some claim sociology to be a science where as
some refute this claim.
Views also differ about the scope of sociology. The
formal school of thought believes that scope of sociology
should not be generalized wheras synthetic school believes
that sociology should study society as a whole.
August Comte is considered as the most influencial
philosopher of 1800s. He is called as the father of sociology.
He hoped that systemstic study of social behaviour will
eventually lead to more rational interaction.
Durkiem made pioneering contribution to sociology
and is remembered as one of the founding fathers of
sociology.
Weber is known for “Verstehen”. He said in order to
fully comprehend behaviour we must learn the subjective
meaning people attach to their action.
Marx’s theory of class struggle is an incredible
contribution to sociology in analyzing the conflict. His
influence on contemporary thinking has been dramatic.
Sociologists view society in different way. The four
perspectives i.e., functionalist, conflict, interactionalist and
critical are most widely used by sociologists to give an
introductory look at the discipline. Functionalist perspective
is based on the assumption that society is stable, orderly
system. Society is composed of interrelated parts, each of
which serves a function and contribute to the overall
stability of the society.
According to conflict perspective, groups in society are
engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scare
resources.
Many sociologists are more interested in understanding
society through social interactions. The interactionist
perspective generalizes about fundamental or everyday forms
of social interaction.
Critical perspective says that we live in a society, based
on exchange principles of value and profit.
Sociological Imagination
Sociologist C. Wright (1959 b) described sociological
reasoning as the “Sociological imagination— the ability to
see the relationship between individual experiences and the
larger society. This awareness enables us to understand the
link between our personal experiences and the social context
in which they occur. The sociological imagination helps us
distinguish between personal trouble and social (or public)
issues”. (Kendall; 2007).
A key element in the sociological imagination is the
ability to view one’s own Society as an outsider would,
International Relations and Area Studies 181
rather than from the limited perspective of personal
experiences and cultural biases. Sociological imagination
allow us to go beyond personal experience and in attempting
to understand social behaviour, sociologists rely on an
unusual type of creating thinking. C. Wright Mills (1959)
described such thinking as the sociological imagination-
an awareness of the relationship between an individual and
the wider society. This awareness allows people (not simply
sociologists) to comprehend the links between their
immediate, personal social settings and the remote,
impersonal social world that surrounds them and helps to
shape them.
A key element in the sociological imagination is the
ability to view one’s own society as an outsider would,
rather than from the limited perspective of personal
experiences and cultural biases. Sociological imagination
allows us to go beyond personal experiences and
observations to understand broader public issues.
Unemployment, for example, is unquestionably a personal
hardship for a man or woman without a job. However, C.
Wright Mills pointed out that when unemployment is a
social problem shared by millions of people, it is appropriate
to question the way that a society is structured or organized.
Similarly, Mills advocated use of the sociological
imagination to view divorce not simply as the personal
problem of a particular man and woman, but rather as a
structural problem, since it is the outcome of many marriages.
And he was writing this in the 1950s, when the divorce rate
was but a fraction of what it is today (I. Horowitz, 1983)
Sociological imagination can bring new understanding
to daily life around us.
Developing a Sociological Outlook
The sociological imagination require us, above all, to ‘think
ourselves away from the familiar routines of our daily life
in order to look at them a new. Consider the simple act of
drinking Coffee. What could we find to say, from a
sociological point of view about such an apparently
uninteresting piece of behaviour An enormous amount.
We could point out first of all that coffee is not just
refreshment. It possesses Symbolic value as part of our day-
to-day Social activities. Often the ritual associated with
coffee drinking is much more important than the act of
consuming the drink itself. For many westerners the morning
cup of coffee stands at the centre of a personal routine. It
is an essential first step to starting the day. Morning coffee
is often followed later in the day by coffee with others—the
basis of a social ritual. Two people who arrange to meet for
coffee are probably more interested in getting together and
chatting than in what they actually drink. Drinking and
eating in all societies, in fact, provide occasions for social
interaction and the enactment of rituals— and these offer a
rich subject matter for sociological study.
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Second, coffee is a drug, containing caffeine, which has
a Stimulating effect on the brain. Many people drink coffee
for the extra lift it provides. Long days at the office and late
nights studying are made more tolerable by coffee breaks.
Coffee is a habit – forming substance, but coffee addicts are
not regarded by most people in Western culture as drug
users.
Third the individual who drinks a cup of coffee is
caught up in a complicated set of social & economic
relationships stretching across the world. Coffee is a product
which links people in some of the wealthiest and most
impoverished parts of the planet, it is consumed in great
quantities in wealthy Countries, but is grown primarily in
poor ones, and it provides many countries, with their largest
source of foreign exchange. The production and transportation
of coffee require continuous transactions between people
thousands of miles away from the coffee drinker. Studying
such global transactions is an important task of sociology
since many aspects of our lives are now affected by worldwide
social influences and communications.
Fourth, the act of sipping a coffee presumes a whole
process of past social and economic development. Along
with other now familiar items of western diets – like teas,
bananas, potatoes & white sugar – coffee became widely
consumed only from the late 1800s. Although the drink
originated in the Middle East, its mass consumption dates,
from the period of Western expansion about a century and
a half ago. Virtually all the coffee we drink today comes
from areas (South America & Africa) that were colonized by
Europeans, it is in no sense a ‘natural’ part of the Western
diet. The colonial legacy has had an enormous impact of
the development of the global coffee trade.
Fifth, coffee is a product that stands at the heart of
contemporary debates, about globalization, international
trade, human rights & environmental destruction. As coffee
has grown in popularity, it has become ‘branded’ and
politicized; the decisions that consumers make about what
kind of coffee to drink & where to purchase it have become
life style choices. Individuals may choose to drink only
organic coffee, natural decaffeinated coffee or coffee that
has been ‘fairly traded’ through schemes, that pay full market
prices, to small coffee producers in developing countries.
They may opt to patronize ‘independent’ coffee houses,
rather than corporate coffee chains such as starbuch which
is a brand in UK. Coffee drinkers might decide to boycott
coffee from certain, w ith poor human rights and
environmental records. Sociologist are interested to
understand how globalization heightens people awareness
of issues accruing in distant corners of the planet and prompts
them to act on new knowledge in their own life.
Importance/ Significance & Practical
Utility of Sociology
Sociology as a subject of study is a new comer in the family
of social sciences but today it has occupied very important
position, which signifies its utility. It has become very
important because it is concerned with human beings who
act and react in the Society.
Sociology studies human resources and determines their
social strength. It is a body of knowledge which studies
social relationships in a systematic way. Needless to say
that these relationships are very important for proper conduct
of human life.
Importance of Study of Sociology
Sociology is becoming quite popular subject of study
because it has some obvious advantages. These may briefly
be discussed as under:
1. It is a subject which helps us in assessing available
human resources and extent of human resources
needed for solving our social problems. In this way
sociology helps in human planning process which
contributes significantly in economic problem.
2. It provides us basic and fundamental knowledge about
human society, which includes strong and weak points
of society, including human relationships. In this
way it saves us from duping in the dark.
3. Each society is faced with social problems, which in
turn create economic and political problems. Some of
the social evils are deep rooted and it is essential that
these should be rooted out. Sociology helps us both
in identifying those problems and finding out their
solution. Without proper understanding magnitude
of the problems, these can not be properly tackled.
4. It is sociology which helps us in conciliation and
adjustment. Each society has diverse elements. These,
if not properly reconciled, can result in dis-
organization and de-stabilization of the society. It is
sociology which helps us in understanding the extent
of diversity and the way in which this diversity can
be converted into homogeneity.
5. It is sociology which helps us in social reconstruction
becomes easy.
6. Each society has its cultural heritage and wants to
preserve that. It is sociology which high-lights and
researches past culture heritages and also helps in the
development and growth of cosmopolitan culture, so
that there are no cultural clashes.
7. It helps in bringing family stability. It is sociology
which helps us in identifying the causes of family
instability and family disorganization. It is again
sociology which tells us how emerging de-stabilizing
trends in the family should be checked, so that strong
family system continues.
8. It is sociology which helps us in understanding social
problems. Many social problems remain unidentified
and many with the passage of time become maladies.
It is essential that these should be timely checked

before their tackling becomes difficult. It is sociology
which helps us in timely identifying of social
problems.
9. It helps us in proper understanding the needs of
social relationship and the way in which this
relationship should be maintained.
10. It is sociology which makes us tolerant by telling us
good points and healthy customs, traditions, norms
and value of other societies. It enables us to appreciate
what is the best in them which needs to be adjusted
in our life style. Thus sociology helps us in tolerating
others and appreciating their view point.
Importance of Study of Sociology in India
Study of sociology is very important for India. It is because
we are a developing society and our rulers in the past not
only tried to solve our social problems but also allowed
these to get deep rooted.
The sociologists in India can help us in understanding
deep rooted cause of casteism and regionalism, which today
pose a great threat to our social, economic and political
system. They can also tell us to why really untouchability
is not getting rooted out and corruption at all levels in our
society is on the increase
Against sociologists in India can play a significant role
in our national and emotional integration by identifying
the areas where such integration can easily be possible. This
can be done with the help of scientific study of customs and
traditions. The sociologist can also help in knowing why
efforts made so far to raise the living standard of weaker
sections of society have failed. In fact in our society the
sociologists can play a big role because it is passing through
very difficult stages of social transition and when it on the
cross roads, the sociologists alone can provide proper
direction and give proper lead. As already pointed out task
becomes difficult because our society is full of diversities
and neither problems of all sections of society are same nor
solution can be uniform.
Significance of Sociology
Sociology has many practical implications, for our lives, as
C. Mills emphasized.
1. Awareness of Cultural Differences: First sociologist
allows us to see the social world from many
perspectives. Quite often, if we understand how
people live, we can have better idea about their
problems. Policies, which are meant for solving the
problems of people’s may fail if they have not
understood the life of people. Example – Policies
regarding tribal, or slum dwellers rehabilitation or
street hawkers shifting bar dancer’s profession or even
allowing shopkeepers to have late night business, all
require practical knowledge of their life.
International Relations and Area Studies 183
2. Assessing the Effect of Policies: Many policies
related to employment or rehabilitation of people
failed miserable since they do not make use of the
aims and real needs of people. Sociologist brings the
basic needs, and objectives of people are concerned
into light so that the government can understand the
causes of failure. Unless people are involved in any
programmed mean for them, the programme is not
going to be successful. Sociological research points
out deficiencies, in the policy and discrepancy
between the people’s aims and the policy aims.
3. Self Enlightenment: Sociology provides, knowledge
to understand self. Sociology helps us to know why
we behave in a particular manner. Many self help
groups- Alcoholics, dog lovers, Anonymous,
environmentalist, Senior citizen group have learned
to help themselves without being dependent on
government.
Summary
The term sociological imagination was developed by
C. Wright Mills to go beyond personal experience and to
rely on an unusual type of creative thinking. The sociological
imagination require us above all, to think ourselves away
from the familiar routines of our daily life in order to look
at them a new.
Today sociology has occupied very important position
due to its significance and utility. Study of sociology is
very important for India. It is because we are a developing
society and our rulers in the past not only tried to solve our
problem but also allowed it to get deep rooted.
Sociology makes us aware of cultural differences, help
us in assessing the effect of policies and contribute to once
self enlightenment. There are large number of specialization
and career opporunitias available in sociology.
CULTURE
Introduction
Culture is one of the most important concepts in social
sciences. The study of human society immediately and
necessarily leads us to the study of its culture. The study of
society or any aspect of it becomes incomplete without a
proper understanding of the culture of that society. Culture
and society go together. They are inseparable. It is important
to distinguish between the related concepts of culture and
society. Sometimes the concepts are used synonymously to
mean all learned habits the total ways of life of a social
group, or a group’s social heritage.
In sociological usage, culture specifically refers to social
structure and ideas that give meaning to human social
structure, while society refers to social structure some what
apart from underlying values and ideas. The study of the
“society” or social structure, of a group, on the other hand,
184 International Relations and Area Studies
is primarily concerned with the patterns of organization and
interaction built upon that cultural background. Although
culture and society are closely related concepts that can
never be wholly separated.
Understanding Culture
Culture is a unique possession of man. Every man is born
into a society is the same as saying that “every man is born
into a culture. Every man can be regarded as a representative
of this culture. Culture is the unique quality of man which
separates him from the lower animals. As used by sociologist
to and cultural anthropologists, culture has a different
meaning.
To a sociologist, a culture is a system of ideas, values,
beliefs, knowledge, norm, customs and technology shared
by almost everyone in a particular society.
Culture can be said to include all the human phenomena
in a society. Culture includes all learned behaviour. Culture
is a very broad term that includes in its self all our walks
of life, our modes of behaviour, our philosophers and ethics,
our morals and manners, our customs and tradition, our
religious, political, economic and other types of activities.
Meaning and Definitions of Culture
All the human societies have complex ways of life that
differ greatly from one to another. These ways have come
to be known as culture in 1871. Edward Tylor gave us the
first definition of this concept. Culture as defined by Edward
refer “is that complex whole which includes knowledge
belief, art, law, morals custom and other capabilities and
habit acquired by man as a member of society”.
Robert Bierstadt simplified Tylor’s definition by stating
“culture is the complex whole that consists of all the ways
we think and do and everything we have as member of
society.”
In the word of MacIver and Page, culture is “the realm
of styles of values of emotional attachments of intellectual
adventures” B. Malinowski has defined culture as the
cumulative creation of man”. He also regarded culture as a
handiwork of man and the medium, through which he
achieves his ends.
Culture is often referred as a “Sum total of behaviour
traits which a person, comes to acquire through instruction
and learning. It shapes an individuals reaction to external
environment it provides the individual a structure of socially
approved ideas and beliefs, norms and values.”
Functions of Culture
Man is not only a social animal but also a cultural being.
Man’s social life has been made possible because of culture.
Culture is something that has elevated him from the level
of animal to other superior animal. Man can not survive
without culture. It represents the entire achievements of
mankind. Culture has been fulfilling a number of functions
among which the following may be noted.
1. Culture defines situation: Culture defines social
situation for us. It not only defines but also conditions
and determines what we eat, and drink what we wear,
where to laugh, weep, sleep, to make friends with,
what work we do, what to worship etc.
2. Culture is the treasury of knowledge: Culture
provides knowledge which is important for the
physical, social and intellectual existence of man.
Birds and animals behave instinctively with the help
of instincts they try to adapt themselves with the
environment. But man has greater intelligence and
learning capacity with the help of these he has been
able to adapt himself with the environment or modify
it to suit his convenience. Culture has made such an
adaptation and modification possible and easier by
providing man the necessary skills and knowledge.
Culture preserves knowledge and helps its
transmission from generation to generation through
its element that is language. Language helps not
only the transmission of knowledge but also its
preservation, accumulation and diffusion. On the
contrary, animals do not have this advantage, because,
culture does not exist at sub-human level.
3. Culture provides behaviour patterns: Culture directs
and confines the behaviour of an individual. Culture
assigns goals and provides means for achieving them.
It rewards his noble walk and punishes the immoral
ones. It assigns him status and roles. We see, dream,
aspire, work, strive, enjoy, according to the cultural
expectation. Culture not only controls but also
liberates human energy and activities. Man, indeed,
follows his culture in every path of his life.
4. Culture defines attitudes, values and goals: Attitudes
refer to the tendency to feel and act in certain ways,
values are the measure of goodness or desirability.
Goals refer to the attainment which our values define
as worthy. It is the culture which conditions our
attitudes towards various issues such as religion,
morality, science, family planning, prostitution, and
so on. Our values concerning private property,
fundamental rights representative governments etc.
are influenced by our culture. Our goals of winning
the target, understanding others, attaining salvation
being respectful and obedient to elders and teachers
being patriotic, loyal etc. are set forth by our culture.
We are being socialized on these models.
5. Culture models personality: Culture exercises a great
influence on the development of personality. No child
can develop human qualities in the absence of a
cultural environment. Culture prepares man for group
life and provides him the design of living. It is culture
that provides opportunities for the development of

personality and sets limits on its growth. As Ruth
Benedict has pointed out, every culture will produce
its, special type or types of personality. This fact has
been stressed by her in her “Patterns of Culture” an
analysis of the culture of three primitive societies.
Yet another anthropologist by name Margaret Mead
has stated that a culture shapes the character and
behaviours of individual living in it…. This fact she
has established in her “Sex and Temperament in Three
Primitive Societies— A study of New Guinea tribal
life.
6. Culture decides our career: What career, we are
likely to pursue is largely decided by our culture.
Whether we should become a politician, a social
worker a doctor, an engineer, a soldier, a farmer, a
professor, an industrialist, a religious leader and so
on is decided by our culture. Culture sets limitations
on our choice to select different careers. Individuals
may develop, modify or oppose the trends of their
culture but they always live within its framework.
Only a few can find outlet in the culture.
We can conclude that the individual is exposed to and
molded by the culture of the group into which he is born.
But the culture provides not only for “universals” but also
for “alternatives”. There is not only conformity in cultural
learning but also variations. Every individual is unique in
any culture. The uniqueness may be based on individual
differences in ability, aptitude and learning. The impact of
culture on the individual is not always identical in every
case. Every individual is soon or later exposed to influences
which are not completely determined by culture. Traveling,
books, radio, cinema, television, newspaper, exposes an
individual to many influences outside the culture. Various
biological and social factors bring about uniqueness of the
individuals in any culture.
Characteristics of Culture
Most definitions of culture emphasizes certain features.
Namely, culture is shared, it is acquired not in born, the
elements make up a complex whole, and it is transmitted
from one generation to the next. Culture, can be said to be
concept as all that human beings learn to do, to use, to
produce, to know and they grow to maturity and live out
their lives in the social groups to where they belong. Culture
is basically a blueprint for living in a particular society.
It is necessary for us to know the main
features of culture
1. Culture is learnt: Culture is not inherited biologically,
but learnt socially by man. It is not an inborn tendency.
There is no cultural instinct as such culture is often
“Learned ways of behaviour”. Unlearned behaviour
such as closing the eyes while sleeping, the eye
blinking reflex and so on, are purely physiological
International Relations and Area Studies 185
and not cultural. Shaking hands or saying “namaskar”
or “thanks” on the other hand, are cultural. Similarly,
wearing clothes, combing the hair, wearing ornaments,
drinking from a glass, eating from a plate, etc. are all
ways of behaviour learnt by man culturally.
2. Culture is social: Culture does not exist in isolation.
Neither is it an individual phenomenon. It is a product
of society. It originates and develops through social
interactions. It is shared by the members of society.
No man can acquire culture without association with
other human beings. Man becomes man only among
men. It is the culture which helps man to develop
human qualities in a human environment. Deprivation
of company or association of other individuals to an
individual is nothing but deprivation of human
qualities.
3. Culture is shared: Culture in the sociological sense,
is something shared. It is not something that an
individual alone can possess. For example, customs,
traditions, beliefs, ideas, values, morals etc. are all
shared by people of a group or society. The
inventions of Albert Einstein, the literary works of
Kalidasa, the philosophical work etc, are all shared
by a large number of people. As Robert Bierstedt said
“Culture is something adopted, used, believed,
practiced or possessed by more than one person. It
depends upon group life for its existence.”
4. Culture is transmissive: Culture is capable of being
transmitted from one generation to the other. Parents
pass on culture traits to their children, and they in
turn to their children, and so on. Culture is transmitted
not through genes but by means of language.
Language is the main vehicle of culture. Language in
its different forms like reading, writing, and speaking
makes it possible for the present generation to
understand the achievements of earlier generations.
But language itself is a part a culture. Once language
is acquired, transmition of culture may take place by
imitation as well as by instruction.
5. Culture is continuous and cumulative: Culture exists
as a continuous process. In its historical growth it
tends to become cumulative. Culture is a “growing
whole” which includes in itself, the achievements of
the past and the present and makes provision for the
future achievements of mankind “culture may thus
be conceived of as a kind a stream flowing down
through the centuries from one generation to another”.
Hence some sociologists like Linton called culture
“the social heritage” of man. As Robert Bierstedt
writes, culture is the memory of the man race”. It
becomes difficult for us to imagine what society would
be like without this accumulation of culture, what
our lives would be without it.
2105 (MA–IR)—24
186 International Relations and Area Studies
6. Culture is consistent and integrated: Culture in its
development has revealed a tendency to be consistent.
At the same time different parts of culture are
interconnected. For example, the value system of
society is closely connected with its other aspects
such as morality, religion, customs, traditions, beliefs,
and so on.
7. Culture is dynamic and adaptive: Though culture is
relatively stable it is not altogether static. It is
subjected to slow but constant changes. Change and
growth are latent in culture. There have been many
changes and growth from the vedic times to the
present times. Culture is therefore dynamic. Culture
is responsive to the changing conditions of the
physical world. It is adaptive. It also intervenes in the
natural environment and helps man in his process of
adjustment. Culture assists us to survive and adapt to
the changes.
8. Culture is gratifying: Culture provides proper
opportunities and prescribes means for the satisfaction
of our needs and desires. These needs may be
biological or social in nature. Our need for food,
shelter, and clothing on the one hand and our desire
for status, name, fame, money etc. are all for example,
fulfilled according to the cultural ways. Culture
determines and guides the varied activities of man. In
fact, culture is defined as the process through which
human beings satisfy their wants.
9. Culture varies from society to society: Every society
has a culture of its own. It differs from society to
society. Culture of every society is unique to itself.
Cultures are not uniform. Culture elements such as
customs, traditions, morals, ideas, values, ideologies
etc, are not uniform everywhere. Ways of eating
speaking, greeting, dressing, entertaining living etc,
of different societies differ significantly. Culture
varies from time to time also. No culture ever remains
constant.
10. Culture is super organic and ideational: Culture is
sometimes called “the super organic”. By “super
organic” Herbert Spencer meant that culture is neither
organic nor inorganic in but above there two. The
term implies the social meaning of physical objects
and physiological acts. The social meaning may be
independent of physiological and physical properties
and characteristics. For example the social meaning
of a national flag is not just “a piece of coloured
cloth”. The flag represents a nation. Similarly priest’s,
prisoner, professors and professional players, engineers
and doctors, farmers and soldiers, and other are not
just biological beings. They are viewed in their
society differently. Their social status and role can be
understood only through culture.
Further, every society considers its culture as an ideal.
It is regarded as an end in itself. It is intrinsically valuable.
The people are also aware of their culture as an ideal one.
They are proud of their cultural heritage.
Types of Culture
The use of the phrase “a culture” may imply that each
society has a single culture that is shared and accepted
equally by every member. In reality this is not the case.
What is called a society’s culture is often only a common
denominator of diverse culture elements found within a
society. In order to function, every social group must have
a culture of its own-its own goals, norms, values, and ways
of doing things. As Thomas Lasswell (1965) pointed out
such group culture is not just a “partial or miniature” culture.
It is a full blown, complete culture in its own right. Every
family, community, ethnic group and society has its own
culture. Hence every individual participates in number of
different cultures, in the course of a day. Meeting social
expectation of various cultures is often a source of
considerable stress for individuals in complex,
heterogeneous societies like ours. Many college students
for example, find that the culture of the campus varies
significantly from the culture of their fam ily or
neighbourhood. At home they may be criticized for their
clothing, their anti establishments ideas, and for spending
too little time with the family. On the campus they may the
pressured to open up and experiment a little or to reject old
fashioned values.
Sub Culture
When a group of people within a society have a style of
living that includes features of dominant culture but also
certain cultural elements not found in other groups their
group culture is called sub culture. A sub culture may
develop around occupations such as those in the medical or
military fields. Sub culture may reflect a social and ethnic
difference, as the sub culture of black Americans.
Certain groups, in every modern society, share certain
complexes which are not characteristic of all the other
groups in the society. Immigrant groups, for example bring
along with them a few culture complexes of their native
country and adopt a few from the host country. The mixture
of two cultures thus emerging represents a “sub culture”. A
dynamic and socially diversified society of today consists
of such “sub culture” as the part of main cultural and social
system. The individuals mainly live and function within the
sub cultures.
Every complex society is made up of many sub culture.
Individual members often function in more than one, and
they pass through different sub culture as they progress
through the stages of life cycle. Sub cultural traits are often
passed outside the group from one sub cultural to another
and into the cultural mainstream.

Sociologist use the term sub culture to refer to the
distinctive lifestyles, values, norms and belief’s of certain
segments of the population within a society. The concept
of sub culture originates in studies of juvenile delinquency
and criminality. However sociologists increasingly use sub
culture to refer to the culture of discrete population segments
within a society. The term is primarily applied to the culture
of ethnic groups as well as to social classes.
Several groups have been studied at one time or another
by sociologists as examples of sub cultures. These can be
classified roughly as follows:
1. Ethnic sub cultures: Many immigrant groups have
maintained their group identities and sustained their
traditions while at the same time adjusting to the
demands of the wider society. Example, America’s
newest immigrants, Korea, India, Japan, Taiwan, have
maintained their values by living together in tight
knit communities in New York, Los Angeles and
other large cities while at the same time encouraging
their children to achieve success by American terms.
2. Occupational sub culture: Certain occupation seems
to involve people in a distinctive lifestyle even
beyond their work. Construction workers, police,
entertainers, and many other occupational groups
involve people in distinctive sub cultures. New York’s
Wall Street is not only the financial capital of the
world; it is identified with certain values such as
materialism or power.
3. Religious sub culture: Certain religious groups
though continuing to participate in the wider society
nevertheless practice lifestyle that set them apart.
These include Christian groups, Muslim, Jews and
may religious groups. Sometimes the lifestyle may
separate the group from the culture as the whole as
well as the sub culture of its immediate community.
4. Political sub culture: Small marginal political groups
may so involve their members in such a way that
their entire way of life is an expression of their
political conviction. Often these are so called left-
wing and right-wing groups that reject much of what
they see in American society, but remain engaged in
society through their constant efforts to change it to
their liking.
5. Geographical sub culture: Large societies often show
regional variation in culture. The United States has
several geographical areas known for their distinctive
sub culture. For e.g., the south is known for its
leisurely approach to life its broad dialect and its
hospitality, California is known for its trendy and
ultra relaxed or laid back life style and New York
stands as much for an anxious elitist, arts and
literature oriented sub culture as for a city.
International Relations and Area Studies 187
6. Social class sub culture: Although social classes cut
horizontally across geographical, ethnic and other
subdivisions of society to some degree it is possible
to discern cultural differences among the classes.
Sociologists have documented those linguistic styles,
family and household forms and values and norms
applied to child rearing are patterned in terms of
social class sub cultures.
7. Deviant sub culture: As we mentioned earlier
sociologist first began to study sub cultures as a way
of explaining Juvenile delinquency and criminality.
This interest expanded to include the study of a wide
variety of groups that are marginal to society in one
way or another and whose life style clash with that
of the wider society in important ways. Some of the
deviant sub cultural groups studied by sociologists
include prostitutes, pick pockets, drug users and
variety of criminal groups.
Counter Culture
A sub culture that is so different from the dominant culture
as to sharply challenge it is known as counter culture.
Counter culture are typically found among the young. The
hippie culture of the late 1960s, for example, strongly rejected
traditional life styles and created a set of norms that directly
opposed majority beliefs about work, patriotism and material
possessions.
Counter culture is generally found among the young
because they do not respect the existing cultural norms.
Young people can adjust to counter culture but old people
cannot. Counter culture arises out of the need of some
individuals to find a group support for their failure to follow
the general or dominant patterns. For example, unemployed
youths take to antisocial activities by forming a group of
their own. The growth of counter culture reflects the quality
of frustration within society.
Not all counter cultures are nonviolent. In 1995, the
federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was blown
up, killing 168 people and injuring many others. That
horrific crime brought to light the existence of another
counterculture in the United States: rural militians. While
such groups go by several names, their members tend to be
people who despise the U.S. government for what they see
as its interference in the lives of citizens.
Counterculture and Politics
In many parts of the world, ethnic, political, or religious
groups within larger nations struggle for independence or
dominance. For generations, the Basque separatist group
ETA (Freedom for the Basque Homeland) in northern Spain
has violently pursued the goal of independence for the
Basque regions. In Northern Ireland, which is governed by
188 International Relations and Area Studies
Great Britian, Sinn Fein is a violent political organization
whose stated goal is the end of British rule in Ireland. ETA
and Sinn Fein are examples of countercultures.
Summary
All human societies have complex ways of life that differ
greatly from one to the other. Each society has its own
unique blue print for living, or culture. Culture consists of
all that human beings learn to do, to use, to produce, to
know, and to believe as they grow to maturity and live out
their lives in the social groups to which they belong.
Human are remarkably unspecialized, culture allows us
to adapt quickly and flexibly to the challenges of our
environment. Sociologists view culture as having three major
components, material culture, non material culture and
language.
Language and the production of tools are central
elements of culture. Evidence exists that animals engage, or
can be taught to engage, in both of these activities. Does
this mean that they have culture? Scientists disagree about
how to interpret the evidence. Without question, however
it can be said that human have refined culture to a far
greater degree than other animals and are far more dependent
on it for their existence.
Every social group has its own complete culture.
Sociologists use the term sub culture to refer to the
distinctive lifestyles, values, norms and beliefs associated
with certain segments of the population within a society.
Types of subcultures include ethnic, occupational, religious,
political, geographical, social class, and deviant subcultures.
People in all societies must confront and resolve certain
common, basic problems. Cultural universals are certain
models or patterns that have developed in all cultures to
resolve those problems. Among them are the division of
labour, the incest taboo, marriage, family organization, rites
of passage, and ideology though the forms are universal, the
content is unique to each culture.
By dividing the responsibility for completing necessary
tasks among their members, societies create a division of
labour. Every culture has established rites of passage, or
standardized rituals marking major life transitions. Ideologies
or strongly held beliefs and values, are the cement of social
structure in that they help a group maintain its identity as
a social unit.
Due to a lack of instinctual or biological programming,
humans have a great deal of flexibility and choice in their
activities. Individual freedom of action is limited, however,
by the existing culture. Moreover, social pressures to act,
think, and feel in socially approved ways inevitably generates
individual dissatisfaction. There is thus a tension between
the individual and society.
CULTURE ETHNOCENTRISM,
CULTURAL RELATIVISM,
XENOCENTRISM, COMPONENTS
OF CULTURE
Cultural Universals and Cultural Variability
Culture is an abstraction, most of its elements cannot be
seen or touched, we can only describe what people do and
the explanations they give for their conduct. The chapter
entitled “The Cultural Context” is to convey the idea that
culture provides a blueprint or framework for social
arrangements that regulate daily life and that meet personal
and collective needs.
Because every culture must deal with human limitations
and possibilities, and because every group must solve the
same problems of survival, certain types of arrangements are
found in every culture. These are the Cultural Universals.
The earliest pre humans had to find solutions to immediate
problems of both personal and collective survival. Securing
food, maintaining order, producing and training new
members, and developing group unity. When organized
into patterned regularities of behaviour these necessary
elements of individual and group survival are called
institutional spheres, the society’s economic system, its
political structure, its family system, its educational
processes, and its belief system.
But the content, the specific details of the institutional
spheres, and the ways in which these traits are linked together
will be different from one society to another, shaped by
geography and history. These process accounts for Cultural
Variability. The varieties of customs. beliefs and artifacts
that human have devised to meet universal needs. For
example, although the need for orderly reproduction has led
to rules regulating courtship and marriage in all societies,
these can range from a communal ceremony among
individuals who may never live together to arranged
marriages.
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view ones own culture as
the most superior. Here we apply our own cultural values to
judge the behaviour and beliefs of people of other culture.
Ethnic groups have certain beliefs, values, habit, customs,
norms and a common back-ground. They consider themselves
different from others and special because they have different
cultural features like their language, religion, historical
experience, geographic isolation, kinship, race and a common
descent etc. All this gives them a sense of solidarity.
Ethnicity is identifying with and feeling groups because of
their own affiliation. Ethnic diversity may leads to positive
group interaction or co-existence or conflict. The positive
group interaction will result in a pluralistic society but the

conflict will lead to ethnocentrism. Modern society is
multicultural. Root of ethnocentrism is ethnic Conflict is
prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice is devaluing,
looking down at, a group for its values and attributes.
Ethnocentrism is a cultural attitude that ones own
culture is the best. We evaluate other culture on the basis
of our own cultural perspective. It is the tendency to consider
our cultural pattern as normal and therefore superior to all
other cultural pattern. It is a value judgment about oneself
and others. By devaluing others we deny them equal
opportunities in life. This prejudicial attitude was called by
Sumner as ethnocentrism. It is taking for granted like
superiority of one own culture. It is a view of things in
which ones own culture is at the centre of everything and
all others are scaled with reference to it. Not only different
community groups are ethnocentric but even within a
community there can be discrimination as high and low
caste, educated and illiterate. There are no human groups or
even individuals who are not ethnocentric at least to some
extent. Ethnocentrism provides for group identity, unity
and loyalty. For example, it reinforces the spirit of
nationalism and patriotism.
When looking at other cultures, we tend to evaluate
their customs in the light of our own beliefs and values.
Members of all societies assume that their way of life is the
best and only correct way. Often, the very name of the
group translates into “the people”, implying that those who
do not share the culture are not people, but “them” outsiders
who are often identified by words that consciously
dehumanize.
The belief that ones own culture is the only true and
good way, and the tendency is called Ethnocentrism.
Ethnocentrism serves important functions for individuals
and collectivities. Certainty about the rightness of one’s
culture reinforces the tendency to conform and to defend it.
People often make judgments about other cultures
according to the customs and values of their own, a practice
sociologist’s call ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism can lead to
prejudice and discrimination and often and results in the
repression of domination of one group by another.
Immigrants, for instance, often encounter hostility when
their manners, dress eating habits, or religious beliefs differ
markedly from those of their new neighbours. Because of
this hostility and because of their own ethnocentrism,
immigrants often establish their own communities in their
adopted country.
To avoid ethnocentrism in their own research,
sociologists are guided by the concept of cultural relativism,
the recognition that social group and cultures must be
studied and understood on their own terms before valid
comparisons can be made, cultural relativism frequently is
taken to mean that social scientists never should judge the
relative merits of any group or culture. This is not the case.
International Relations and Area Studies 189
Cultural relativism is an approach to doing objective cross-
cultural research. It dose not require researchers to abdicate
their personal standards. In fact, good social scientists will
take the trouble to spell out exactly what their standards are
so that both researchers and reader will be alert to possible
bias in their studies.
The problem of judging and relating to other cultures
is not a problem for social scientists alone. Every child
grows up to believe that his own culture is good and right.
This outlook often leads to the conclusion that people who
do things differently are bad or wrong, consequently, when
member of one culture are exposed to another, unfamiliar
culture, they may become hostile, suspicious or critical.
Ethnocentrism can serve a valuable function in societies,
if the members of a society believe that the norms and
values of their culture are right and goods, they will be
more likely to subscribe to them. But ethnocentrism also
poses a danger in that it can lead to social isolation,
inhibiting cultural exchanges that promote growth and
development. The successful society must therefore have
mechanisms for overcoming excessive ethnocentrism and
facilitating cultural exchange.
Some primitive societies have made rituals of trade
relationships with other groups to procure needed items for
their economy and foster cultural exchange. An example of
such a tradition is the once a year trip across the Sahara
desert undertaken by men of the Tuareg tribe to buy salt.
They go in a great camel caravan walking hundreds of miles
each year, stopping at every oasis, along their route. The
sale of the salt on their return furnishes them with enough
money or goods to live on until the next year’s trip.
Obviously, there is an economic motive involved in this
tradition but there is also a valuable cultural exchange
carried on with all the tribes encountered during the trip.
This exchange has kept the Tuareg, who live in externs
geographic isolation in the desert, in touch with
technological progress and new ideas, and they have therefore
been able to survive in the rapidly changing modern world.
In the world today ethnocentrism has become a serious
political problem because nations are very interdependent,
people from many societies and cultures must interact with
one another, and world survival may depend on a greater
appreciation of the practices of others. Modern societies
rely on formal education to combat ethnocentrism and
considerable proportion of every child’s education is spent
in the study of other cultures. But such education is not
always effective or sufficient.
Cultural Relativism
Cultural Relativism is opposite of ethnocentrism. This is
understanding other cultures not from ones own cultural
standard but in the context of that culture only. This is
trying to understand other cultures rather than criticizing
them as ‘Strange’ less civilized etc. Cultural relativism is
190 International Relations and Area Studies
value neutral and objective. Cultural relativism stresses the
point that the variety in culture is due to different norms
and values of a society. Cultural relativism emphasizes that
there is no cultural superiority or inferiority but they are
relative to their context, for example, some societies do not
approve pre marital sex experience where as some encourage
it. In an African tribe a girl with a new child, referred as ‘low
and the calf’ has a better chance of getting married than
others because she has proved her bearing capacity. There
are some societies who accept pre marital sex relations only
conditionally, some disapprove of it mildly and some forbid
it totally. Killing even an enemy is crime in our society but
in some societies it is justified, cultural values of all societies
are not same but different.
To avoid ethnocentrism in their own research,
sociologists are guided by the concept of Cultural Relativism,
the recognition that social groups and cultures must be
studied and understood on their own terms before valid
comparisons can be made. Cultural Relativism frequently is
taken to mean that social scientists never should judge the
relative merits of any group or culture. This is not the case
cultural relativism is an approach to doing objective
crosscultural research. It does not require researchers to
abdicate their personal standards. In fact, good social
scientists will take the trouble to spell out exactly what
their standards are so that both researchers and readers will
be alert to possible bias in their studies, cultural relativism
requires that behaviours and customs be viewed and
analyzed within the context in which they occur.
The social scientist rise above ethnocentrism and try to
observe all cultures objectively. Aspects of any culture can
be understood only in terms of the meaning attached to
them in that society. This attempt to see the world through
the lens of another culture is called cultural relativism.
Value judgments are replaced by an appreciation of the
content of others cultures. The social scientist does not ask
if a culture trait is good or bad according to some absolute
yardstick, but rather, why does this trait exist, how is it
maintained, and what purposes does it serve for members of
that society? The standard of evaluation is whether or not
the culture pattern enhances the well-being of individuals
and the survival of the collectivity.
The basic assumption of the cultural relativity model is
that each society’s solutions to the task of survival are as
valid as any other’s, however, unappealing such custom
may seem to someone from another society. Above all, we
must avoid the tendency to think of people in simple
societies as less evolved or less intelligent than members of
modern societies.
Every social group has its own specific culture, its own
way of seeing, doing, and making things, its own tradition.
Some cultures are quite similar to one another, others are
very different. When individuals travel abroad to countries
with cultures that are very different form their own, the
experience can be quite upsetting. Meals are scheduled at
different time of day, “Strange” or even “repulsive” foods
are eaten, and the traveler never quite knows what to expect
from others or what others in turn may expect. Local custom
may seem charming or brutal. Sometime travelers are unable
to adjust easily to a foreign culture, they may become
anxious, lose their appetites, or even feel sick. Sociologists
use the term Culture Shock to describe the difficulty people
have adjusting to a new culture that differs markedly from
their own.
Culture shock can also be experienced, within a person’s
own society. Example, the army recruits having to adapt to
a whole new set of behaviours, rules and expectations in
basic training a new cultural setting.
Among many anthropologists who use term culture to
refer not only to values and ideas but also to social structure.
The simplest unit or element of culture is called a culture
trait. American culture traits includes the practices of
attending church, using a fork, wearing a jacket and tie, and
shaking hands, together with the belief in efficiency, the
two-party political system, and individualism. A countless
number of such culture traits exist in every culture but most
are contained within a small number of culture complexes
clusters of interrelated culture traits that function as distinct
and separable units in a society. Some examples of culture
complexes in the United States are the automobile complex,
Christmas, football. Southern Baptists and the national
political conventions. Cultural units can have both
functional and day functional characteristics.
Functionalism points up the fact that a culture is not
simply a random collection of traits but an intricate system
in which the different parts must fit together for proper
functioning. Family life, economic procedures, laws, defense
measures, and the various other social activities or culture
complexes are closely intermeshed with one another, a
change in one of these activities of complexes may effect
changes in each of the others. This fitting together of cultural
units into a cohesive whole is known as Cultural Integration.
Ignorance about the cultural integration of societies
has created many problems in dealing with Third World
Nations. For example, in nation where people raise large
herds of unhealthy cattle, programs introducing selective
breeding to upgrade the quality of livestock have sometimes
field to consider that an individual’s status may be
determined by the size of his herd, not its quality. The
introduction of the new breeding methods may threaten
customs and values woven into the fabric of the culture, and
the day functional consequences could be serious.
Functionalism is merely a theoretical orientation for
analyzing a culture and is not an easy one to carry out in
practice. It requires extensive knowledge of the culture in
question and painstaking examinations of the consequences
of effects that one unit of culture has on other units or on
the culture as a whole.

Cultural diversity can be easily overemphasized. The
comparison of cultures indicates that all cultures share
fundamental similarities in social structure and cultural
meanings. These similarities arise because every human
group finds itself facing common problems and living within
universal limitations.
All human beings are alike biologically, which may
account for many of the cultural universals that are found.
For example, we all must eat and find shelter from the
hostile elements. We all must take care of young and helpless
children, deal with the problem of aging ill parents, and
face ultimate death.
Another source of cultural universals is the necessary
prerequisites of social living. In order to function, a society
must fulfill certain requirements. It must replace personnel
when they die, leave, or become incapacitated, it must teach
new members to participate usefully, it must produce and
distribute goods and services, it must preserve order, and it
must maintain a sense of purpose. No society, if it is to
survive, is exempt from these requirements.
A third source of cultural universals is the limitation
and possibilities of the natural environment. There are only
a limited number of edible and nutritious plants and limited
methods of travel. Only certain objects make suitable
weapons for hunting and self-defense. Every culture has
turned to fire to provide a source of heat and also light at
night. Nearly every society has created a form of bread. No
group uses a square wheel, because it does not work.
Xenocentrism
Xenocentrism is the opposite of ethnocentrism which means
a group of people prefers the ideas. “Xenocentrism” is the
tendency to assume that aspects of other culture are superior
to one’s own. Xenocentrism is the preference for the products,
styles or ideas of someone else’s culture rather than one’s
own. The 18th century primitivism movement in European
art and philosophy and its concept of the “Noble savage is
an example of xenocentrism. Xenocentrism results from an
attempt on the part of an individual to correct his or her
own ethnocentrism.
Xenocentrism is a word which means “preference for a
foreign culture. It is exact opposite of ethnocentrism. It is
a belief that our own products styles or ideas are inferior to
the ideas, styles of the other.
Cultural Change
Culture is not a static system, elements of culture change
from time to time. Cultures have evolved over thousands of
years. Societies have abandoned many of the belief systems
and cultural practices which are not consistent with scientific
evidence today. Empirical evidence provided by scientific
investigation has exploded many myths and under mind
numerous superstitious belief system. Think of how our
International Relations and Area Studies 191
cooking and eating habits have. Changed, and think of the
numerous changes in the caste and joint family system over
the years, changes in the field of education and politics, and
the transformation in transportation and communication
system.
Diffusion is the process by which elements of culture
spread from one society to another. Developments in
transportation and communication have brought the world
closer together. Fast food, coca cola, blue jeans, and rock
music have spread to all corners of the earth. Democracy,
freedom, equality and human rights are now generally
accepted values. Specialists is mass communication have
written extensively on the diffusion of innovations and
demonstrated how mass media play an important role in the
spread of ideas and technology. Think of how western music
dance, fashions, and food habits have made an impact on
the campus subculture.
Culture lag is a concept introduced by William Ogburn
to explain how various elements of culture change at a
different pace and with what consequences. Usually the
elements of culture related to technology change faster rate
than non-material elements as a result of new invention. But
society is considered to be system in equilibrium with
interrelated parts. Therefore, when some parts of society
change more rapidly than others, such changes cause
disruption in the social system. It takes time for all related
parts of society to change and adapt to the new situation.
This delay, is known as cultural lag, affects every society.
When the bicycles first came out with leather seats many
Hindus refused to ride them because of the belief leather
pollutes. Soon, the seat was covered with plastic or fabric.
Birth control technologies are readily available but certain
religious and cultural beliefs resist their adoption. In some
parts of India people still refuse vaccinations against polio
and measles. In many cities people who use to pull manual
rickshaws have changed over to auto rickshaws. Changes in
technology bring about changes in occupation and lifestyles.
Components of Culture
Culture is often described as the blueprint for living of a
group (or society) whose members share a given language
and territory, and who recognize their shared identity. Culture
consists of
1. solution to the problem of survival
2. ideal and values that shape of conduct and
3. tools, weapons and other human made objects
(artifacts, or material sculpture.)
We become functioning members of a society as we
learn the content of its culture. Another way of looking at
culture is to emphasize the way in which it shapes how we
perceive the world and interpret out experience.
Any culture may be divided, for purposes of study and
analysis, into three main components.
192 International Relations and Area Studies
Knowledge
The cognitive component of culture consists of definition
of what exists, or the reality of the world. Knowledge of one
part of cognitive culture, refers to ideas and information
that can be shown to have empirical, that is objective and
factual support. The most highly refined knowledge comes
from the physical sciences. Knowledge that is less reliable
less capable of empirical demonstration, is called beliefs —
ideas or theories about the nature of the physical and social
world. Beliefs also includes idea about supernatural reality,
such as god, spirits and afterlife. A special kind of knowledge,
which is directed toward practical application in the physical
and social world, is called Technology. Technology includes
the methods and techniques used to build the Golden Gate
Bridge, it also includes the methods the federal government
uses to try to control economic problems such as inflation
or unemployment.
Normative
The normative component of culture consists of definition
of what ought to be. Included are values and specific rules
of conduct (norms) by which human behaviour is guided
and regulated. Normative culture will be discussed in topic.
Many parts of culture contain both longitive and
normative components. An ideology, for example, is a system
of beliefs about the social world that is strongly rooted in
a set of values and interests. The leading ideologies of our
time democracy, capitalism, communism, socialism which
directly or indirectly shape much human behaviour in the
world, are large systems of ideas that define both what is or
exists, and what ought to be. They offer an analysis of how
societies function and also a prescription for change.
(a) Norms
Norms are the rules of behaviour of that are agreed upon and
shared within a culture and that prescribe limits of acceptable
behaviour. The refine “Normal” expected behaviour and
help people all live predictability in their lives.
(b) Mores and Folkways
Mores (pronounced more ays) are strongly held norms that
usually have a moral connotation and based on the central
values of the culture. Violations of mores produce strong
negative reactions, which are often supported by the law.
Desecration of a church or temple, sexual molestation of a
child, rape, murder, incest, and child beating all are violations
of American mores.
Not all norms command such absolute conformity. Much
of day-to-day life is governed by traditions, or folkways,
which are norms that permit a wide degree of individual
interpretation as long as certain limits are not overstepped.
People who violate folkways are seen as peculiar or possibly
eccentric, but rarely do they elicit strong public response.
For example, a wide range of dress is now acceptable in
most theaters and restaurants. Men and women may wear
clothes ranging from business attire to jeans, and open
necked shirt, or a sweater.
Good manners in our culture also show a range of
acceptable behaviour. Folkways also vary from one culture
to another. In the United States, for example, it is customary
to thank someone for a gift. To fail to do so is to be
ungrateful and ill mannered. Subtle culture difference can
make international gift a giving however, a source of anxiety
or embarrassment to well meaning business travels.
Norms are specific expectation about social behaviour,
but it is important to add that they are not absolute. Even
though we learn what is expected in out culture, there is
room for variation in individual interpretation of these norms
that deviate from the ideal norm.
(c) Ideal Norms and Real Norms
Ideal norms are expectations of what people should do
under perfect conditions. These are the norms we first teach
our children. They tend to be simple, making few distinctions
and allowing for no exceptions. In reality, however, nothing
about human beings is ever that dependable. Real norms are
norms that are expressed with qualifications and allowances
for difference in individual behaviour. They specify how
people actually behave. They reflect the fact that a person’s
behaviour is guided by norms as well as unique situations.
The concept of ideal and real norms are useful for
distinguishing between mores and folkways. For mores, the
ideal and the real norms tend to be very close, whereas
folkways can be much more loosely connected. But we
might violate a folkway by neglecting to say thank you, for
example without provoking general outrage. More important,
the very fact that a culture legitimizes the difference between
ideal and real expectations allows us room to interpret
norms to a greater or lesser degree according to our own
personal dispositions.
(d) Values
Values are a culture’s general orientation toward life its
notions of what is desirable and undesirable. Values can
also be understood by looking at patterns of behaviour. For
example, sociologists have frequently noted the different
levels of violence in the northern and southern United
States. Two researchers (Nisbett & Cohen, 1996) reached
the conclusion that southerners and northerners have
different values about the appropriate use of violence not
across the board, but in certain specific areas, all of which
seen linked to nations of honor and respect. Southerners,
they found, are more likely to agree that violence is
acceptable in defense of home and family, and are especially
likely to endorse violence as a response to insults and
affronts, most of all when they honor threatened is honor
lost and a response to the possible loss of honor is often
necessary.

(e) Language
Language enables humans to organize the world around
them into labeled cognitive and use these labels to
communicate with one another. Language, therefore, makes
possible the teaching and sharing of the values, norms and
non material culture. It provides the principal means through
which culture is transmitted and the foundation on which
the complexity of human thought and experience rests.
Language allows human to transcend the limitations
imposed by their environment and biological evolution.
Material Culture and Non Material Culture
The material component of culture consisting of machines,
tools, books clothing, and so on is called the material
culture. When archeologists dig up the remains of an ancient
city, it is the material culture that they find, a broken pot
a necklace carefully stored in a little wooden box, the
foundations of a house from these artifacts; they are able to
reconstruct some of the nonmaterial cognitive and normative
components of the culture.
All material artifacts express some non-material cultural
meaning, but the same artifact may have contrary meaning
in different societies. For example, the colored piece of
cloth that we know as the American flag is honored and
revered by most Americans, but in some foreign countries,
and even within the United States, it has been torn up and
destroyed. In a remote primitive tribe it might be considered
a pretty price of material to be used for clothing.
Material culture is created and can be changed by
humanity, but it equally usefully to think of it as a fixed
part of society to which we must adjust throughout our
lives. People design and build cities, but cities then have
lasting effects on the lives of those who dwell in them. In
this respect material culture is the same as nonmaterial
culture human beings shape it, but it also shapes human
beings.
Towards a Global Culture
Changes in the world economy since the 1970s and 1980s
have led to serious intellectual debates on postmodernism
and post Fordism based on de monopolization of economic
structure with the de regulation and globalization of markets,
trade, and labour. Some of these changes are increase in the
numbers of international agencies and institutions, the
increasing global forms of communication explosion in
travel and tourism industry, the acceptance of unified global
time, the preponderance of global financial networks, the
phenomenon of global competitions and prices, the
development of standard nations of citizenship, rights and
competition of humankind.
Postmodernism questions the earlier assumptions of
cultural imperialism, Americanization, and mass consumer
which alleged a homogenizing process leading to a proto
universal culture.
International Relations and Area Studies 193
Anthony Smith (Featherstone 1991) contends that
intensification of contacts between cultures does not
necessarily lead to tolerance for the globalization process.
He emphasizes the resilience of the ethnic communities, the
ethic cores of nations, the pre-modern traditions, memories,
myths, values, and symbols woven together and sustained
in popular consciousness. According to him, a world of
competing national cultural seeking to improve the ranking
of their states, offers the prospect of global “cultural wars”
with little basis for global projects of cultural integration,
lingue francs, and ecumenical or cosmopolitan “unity
through diversity” notions, despite the existence of the
necessary technical communication infrastructures. In short,
there is little prospect of a unified global culture, rather
there are global culture in the plural. Yet ‘the intensity and
rapidity of today’s global cultural flows have contributed to
the sense that the world is a singular place which entails the
proliferation of new cultural forms for encounters. While
this increasingly dense web of cosmopolitan local encounters
and interdependencies can give rise of third culture and
increasing tolerance, it can also result in negative reactions
and intolerance.
Indeed, the onslaught of globalization has not only
failed to weaken or homogenize local cultures but in fact
there has been a resurgence of localism. In recent years
many ethnic groups around the world have sought to revive
their traditional cultures and reaffirm their identity. Regions
and communities now embrace the idea of cultural renewal
or reaffirmation. Wolfgang Sachs coined the term
cosmopolitan localism to refer to the assertion of diversity
as a universal right and the identification as globally formed.
Peasants in India, Peru, Mexico and many other places
are recovering and implementing traditional present culture
and technologies rooted in indigenous ecology. For example,
in 1993, the Karnataka farmers association protested against
the intention of cargill seeds to patent germplasm and
launched a campaign to encourage grass roots organization
to resist the development of transgenic crops and to promote
regional varieties. Similarly in 1996 a small village in Kerala
( Pattuvam) declared its absolute ownership over all genetic
resources within its jurisdiction. A group of young villagers
came up with the idea of documenting local plant species
and crop cultivators growing within the villages boundaries.
Summary
Culture refers to the system of values and meaning shard by
a group or society, including the embodiment of those
values and meanings in material culture. Culture and society
are two related but analytically distinct aspect of social
reality. The study of culture focuses on the values and ideas
that mold group structure and give it meaning whereas the
examination of society is concerned with patterns of
organization and interaction built upon that cultural
background.
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194 International Relations and Area Studies
The human ability to create and learn a culture is based
on people’s ability to create and manipulate symbols,
especially those of language. The way people use symbols
shapes their perception of reality. The structure of language
for example, contains a set of unconscious assumptions,
giving people a particular perspective that makes it easier
to con very some ideas of concepts than others.
In order to study a cultures major values and norms and
determine how these are reflected in social behaviour,
anthropologists and sociologists examine a culture as a
unified whole through careful, in depth observation and
participation. A first principle of cultural analysis is cultural
relativity, the idea that every culture must be understood
and judged on its own terms. Social scientists strive to
avoid ethnocentrism the attitude that ones own culture is by
nature superior, and the tendency to evaluate another culture
in the terms of ones own. Excessive ethnocentrism can
inhibit exchange with other culture and promote isolation
or conflict as societies becomes increasing interdependent.
Modern societies rely on formal education to combat
ethnocentrism. However, even with preparation and
forewarning of cultural differences exposure to another
culture often produces culture shock disorientation or
psychological stress.
Since each culture is adapted to meet a specific set of
physical and social circumstances, each culture is relatively
unique and distinctive. However, cultural diversity can be
easily overemphasized. The comparison of many culture
reveals fundamental similarities the natural environment,
and certain requirements of social living impose common
problems and universal limitation on all human groups.
A society’s culture is often only a common denominator
of the diverse cultural elements found within a society.
When a group within a society has a life style that includes
features of the dominant culture and also certain cultural
elements not found in other groups the group culture is
called a subculture. A subculture that is so different form
the prevailing culture as to sharply challenge it is termed
a counterculture. Every complex society has a variety of
subcultures, and an individual may participate in more than
one. Sometime passing through several in his life time.
SOCIETY AND GROUPS
Introduction
Sir Charles Darwin in his thesis ‘origin of species’ traced the
biological evolution of living organisms from simple
unicellular amoeba to the most complex multi cellular
organism like human being. Some of the earliest and greatest
sociologist too viewed societies evolving from simple, food
gathering societies to the complex, modern societies. This
social evolution they traced through a set of stages and is
called ‘unilinear evolution’.
Society is a system of usages and procedures of authority
and mutual aid, many groupings and division of controls of
human behaviour and of liberties. This ever changing,
complex system we call society. It is the web of social
relationship.
Evolution of Societies (Based on the mode
of subsistence OR the types of technology)
Our social world consists of thousand of human societies.
It is said that there has been a general historical trend of
sociocultural evolution, a process which is more or less
similar to biological evolution. A society like an organism
has to adapt to its environment in order to exploit food
resources. In this process of socio-cultural evolution some
societies have evolved further and faster than others; some
have become “stuck” at a particular level. In general, all
have changed in ways that are unique to themselves.
Thus, it is on the basis of the level of technology or
reliance on the basic type of subsistence strategy, societies
can be generally classified.
Hunting and Food Gathering Societies
As Gerhard Len Ski pointed out in his “Human Societies”
(1970) the oldest and the simplest type of society is the
hunting society. Such a society is characterized by a small
and sparse population; a nomadic way of life and a very
primitive technology. They have the most primitive tools
such as stone axes, spears and knives.
Hunting societies consist of very small, primary groups
and their number not exceed generally 40-50 members.
They are nomadic in nature they have to leave one area as
soon as they have exhausted its food resources. Family and
kinship are the only interconnected social institutions which
these societies have political institution are not found as all
people are considered to be equal as they virtually have no
property. Division of labour is limited along the lines of age
and sex. Men and women, young and old perform different
role, but there are no specialised occupational roles. There
is gender based division of labour, but there is no gender
inequality as such, production is communal and cooperative
and the distribution system is based on sharing. Religion is
not developed among these people in to a complex
institution. They tend to see the world as populated by
unseen spirits that must be taken into account but not
necessarily worshipped.
The economy of hunting and food gathering societies
is subsistence based. They collect enough for the needs of
their people and there is hardly any surplus in such a
economy. The primary means of production consist of their
hunting and gathering skills and their own labour. All able
bodies, adults and children engage in hunting and food
gathering activities. Sharing is one of the central economic
characteristics of a hunting and food gathering society. The
most common type of social relationship is co-operation.
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Co-operation is important because hunting and gathering
activities need group efforts. The sharing of the produce is
common. There is no competition and conflict too is minimal
as there is no accumulated surplus to fight over. The concept
of private property as it applies to personal possessions is
absent. Hence, private property as we understand it did not
exist in hunting and gathering societies.
The rate of social change in nomadic hunting and
gathering societies was very slow. A few such societies still
exist, for e.g the Bushmen of South Africa, some Eskimo
tribes etc.
Around 10 to 12 thousand years ago, some hunting and
food gathering groups began to adopt a new subsistence
strategy based on the domestication of herds of animals.
Many people living in deserts of other regions which are
not suited for cultivation, adopted strategy and started
taming animals such as goats or sheep which could be used
as a source of food. Pastoral societies still exists today in
the modern world. These societies are larger in size and may
have hundreds or even thousands of members, and these
societies provided an assured food supply. Even in these
societies, like the hunters and gatherers people are nomadic
in nature because of their seasonal need to find sufficient
grazing areas for their herds.
Horticultural Societies
Horticultural societies first came into existence in the
Middle East about 4000 BC and subsequently spread to
China and Europe; those that survive today are found mainly
in sub Saharan Africa.
Horticultural society is associated with the elementary
discovery that plants can be grown from seeds. While herding
is common in areas with poor soil, horticultural is more
common as means of subsistence in regions with fertile soil.
Horticultural societies first appeared at about the same time
as pastoral societies. Examples for horticultural societies are
Gururumba tribe in New Guinea and Masai people of Kenya.
Horticultural societies are just subsistence societies like
hunting gathering societies. They specialise in growing
plants such as wheat, rice and the horticulturists is typically
based on a ‘slash and burn’ technology. This is a type of
strategy in which people clear areas of land, burn the trees
and plants they have cut down, rise crops for 2 to 3 years
until the soil is exhaused and then repeat the process else
where. Unlike the pastorists, horticulturists have larger
population and stay in one place longer before they migrate
in search of better conditions.
As this society assures better food supply there is an
existence of surplus which leads to specialisation of roles
which supported production and trading of variety of
products such as boats, salt, pottery etc. This allowed some
wealthy individuals to become more powerful than others
and lead to emergence of political institutions in the form
of chieftainships. Warfare became more common in these
International Relations and Area Studies 195
societies and horticultural societies are also the first known
societies to support the institution of slavery. As these
people had a permanent settlement they could create more
elaborate cultural artifacts like houses, thrones etc.
Agricultural or Feudal Societies
Agricultural societies first arose in ancient Egypt and were
based on the introduction of the harnessing of animal power.
The mode of production of the hunter gathering society
which produces none of its food, and the horticultural society
which produces food in small gardens rather than big fields.
Invention of the plough had enabled people to make a great
leap forward in food production and has enabled a person
to achieve great productivity. It also made it possible to
work on land which as been previously useless for food
production. Size of the agricultural societies is much greater
than the horticultural of pastoral communities. The full time
specialists who engage themselves in non-agricultural
activities tend to concentrate in some compact places which
lead to the birth of cities.
In course of time, agricultural societies led to the
establishment of more elaborate political institutions. Power
was concentrated in the hand of a single individual and a
hereditary monarchy emerged who became powerful. Court
system providing justice also em erged and these
developments made the state a separate powerful institution.
For the first time, two distinct social classes those who own
the land and those who work on the land of others made
their appearance and this created major differences between
the strata. Warfare became a regular feature and for the first
time, full time permanent armies made their appearances.
Proper roads, waterways were developed and such
developments brought the previously isolated communities
into contact with another. Since more food was produced
than is necessary for subsistence, agricultural societies were
able to support people whose sole purpose is to provide
creative ideas to the culture. Hence poets, writers, artists,
scientists were encouraged and new cultural artifacts such
as paintings, statues, building and stadiums came into
existence. Hence the agricultural societies had a more
complex social structure and culture compared to the earlier
societies.
Feudal societies emerged in Europe at that stage when
the state was unable any longer to exercise direct control
over the population. Political power was decentralised in
the sense that warriors were able to claim rights over a local
territory and enforce their own brand of justice by means of
military might. Unarmed peasants were unable to challenge
the power of the warrior (or noble) who had personal
supporters with horses and weapons. Military power was
linked to wealth, which meant, in this case, agricultural
land. The greater a noble’s military power, the more land he
could control; and the larger his estates, the more warriors
he could support in order to secure his domain.
196 International Relations and Area Studies
Production activity was carried out by peasants, who
lived on and cultivated the land which was controlled by
the feudal lords. The lords compelled the peasants to hand
over a considerable portion of the agricultural goods that
they produced and also to perform customary personal
services for the benefit of the lord.
In the early periods of feudalism, the link between a
noble and his peasants was maintained in the form of a
personal agreement which ended upon the death of either
party. But eventually the condition of the peasants and the
privileged status of the nobles became hereditary, passing
down from one generation to another.
The nobility and the serfs thus emerged as two distinct
strata in feudal society and the clergy formed a third stratum.
The Catholic Church had enormous secular power, since it
possessed the right to income from vast expanses of land.
As men of learning, clergymen were taken for granted by
most of the population, a world view which included the
nation that the supremacy of the king, the privileges of the
nobility and the lowly position of serfs were all ordained by
God. Thus the power of the Church was used to legitimate
the system of social inequality.
In Europe from the twelfth century onward, feudal
society was affected by the gradual transformation of local
markets into permanent towns, with important implications
for the emergence of a fourth stratum. Eventually the
townsmen (or burgesses), using wealth acquired from trade
strengthened the economic power of the burgesses as against
that of the nobility.
Thus, feudal society came to comprise four distinct
social strata: the nobility and the clergy, who controlled
most of the land and enjoyed the agricultural surplus; the
serfs, who cultivated the land and were bound to it; and the
burgesses. These classes were, by and large, closed; access
to the nobility or the peasantry was determined by birth,
though occasionally peasants could escape from feudal
bondage to the towns, and rich merchants were sometimes
able to purchase titles and estates. The clergy was, of course
an exception to the rule of hereditary classes and they had
no legal heirs.
Hence, the agricultural and feudal societies had a far
more complex Social Structure compared to the earlier
societies.
Industrial Societies
The industrial mode of production began in England about
250 years ago. It became a very successful one and has
since spread all over the world. Industrial societies have
existed only in the very modern era, dating from the
industrialisation of Great Britain in the late 18 century. The
most advanced industrial societies today are found in North
America, Europe and East Asia including Japan, Taiwan,
Hong Kong and South Korea. Countries such as India,
Mexico, Brazil and some African countries have also become
industrialised to a great extent.
Industrial Revolution spanning the later 18th to the
early 19th centuries is an event of great socio-economic and
historical significance. Technology based on modern
scientific knowledge lead to higher rate of technology
innovation. These innovations in turn brought about a flood
of social changes. New technologies such as steam engine,
electrical power, atomic energy brought about a lot of
changes in the society. This stimulated population growth
with increasing members living in cities and metropolitan
areas where most jobs are located. New medical technologies
and improved living standards served to extend life
expectancy.
Division of labour became highly complex and tens of
thousands new specialised jobs were created. The family
lost many of its function as it no longer remained as a
producing unit but had to be content with as a unit of
consumption. Various technological and scientific
developments made religion lose its hold in controlling the
behaviour of the people. Education evolved into an
independent and distinct institution and formal education
became a compulsory rather than a luxury for a few.
Hereditary monarchies died out giving place to more
democratic institutions. State assumed the central power in
the industrial society and was more known for its welfare
activities.
Industrial societies gave rise to a number of secondary
group such as corporations, political parties, business houses
and orgainsations of various kind. Primary groups tend to
loose their importance and more social life takes place in
the context of secondary groups. New life styles and values
created a much more heterogeneous culture which spread its
influence far and wide.
Families and kinship as social institutions tend to lose
their importance. The family lost many of his functions. It
no longer remained as a producing unit but has to be
content with as a unit of consumption. It lost the main
responsibility of educating the young ones. Kinship ties are
weakened. Kinship does not play an important role in
unifying and controlling people.
Religious institutions are no longer paying an
important role in controlling the behaviour of the people.
People hold many different and competing values and
beliefs. The world no longer remains as the God – centred
world for it is looked upon as the man-centred one. Various
technological and scientific development have made religion
lose its hold as an unquestioned source of moral authority.
For the first time, science emerges out as a new and
very important social institution. Science looked upon as a
promising and an effective means of socio-economic
progress. Similarly education has evolved into an
independent and distinct institution. Any industrial society

for that matter requires a literate population to understand
and make use of the modern technological innovations. For
the first time, formal education becomes a compulsory thing
for majority of people rather than a luxury for the few.
State which assumed the central power in the industrial
society is more known for its welfare activities than for the
regulative functions. State is increasingly involved in the
economic, educational, medical, military and other activities.
Industrialism is normally associated with the emergence
of the two social classes the rich and the poor between
whom sharp inequalities are found. They are referred to by
Marx as the haves and the have nots.
Industrial societies give rise to a number of secondary
group such as corporation, political parties, business houses,
government bureaucracies, cultural and literary associations
and special purpose organisatiion of various kind. New life
styles and values created a much heterogeneous culture
which spread its influence far and wide.
Post Industrial Society
The concept of Post Industrial Society was first formulated
in 1962 by Daniel Bell and subsequently in his seminal
work (Coming of post industrial Society – 1974). It described
the economic and social changes in the late twentieth
century. According to Bell in the economy this is reflected
in the decline of goods production and manufacturing as
the main form of economic activity, to be replaced by
services. With regard to class structure, a new class of
professional and technical occupations have come in to
existence.
In all spheres like economic, political and social
decision making this new class influenced in making a new
intellectual technology. The post industrial society is
predominated by a manufacturing based economy and moved
on to a structure of society based on the provision of
information, innovation, finance and services. The economy
underwent a transition from the production of goods to the
provision of services and knowledge became a valued form
of capital. Through the process of globalisation and
automation, the value and importance to the economy of
the blue collar, unionized work, including manual labour
(e.g.-assembly-line work) declined and those of professional
workers) grew in value and prevalence. Behavioral and
information sciences and technologies are developed and
implemented.
Thus, through these different types of societies we have
understood that the type of society in which man lived in
the beginning is very different from the type of society in
which he lives today. The story of human social life has
undergone several forms and changes. Historically, societies
have taken number of different forms and have changed in
ways that are unique themselves.
International Relations and Area Studies 197
SOCIAL GROUPS
Introduction
Man is a social animal: No man lives alone. He is basically
a social creature. The great Greek Philosopher— Aristotle
said long back that man is a social animal. He further
remarked that he who does not live in society is either a
beast or a angel. Wit the exception of hermits, shepherds,
lighthouse keepers, prisoners in solitary confinement and
possibly a few others, all human beings live in groups. Men
everywhere live in groups. Man’s daily life is made up
largely by participating in groups. Not only our life becomes
boring and unbearable without fellow human beings but
also our very survival becomes problematic. Total ostracise
from one’s group is probably the cruelest punishment –
short of only death. Throughout his life, the individual
belongs to temporary and permanent groups which are
organised for specific or general goals.
Social Groups
Definition and characteristics of group: Harry M. Johnson
says that ‘A social group is a system of social interaction’.
Marshal Jones is of the opinion that a social as ‘any
collection of human beings who are brought into human
relationships with one another’.
Characteristics of Social Groups
The main characteristics of social groups are as follows:
1. Collection of individual: Social groups consists of
people. Without individuals there can be no groups.
Just as we cannot have a college or a university
without students and teachers we cannot have a group
in the absence of people.
2. Interaction among members: Social interaction is
the very basis of group life. Hence mere collection of
individuals does not make a group. The members
must have a interaction. A social group, is in fact a
system of social interaction. The limits of social
groups are marked by the limits of social interaction.
3. Mutual Awareness: Group life involves mutual
awareness. Group members are aware of one another
and their behaviour is determined by this mutual
recognition.
4. ‘We – feeling’: We feeling refers to the tendency on
the part of the members to identify themselves with
the groups. It represents group unity. ‘We – feeling
creates sympathy in and fosters cooperation among
members. It helps group members to defend their
interests collectively.
5. Group Unity and solidarity: Group members are tied
by the sense of unity. The solidarity or integration of
a group is largely dependent upon the frequency, the
variety, and the emotional quality of the interactions
of its members. A family or a friends group, or a
198 International Relations and Area Studies
religious group is highly united and integrated,
because its members are related by several common
interests and have frequent social contacts with one
another and express a high degree of morale and of
loyalty. Unity is maintained more often by conscious
efforts.
6. Common Interests: The interests and ideals of group
are common. Groups are mostly formed or established
for the fulfillment of certain interests. Form of groups
differs depending upon the common interests of the
group. Hence are political groups, religious groups,
economic groups, and so on.
7. Group Norms: Every group has its own rules or
norms which the members are supposed to follow.
These norms may be in the form of customs, folkways,
mores, traditions etc. They may be written or unwritten
norms or standards. Every group has its own ways
and means of punishing or correcting those who go
against the rules.
8. Size of the groups: Social groups vary in size. A
group may be small as that of dyad (two members’
group e.g. husband and wife family) or as big as that
of a political party having lakhs of members.
9. Groups are Dynamic: Social groups are not static
but dynamic. They are subject to change whether
slow or fast. Old members die and new members are
born. Whether due to internal or normal pressures,
groups undergo changes.
10. Stability: Groups are stable or unstable; permanent
or temporary in character. Some groups like the crowd,
mob, audience, spectators’ group etc are temporary
and unstable. But many groups are relatively
permanent and stable in character.
Importance of Social Groups
The study of human society is essentially the study of
human groups. No man exists without a society and no
society exists without groups. Groups have become a part
and parcel of our life.
1. Survival becomes problematic without Groups:
Groups have become so necessary that our very
survival becomes problematic and doubtful in their
absence. Man by birth itself has the biological
potentiality of becoming man the social being.
2. Man becomes man only among men: Various studies
have convincingly proved that man fails to develop
human qualities in the absence of hum an
environment. The biologically blossoms only in the
context of groups.
3. Groups help Social survival also: Man by engaging
himself in constant relations with others he learns
things and mends his ways. In brief, from birth to
death, man is engaged in the process of socialization
which helps him to develop a personality of his own.
Classification of Social Groups
Social groups have been classified in various ways. Some
classifications are simple and some are elaborate. Various
writers have chosen different bases of classifying groups
such as racial features, religious beliefs, territory, nature of
government, size, caste, sex, age, class, occupation, blood
relationships, nature of social interaction, range of group
interests, permanent or temporary nature, degree of mobility
and so on.
In Group and Out Group
American Sociologist W. G. Sumner in his book “Folkways”
has classified groups into “in groups” and “out groups”.
This classification defends more on psychological factors
rather that external physical factors. The groups which an
individual belongs (or feels that he belongs) is an “in group”
and the rest of the groups are “out groups”. Example: One’s
own family, peer group, friendship group, religious groups,
caste group, linguistic group etc ‘in groups” and other
groups are “out groups”.
In Group and out Group Relationship are
Overlapping
In the simple tribal societies ‘in and out group; relationships
are very simple and direct as those who belong to the same
class or totemic group, or kin group are identified as members
of in groups and others as outsiders.
In modern society, people belong to so many group
that a number of their in group and out group relationship
may overlap. For example, a person in the urban
neighbourhood may consider the people (who belong to
different social classes, caste groups, religious groups,
political groups linguistic groups etc) living in his
neighbourhood as member of his ‘in group’ for some limited
purposes. When the question of his caste interest or religious
interest arises the same person may consider people who
belong to his own caste or linguistic or religious group
members of his in group and other as outsiders.
Relative Influence of in Group and Out
Groups
In group and out group relations lead to some consequences.
Members tend to regard their own group, the in group as
being something special, more worthy, more intimate,
helpful, dependable and so on. On the contrary, an out
group to which other people belong, is considered less
worthy, less intimate, not dependable, and it may be viewed
with hostility.
In Group and out Groups Affect Behaviour
In groups and out groups are important because they affect
behaviour. From fellow members of an in group we expect

recognition, loyalty and helpfulness. From outsiders our
expectations varies with the kind of out group. We expect
hostility from some out groups, a more or less friendly
competition from some others, from still a few others a total
indifference.
As far as in groups are concerned, they draw the members
together and increase the solidarity and cohesion of the
group. In the presence of a common enemy, real or imaginary,
in groups play a vital role in uniting people against the
common ‘danger’.
Primary Groups and Secondary Groups
The Meaning of Primary Groups
The concept of ‘primary groups’ is a significant contribution
of C. H. Cooley to the social thought. Primary groups are
found in all the societies. The primary group is the nucleus
of all social organisation. It is a small group in which a few
persons come into direct contact with another. These persons
meet face to face for mutual help, companionship and
discussion of common questions.
Cooley used the term ‘primary groups’ to mean a social
group characterised by face to face relationship, mutual aid
and companionship. By primary groups, Cooley meant the
intimate personal ‘face to face’ groups in which we find our
companions and comrades as the members of our family and
our daily associates. These are the people with whom we
enjoy the more intimate kind of social relations. The primary
groups can be referred to as the ‘We groups’. Cooley
explained that a primary group involves the sort of sympathy
and mutual identification for which we is the natural
expression.
Primary groups are universal groups functioning in all
stages of cultural development. Primary groups socialise the
individuals. Examples for primary groups: Family,
neighborhood, children’s play ground, peer group etc.
Chief Characteristics of Primary Groups
1. Dominance of face-to-face relations: Primary groups
are characterised by close and intimate relationships
among the members. There exists a face-to-face
relationship. In primary groups everyone knows
everyone else; one’s name and fame, one’s status,
wealth, occupation, level of education etc. Close
contact between them increases intimacy among the
members. Face-to-face relations are commonly
observed in small groups like family, neighbourhood
etc.
2. The relationship is personal: In the primary groups
the interest of each is centred in others as persons.
The relationship disappears if the particular person
disappears from it. The relationship is non transferable
and irreplaceable. The relationship between the
International Relations and Area Studies 199
husband and wife is such that no third person can
replace any one of them.
3. The Relationship is Spontaneous: A purely primary
relationship is voluntary. It is not planned. It is not
based on any contract. Relationships develop between
naturally. The relationships that develop between the
mother and child, husband and wife are purely
voluntary and spontaneous.
4. Small size: Primary Groups are smaller in size.
Effective participation of the members is possible
only when the group is of a small size. The character
of the group tends to change with the size. The
increase in the size of the group will have negative
effect on the intimacy of the members.
5. Physical Proximity or nearness: Face-to-face
relations can be found only when members reside in
a more or less permanently. Seeing and talking with
each other facilitates exchange of ideas, opinions
and sentiments. Physical proximity provides an
opportunity for the very development of primary
groups.
6. Stability of the group: A primary group is relatively
a permanent group. Social ties deepen in time.
7. Similarity of background: The members of a primary
group must have more or less similar background.
Each must have to something to contribute, to give
as well as to take.
8. Limited self interest: Members of the primary group
subordinate their personal interest to the interests of
the group. The common interest of the group is strong
enough to control individual interest. The
commonness of interests provides mental pleasure
and contentment to the members.
9. Communication: Communication in the case of
primary group like family or children’s play group,
for example is very quick and effective. Direct
face-to-face contact helps easy communication
between the members.
10. Direct Co-operation: Direct co-operation
characterises primary group. Members work directly
and in cooperation with each other to achieve their
common interest. Work is essentially ‘a mode of
sharing a common experience’. The group is a unity
in the performance of a function.
The Meaning of Secondary Groups:
An understanding of the modern industrial society requires
an understanding of the secondary groups. The secondary
groups are almost opposite to primary groups. The social
groups other than those of primary groups may be termed
as secondary groups. Maclver and Page refer to them as
great associations. They are of the opinion that secondary
200 International Relations and Area Studies
groups have become almost inevitable today. their
appearance is mainly due to the growing cultural complexity.
Ogburn and Nimkoff say that the ‘groups which provide
experience lacking in intimacy’ can be called secondary
groups.
Frank D Watson writes ‘the secondary groups is larger
and more formal, is specialised and direct in its contacts and
relies more for unity and continuance upon the stability of
its social organisation.’
Characteristics of the Secondary Groups
1. Dominance of secondary relations: Secondary
groups are characterised by indirect, impersonal,
contractual and non inclusive relations. Relations are
indirect because secondary groups are bigger in size
and the members may not stay together. Relations are
contractual in the sense; they are oriented towards
certain interests and desires.
2. Largeness of the size: Secondary groups are
relatively larger in size. City, nation, political parties,
trade unions, corporations are bigger in size. They
may have thousands and lakhs of members. There
may not be any limit to the membership in the case
of some secondary groups.
3. Membership: Membership in the case of secondary
groups is voluntary. For example, they are at liberty
to join political parties, international associations
like the rotary club, lion club, and business
corporations and so on. However, there are some
secondary groups like the state whose membership is
almost involuntary.
4. No physical Basis: Secondary groups are not
characterised by physical proximity. Many secondary
groups are not limited to any definite area. There are
some secondary groups like Rotary Club and the
Lion Club which are almost international in character.
The members of such groups are scattered over a vast
area.
5. Specific Ends or Interests: Secondary groups are
formed for the realisation of some specific interests or
ends. They are called ‘special interest groups’.
Members are interested in the group because they
have specific ends to aim at.
6. Indirect Communication: Contacts and
communications in the case of secondary groups are
alm ost indirect. Im personal nature of social
relationships in secondary groups is both the cause
and effect of indirect communication.
7. Nature of social control: Informal means of social
control are less effective in regulating the relations of
members. Moral control is only secondary. Formal
means of social control such as law, legislation,
police, court etc are made use of to control the
behaviour of members.
8. Group Structure: The secondary group has a formal
structure. Secondary groups are mostly organised
groups. Different statuses and roles that the members
assume are specified. Distinctions based on caste,
colour, region or religion, class, language etc are less
rigid and the greater tolerance toward other people
and groups.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNITY
(Net working)
Introduction
A electronic community is also called a virtual community
which is a social network of individuals who interact through
specific media, potentially crossing geographical and
political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interest or
goals.
Virtual or electronic communities have come into
existence mainly after the explosive diffusion of the internet
since 1990’s and have taken the forms of social networking
services and online communities.
The traditional definition of a community is of a
geographically circumscribed entity (nighbourhoods, village
etc). Virtual or electronic communities of course are usually
dispersed geographically and therefore not communities
under the original definition. Virtual communities resemble
real life communities in the sense that they provide support,
information, friendship and acceptance between strangers.
One of the most pervasive types of virtual community
include social networking services, which consist of various
online communities. Virtual communities are used for a
variety of social and professional groups. It does not
necessarily mean that there is a strong bond among the
members.
Types of Virtual Communities
Internet Message Boards
An online message board is a forum where people can
discuss thoughts or ideas on various topics. Whenever the
user revisits the message board, he/she can make a response.
Unlike a conversation, message boards do not have an
instantaneous response and require that users actively go to
the site to check for responses.
Anyone can register to participate in an online message
board. A message board is unique because people can choose
to participate and be apart of the virtual community, even
if they choose not to contribute their thoughts and ideas.
Registered users can simply view the various threads or
contribute if they choose to. Message board can also
accommodate can almost infinite number of users, something
a chat room is limited to.

Online Chat Rooms
Shortly after the rise of interest in message boards and
forums, people started to want a way of communicating
with their “communities” in real time. The downside to
message boards was that people would have to wait until
another user replied to their posting, which, with people all
around the world in different time frames, could take a
while. The development of online chat rooms allowed people
to talk to whoever was online at the same time they were.
This way, messages were sent and online users could
immediately respond back.
Users can communicate as if they are speaking to one
another in real life. This “like reality” attribute makes it
easy for users to form a virtual community, because chat
rooms allow users to get to know one another as if they were
meeting in real life.
Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds are the most interactive of all virtual
community forms. In this type of virtual community, people
are connected by living as an avatar in a computer-based
world. Users create their own avatar character (from choosing
the avatar’s outfits to designing the avatar’s house) and
control their character’s life and interactions with other
characters in the 3-D virtual world. It is similar to a computer
game, however there is no objective for the players. A
virtual world simply gives users the opportunity to build
and operate a fantasy life in the virtual realm. Characters
within the world can talk to one another and have almost
the same interactions people would have in reality. For
example, characters can socialize with one another and hold
intimate relationship online.
In a virtual world, characters can do activities together,
just like friends could do in reality. Communities in virtual
worlds are most similar to real life communities because the
characters are physically in the same place, even if the users
who are operating the characters are not. It is close reality,
except that the characters are digital. Second Life is one the
most popular virtual worlds on the internet.
Social Network Services
Social network services are the most prominent type of
virtual community. They are either a website or software
platform that focuses on creating and maintaining
relationships. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are all virtual
communities. With these sites, one often creates a profile or
account, and adds friends or follow friends. This allows
people to connect and look for support using the social
networking service as gathering place. These websites often
allow for people to keep up to date with their friends and
acquaintances activities without making much of an effort
on Facebook, for example, one can upload photos and
videos, chat, make friends, reconnect with old ones, and
join groups or causes.
International Relations and Area Studies 201
Advantages of Internet Services
Internet communities offer the advantage of instant
information exchange that is not possible in a real-life
community. This allows people to engage in many activities
from their home, such as: shopping, paying bills, and
searching for specific information. Users of online
communities also have access to thousands of specific
discussion groups where they can form specialized
relationships and access information in such categories as:
politics, technical assistance, social activities, and
recreational pleasures. Virtual communities provide an ideal
medium for these types of relationships because information
can easily be posted and response times can be very fast.
Another benefit is these types of communities can give
users a feeling of membership and belonging. Users can
give and receive support, and it is simple and cheap to use.
Economically, virtual communities can be commercially
successful, making money through membership fees,
subscriptions, usage fees, and advertising commission,
Consumers generally feel very comfortable making
transactions online as long as the seller has a good reputation
throughout the community. Virtual communities also provide
the advantage of disinterm ediation in comm ercial
transactions, which eliminates vendors and connects buyers
directly to suppliers. This eliminates pricey mark-ups and
allows for a more direct line of contact between the consumer
and the manufacturer.
Disadvantages of Internet Communities
While instant communication means fast access, it also
mean that information is posted without being reviewed for
correctness. It is difficult to choose reliable sources because
there is no editor that reviews each post and makes sure is
it up to a certain degree of quality. Everything comes from
the writer with no filter in between.
Identities can be kept anonymous online so it is common
for people to use the virtual community to live out a fantasy
as another type of person. Users should be wary of where
information is coming from online and be careful to double
check facts with professionals.
Information online is different from information
discussed in a real life community because it is permanently
online. As a result, users must be careful what information
they disclose about themselves to ensure they are not easily
identifiable, for safety reasons.
Now slowly we have transformed ourselves from more
social creatures into community creatures and it is the only
way that human evolution will be able to proceed.
Summary
Sociology is the study of social life, its forms and
dimensions. Society is the largest distinguishable unit
composed of individuals. Society has structure and
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202 International Relations and Area Studies
continuity. Societies have taken different forms in human
history and can be classified in two ways : according to
their modes of subsistence and according to their patterns
of social organisation. According to the first classification
we can divide societies into hunting and gathering societies,
horticultural societies, agricultural and early industrial and
post industrial societies.
Man as a social animal, leads a group life. He belongs
to variety of social groups to collection of individuals who
interact with each other. The individual identifies with the
group, influences it in some cases and is influenced by it
in others. The groups itself exert strong pressure to conform
to the standards and behavioural patterns of the overall
membership.
Groups, associations and institutions make up structural
fabric of society, the largest meaningful group to which one
belongs. However the most meaningful relationship is that
which exists between the individual and the primary group,
a small close and emotionally involved collection of people.
Secondary groups are formal, less emotional and less
intimate. Secondary groups include formal organisations
with prescribed rules and duties.
Thus every individual’s development as a human being
as well as his existence depends upon his or her continued
interaction with other people. Throughout an individual’s
life he or she belongs to temporary and permanent groups
which are organised for specific or general goals.
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS:
CONCEPT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Social Institution: Meaning
A social institution is a complex, integrated set of social
norms organized around the preservation of a basic societal
value. MacIver defines institution as the established forms
or conditions of procedure characteristic of group activity.
The recognized established set of rules, traditions and usages
of every organization is referred to as institutions. Institutions
are means of controlling individuals with set rules and are
there to satisfy the primary needs of man.
Social Stratification
In every society there is existence of some sort of inequality
based on income, occupation, education or hereditary status.
Throughout history societies have used some system of
classification such as kings and slaves, lords and serfs, rich
and poor, landlords and labourers, upper and lower castes
etc. Social stratification refers to a system of structured
inequality which rates and ranks members of a society based
on select criteria and limits access to wealth, power,
privileges and opportunities. It is not a classification of
individuals based on their attributes but an established
system of classifying groups. E.g. caste system in India.
Raymond Murray defines social stratification as
“horizontal division of society into higher and lower social
units”.
Gisbert defines social stratification as “division of
society into permanent groups or categories linked with
each other by the relationship of superiority and
subordination”.
There are 3 com monly recognized systems of
stratification. They are estate, caste and class.
The estate system of stratification was part of the feudal
system and prevalent in Europe during the middle ages. It
is a closed system in which a person’s social position is
defined by law based land ownership, occupation and
hereditary status. The estate system consisted of feudal lords,
clergy, merchants and craftsman and serfs. Wealth was
concentrated in the hands of the few who enjoyed hereditary
status and prestige. On the whole the estate system involved
a hierarchical order based on hereditary and social mobility
was restricted.
The caste system represents a rigid form of stratification
based on hereditary status, traditional occupation and
restrictions on social relationships. Caste is hereditary,
endogamous, usually localized group having traditional
association with an occupation, and a particular position in
the local hierarchy of castes. Caste as a traditional system
has the following characteristics:
(a) Hierarchy
(b) Hereditary status
(c) Traditional occupation
(d) Endogamy
(e) Theory of pollution
(ƒ) Restrictions on social interaction and access to
opportunities
(g) Castes are localized groups
The caste system is in a hierarchical order with Brahmins
at the top followed by the Kshtriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.
The dalits are placed at the bottom of the hierarchy outside
the fourfold system. The status is ascribed determined by
birth. In the old system every caste followed a certain
occupation which was handed down from one generation to
the next. Louis Dumont believes that the three characteristics
of hierarchy, heredity and traditional occupation are linked
by religious orientation. These are not strictly in terms of
power relations or economic domination. Caste system
follows endogamy where individuals marry within the caste
and in the past intercaste marriages were forbidden. Relations
between castes were traditionally determined by the concepts
of purity and pollution which asserted that lower castes are
polluting to the higher castes. Lower castes were denied
many opportunities such as access to public places, schools.
Restrictions were placed on their movements as even their
shadows used to be considered polluting.

While the above characteristics are attributed to caste
system in general, the ground reality states that the actual
functional units are the subcastes. Ghurye (1932) believed
that although it is the caste which is recognized by the
society at large, it is the subcaste which is considered more
relevant by the particular caste and the individual.
However today with industrialization, urbanization and
modernization traditional caste system has weakened though
it is used very often to meet political ends.
Class system refers to the classification of people based
on their economic positions in society. Classes began to
emerge as individuals started amassing wealth; social classes
are not rigidly defined like estates and castes. It is an open
system with increased social mobility. Though individuals
born in wealthy families and influential families have better
access to resources, class system is based more on
achievement than birth; the status is achieved than ascribed.
Sociologists rely on income, wealth, level of education,
type of occupation, material possession and lifestyle to
classify people into classes.
Stratification can also be based on gender. Historically
women all across the globe have been accorded inferior
position in comparison to men. Men have had and continue
to have more physical and social power and status than
women in the public sphere. Men hold public office, create
laws and rules, define society and according to feminists
also control women. Though strides have been made towards
gender equality the position of women still remains inferior.
Much of the inequalities in the public and private sphere
are due to sexism- prejudice and discrimination because of
gender. Fundamental to sexism is the assumption that men
are superior to women. Sexism has negative consequences
for women and has caused them to avoid pursuing successful
careers typically described as masculine. Sexism produces
inequality between the genders particularly in the form of
discrimination. Inequality and discrimination is found in
the areas of education, work and politics.
Gordon Marshal ‘Dictionary of Sociology’ defines age
stratification as system of inequalities linked to age. It
refers to the social ranking of individuals at different stages
in their lives. Age stratification separates people into three
primary groups according to their age; the young, the old
and the rest. There is unequal distribution of wealth, power
and privileges among people at different stages in the life
course. In Western societies, for example, both the old and
the young are perceived and treated as relatively
incompetent and excluded from much social life. Age
stratification based on ascribed status leads to inequality.
Our society places an enormous value on a person’s perceived
age, with major handicaps given to the very young and to
the very old. The very young are either not physically or
mentally capable of performing the required task, and the
same is true for the elderly. Since society requires that
people be able to perform some level of productive activity,
those that cannot are viewed as a burden on the system.
International Relations and Area Studies 203
Functions of Stratification
(a) Stratification constitutes a means of society’s getting
some of its essential jobs done by distributing
different amounts of prestige and privilege to various
strata.
(b) It regulates and controls human relationships in
society. Prescribed roles and role expectation norms
and standards of behaviour are involved in
relationships with each stratum. Stratification
regulates and controls individual and group
relationships and participation. Inequality of
opportunity or non availability of facilities gives
advantages to those in higher strata and deprives
those belonging to the lower strata thus regulating
participation.
(c) Stratification in society has strong integrative
functions, serving to coordinate and harmonise units
within the social structure.
(d) Stratification of society categorizes people into
different strata simplifying his relations with other
people.
Religion
There is nothing in the world which has been the object of
such deep reverence and the centre of such severe criticism
as religion; it has been equated with salvation and
characterized as the opiate of the people. The sociologist is
concerned with the functions, social foundations and
consequences of religion rather than the truth or falsity of
any given religion. The sociologist studies the effect of
religious beliefs and practices on the social and cultural
systems, socialization process and personality development.
They are concerned with the ways in which society and
religion interact and the effect it has on the individual.
It is very difficult to arrive at a consensus of definition
of religion. According to Durkheim religion is a unified
system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things,
uniting into a single, moral community all those who adhere
to those beliefs and practices. In sociological terms religion
is a system of beliefs, practices, symbols and rituals that
somehow relate to the community’s orientation to the
supernatural or the life beyond. Religion entails a form of
worship, obedience to divine commandments and a concern
with the transcendental realms that are beyond the rational
and empirical.
Elements of Religion
Members of a religion share a set of beliefs, system of
philosophy, forms of rituals and some type of organization.
Any proposition about an aspect of the universe that is
accepted as true may be called belief. Religion is founded
on many beliefs that are not universal. Based on belief of
the members religion can be classified into monotheistic-
belief in one god and polytheistic – belief in myriad forms
204 International Relations and Area Studies
of gods who preside over numerous forces of nature. The
creation of the sacred is another important element of
religion. Myths, legends, sacred texts, symbols such as
trishul, beads, fire, cross etc. provide the framework of
knowledge w ithin which the supernatural and the
phenomenon outside the ordinary experience become
meaningful to the believers. The practice of every religion
involves a variety of rituals. Members of most religions
have a sense of community in that their beliefs, rituals and
practices unite them into a common fold. Religion consists
of a social form with networks of institutional arrangements
and status role (priests, temples, monks, churches, shrines,
monasteries). Religion involves a system of ritual including
festivals, ceremonies, prayers, sacrifices, fasts etc,
congregation which includes meetings; satsangs etc.
Religion also involves an expressive culture- particularly
visual and performing arts - including singing, dancing,
chanting, processions, trance etc.
Types of Religious Organization
Church
Church is a type of religious organization that is well
integrated into the larger society with well established rules
and doctrines - a formal organization with a hierarchy of
officials whose leaders are formally trained and ordained.
Though it appoints people from all strata; in practice higher
status groups are usually overrepresented. Church members
conceive of god in highly intellectual terms and favour
abstract moral standards over specific rules for day to day
living. By teaching morality in abstract terms church leaders
avoid controversy. A church may operate with or apart from
the state. It identifies with the state and is integrated with
the social, political and educational functions. A church
generally accepts the norms and values of the society and
frequently regards itself as the guardian of the established
social order. A state church is formally allied with the state
whereas a denomination is a church independent of the
state and the one that recognizes religious pluralism.
Sect
A sect is an exclusive, highly cohesive group of believers
who strictly adhere to a religious doctrine and reject many
beliefs and practices of the general society and replace them
with beliefs and practices which may appear strange to the
non believer. As a result, sects are, in Peter Berger’s words,
‘in tension with the larger society and closed against it’.
Sects are religious organizations that stand apart from the
larger society. Membership into the sect is voluntary and is
not universal in its appeal but is an exclusive group. A sect
makes no effort to influence the religious life of those
outside its fold. As a voluntary group, membership is
restricted to those who are qualified to be its members.
Members often join in through conversion and personal
transformation. Sect members have rigid religious convictions
and unconventional beliefs and forms of worship and deny
the belief of other. They usually stress equalitarian ideals
among its members as new converts and old members are
treated with equal respect. They also expect active
participation, strict conformity and personal commitment
on the part of their members. It is either indifferent or
hostile to the state and the larger society and often upholds
visions of an alternative society. They usually spring from
the lower classes and disadvantaged people who feel
oppressed by the state and society. In organizational terms
they are less formal than churches, they are spontaneous
and emotional in worship enjoying personal experience. In
a sect, charisma is attached to the religious leader whereas
in organized church it is attached to the office.
Cult
A cult is a religious organization often inspired by a
charismatic leader and largely outside a society’s cultural
tradition. People voluntarily follow a leader who preaches
new beliefs and practices. Since m any cults hold
unconventional doctrines that adhere to different lifestyles,
they evoke negative sentiments in the popular mind. Cults
are often at odds with the larger society and their
unconventional beliefs often lead to the popular view of
them being deviants and members dismissed as being crazy.
However there is nothing intrinsically wrong with cults. In
fact several of the organized religion began as cults. Cults
often last only as long as their leader. There were several
millenarian cults that appeared at the end of the twentieth
century. These groups believed that the end of the world
was near and prepared them to be saved by god as select
group of faithful. The Moonies, People’s Temple, Jesus
People, Scientology, Rajneeshis and Ananda Margin are
often called cults. Cults have often attracted controversies
because of their alleged techniques of recruitment, lifestyles,
and values which are perceived to run counter to those of
the larger society. Many of the cults have been accused of
kidnapping, brainwashing, using hypnosis and other mind
controlling techniques and drugs. They have also been
charged with manipulation of the young, immorality and
exploitation. Sociologists of religion view cult formation as
a response to utilitarian individualism and materialism of
modern consumer culture which is characterized by
impersonality and moral ambiguity. They think of it as a
quest for new identity or conscious reformation.
Functions of Religion
Religion in terms of functional theory serves certain
important functions. Durkheim pointed out three major
functions of religion for the operation of the society. These
are:
(a) Religion unites people through symbolism, values
and norms. Religious thought and ritual establish
rules of fair play, making social life orderly

(b) Every society uses religious ideas to promote
conformity. It sanctifies norms and values of an
established society, maintaining the dominance of
group goals over individual wishes.
(c) Religious beliefs offer the comforting sense. Religion
through its various ceremonies of worship provides
emotional ground and identity amid uncertainties
and impossibilities of human condition.
Religion though is highly personal affair it has a social
aspect and social role. According to Arnold Green, religion
helps in rationalizing individual suffering. Religion serves
to soothe the em otions of humans in the face of
disappointment and sufferings. Religion also plays a role in
enhancing self importance and contributes to the integration
of one’s personality. Religion is also the source of social
cohesion and social control as well. Religion is an
integrating and unifying force in human society however it
can also be dysfunctional that can keep humans in degrading
subjection what Marx referred to as ‘ religion is the opiate
of the masses’.
In spite of its various disservices the fact that religion
has continued for centuries together is the proof of its value.
Summary
Social institutions are the major spheres of social life or
societal subsystems, organized to meet human needs. Social
stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories
of people in a hierarchy. The 3 commonly recognized
systems of stratification are estate, caste and class.
Stratification can be on the basis of wealth, power, status,
education, ritualistic status, age and gender. It can serve
functional purpose at the same time can be highly
dysfunctional and exploitative. Religion as a social
institution plays an important role in the life of an individual.
Sociologist study how religion is linked to other social
patterns but make no claims about the truth of any religious
belief. It serves integrative functions promoting social
solidarity; however it can also make people over dependent
and perpetuate inequalities in the society. Cults, sects and
church are the different forms of religious organizations.
POLITICAL INSTITUTION
Every society has an order to which people adhere and this
system ensures obedience or conformity to the social order.
Political institution is the social institution that distributes
power, sets a society’s agenda and makes decisions. In
traditional societies tribal chiefs, elders and shamans
exercised control. In large and complex societies political
authority has to be organized and structured. In today’s
world political and economic systems are intertwined. In
both industrialized and developing societies, governments
play a major role in shaping the economy.
International Relations and Area Studies 205
State and Government
The state is a form of political entity by which a society is
organized under an agency of government which claims
legitimate sovereignty over specified geographical area and
has the monopoly of physical force. The features of state
are:
(a) It is organized under a government that exercises
authority over its subjects with the legitimate
monopoly of physical force, to imprison and even
executes members within its jurisdiction.
(b) The state exercises its political authority through
governments at the national, state and local levels.
A government is an agency of the state, a complex
legal system that has the power and authority to carry out
the functions of the state. It is a formal organization that
directs the political life of a society. In modern democracies,
governments formed by political parties in power formulate
policies, initiate laws, and launch programmes. The
government consists of the legislature, executive and
judiciary. The legislature is responsible for enacting laws
that govern the behaviour of all individuals and institutions.
The executive formulates policies and programmes and
administers the country in accordance with the laws. The
judiciary interprets the laws and safeguards the rights of all
citizens.
Functions of the State
Modern nation states perform a wide variety of functions.
Social control: The state has the authority to enact and
enforce laws. The state prescribes certain forms of behaviour
and prohibits certain other behaviours that disrupt the social
order; that are clearly specified. It is the responsibility of
the state that along with making good laws it is the also
responsible for maintaining law and order, punishing
criminals and protecting law abiding citizens. The police
and courts are established to carry out the responsibility of
maintaining law and order.
Defence: It is the prime responsibility of the state to
protect its citizens against external aggression and threat.
Modern nation states maintain standing armies and a large
portion of national budget is utilized for defence purposes.
The soldiers trained and equipped for defence is also
employed for maintaining order in case of emergency
domestic situations. However most democratic nations
maintain a definite functional separation between social
control and defence responsibilities of the state.
Welfare: The state initiates policies and programmes
for the welfare of its citizens. Welfare measures would include
health, education, employment, public services and
retirement benefits. Equity, elimination of poverty,
promotion of social justice, and cultural development are
among the goals embraced by modern nation states. Every
state is expected to ensure economic stability and general
social welfare.
206 International Relations and Area Studies
Types of state
Autocracy
Autocracy is defined in Modern Dictionary of Sociology as
‘a form of government in which ultimate authority resides
in one person who occupies the top position in a hierarchy
of power and from whom authority descends to the bottom
of the hierarchy’. It is a type of political system in which
a single family rules from generation to generation. The
autocrat may be a monarch who inherited the position or a
dictator who captured power in coup d’état. The autocrat is
not accountable for his actions to his subordinates or
subjects. An autocracy is authoritarian but not totalitarian.
In autocracy power and authority is vested in a single
individual. Military dictatorships and absolute monarchies
are examples of autocracies. With industrialization monarchy
is gradually replaced by elected officials. All the European
nations where monarchs remain are constitutional monarchies
where monarchs are only symbolic heads of state with actual
governing done by elected officials.
Totalitarianism
In Totalitarianism the state rather than the individual is
supreme; the monopoly of power is vested in a party or a
group of ruling elites. It is the most intensely controlled
political form; a highly centralized political system that
regulates people’s life. The state controls and regulates all
phases of life, perpetuates its power, and arbitrarily decides
what is best for its citizens. The centralized system of
authority discourages any form of real political participation.
Although totalitarian governments claim to represent the
will of the people most seek to bend people to the will of
the government. Such governments have total concentration
of power allowing no organized opposition. The population
is denied the right to assemble for political purposes and
also denied access to information. With the development of
modern technologies and surveillance systems, totalitarian
governments monitor every aspect of the citizens’ life.
Totalitarian states enforce strict conformity to state policies
and political ideology. Examples of totalitarianism would
be modern North Korea, Taliban.
Democracy
Democracy is a form of government in which power is
exercised by the people as a whole. It is the government of
the people, by the people and for the people. It gives power
to the people as a whole. A system of representative
democracy puts authority in the hands of the elected leaders.
All modern democracies are representative democracies in
which people elect their representatives to form a government
on their behalf. An ideal system of democracy is based on
universal suffrage which allows all citizens of a certain age
to exercise their right to vote. The effectiveness of the
democracy depends on an enlightened electorate; people
have to be politically conscious and active in the democratic
process. Elected representatives formulate the budget,
policies and programmes and carry out the programmes
through a network of appointed officials. Modern nation
states prefer democratic forms of government which
recognize the sovereignty of the people.
Economic Institutions
The economy is the social institution that organizes a
society’s production, distribution and consumption of goods
and services. Economic activity deals with goods and
services needed for the satisfaction of human wants. It
involves land, capital, labour and entrepreneurship.
The type of economy often depends upon the political
form of government. How does the state control the flow of
money, goods and services? What is the status of private
property? What is the role of free market in the economic
system? are the questions that illustrate the relationship
between the state and economy. Two general economic
models are capitalism and socialism.
Capitalism
It is an economic system that is based on private ownership
of the means of production and distribution in which
individuals are free to accumulate and invest capital. The
state only plays a minor role in the marketplace, mainly
controlling monopoly and exploitation. Features of
capitalism are:
(a) Capitalist system operates on the basis of credit, free
contract and free labour market.
(b) Private ownership of property is the essence of
capitalism.
(c) It involves freedom of choice, the right to own, rent,
sell, trade, or give away the property.
(d) It encourages the accumulation of private property
and considers the profit motive natural, simple a
matter of doing business.
(e) It is based on unregulated competition which allows
the market forces to determine what is produced, how
much is produced and at what price.
(ƒ) There is total freedom from government interference
in business or commerce. A purely capitalist economy
is a free market system with no government
interference; called laissez- faire economy from the
French words meaning to leave alone. Adam Smith,
the Scott Philosopher stated that a freely competitive
economy regulates itself by the invisible hand of the
laws of supply and demand.
Socialism
It is an economic system in which the state has collective
ownership of the means of production and distribution. In
socialism the natural resources and the means of producing
goods and services are collectively owned. The features of
socialism are:

(a) It limits the rights to public property, especially
property used to generate income. The state owns the
land as well as other resources and operates businesses.
(b) Profit is no longer the ultimate goal of economic
activity but public good is. Individuals are urged to
work for the common good of all.
(c) There is a central planning agency that sets the goals
and priorities. Production of goods as well as services
and the entire market economy is oriented towards
meeting the public needs rather than profit making.
(d) Socialism advocates overall welfare of the population
through extensive public assistance programme.
Informal Economies
These are economic activities involving income unreported
to the government as required by law. Also known as
underground economy, black economy, informal sector
includes self employed persons, vegetable vendors, rickshaw
pullers, domestic servants etc. A large section of many
economies constitutes of the informal sector. E.g. India-
about 92% of the people is involved in informal sector
contributing to the economy of the country. The informal
sector is characterized by ease of entry, autonomy and
flexibility, small scale of operation and family ownership of
enterprise. The informal sector lacks government recognition
and support. The organized capital market, bank finance,
foreign technology, protection from competition etc is not
available to informal sector enterprises. The informal
economies function in the unprotected labour market.
Workers in the informal sector can be classified into home
based workers (rural artisans), self employed (street vendors,
hawkers), piece rate workers and time wage workers (domestic
servants, construction workers). Though unregulated and
unprotected the informal sector today is a source of
employment for a very large number of people contributing
significantly to the total output of the economy.
SOCIALIZATION
Introduction
Human beings are social animals and they learn the cultural
and behavioural patterns of the group they belong too. The
Chinese and Japanese children learn to eat with chopsticks
so skillfully that they can pick up not only rice but even
single peanut. Children with some other part of the world
use their hands or use a fork or knife to eat. How do we
explain such variations? These phenomena can only be
explained by socialization, the process by which individuals
learn the culture of their society. Socialization is a life long
process which enables the individual to learn the content of
her/his culture and the many behavioural patterns of the
group to which s/he belongs.
International Relations and Area Studies 207
Definition and Significance
Definition
The new generation learns the basic essentials of culture
and survives in the society. The process by which the new
born child learns to satisfy its basic needs, prepares himself
for different roles at any stage in society is called as
socialization. The human infant comes into the world a
biological organism with animal needs. He/she is gradually
moulded into a social being and learns social ways of
acting and feeling. Without this process of moulding society
cannot continue itself, nor could culture exist, and the
individual cannot become a person. Socialization is the
process by means of which the human infant learns to
become a functioning and participating member of the
society or group. It is a life long process which extends from
cradle to grave. The social development is a gradual but
continuous process which passes through different stages.
According to Anthony Giddens, “Socialization is
process by which the helpless infant gradually becomes self
aware, knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of culture
into which he or she is born.” The process of socialization
brings about a change in the individual personality as the
new generation learns appropriate patterns of behaviour,
develops ability to understand various social responsibilities
and social obligations according to the expectations of
society. Therefore the socialization is a process of training
individual according to the norms of society. According to
Anderson and Parker, “Socialization is a learning process of
development of habits, attitudes and traits that differentiate
individual from one another.” According to Lundberg,
“Socialization is a process of interaction where the individual
learns habits, skills, beliefs and standard of judgments which
are necessary for effective participation at social groups and
communities.”
Socialization provides children the experience of living
and interacting with each other which helps the individual
to grow as a human being or it would be difficult to
differentiate them with animals. Children learn by imitating
and observing, therefore socialization is concerned to be a
two way process which involves observation and response.
Every new born infant is considered to be a bundle of flesh
that needs to be moulded in a specific way to be an accepted
member. As the child grows, s/he becomes disciplined and
matured. In this way socialization is a life long process.
Significance
Socialization is significant to individuals and society in
many ways. Firstly, it is through the process of Socialization,
as Otite and Ogionwo (1979) have rightly argued, that
human beings who are biological beings become socially
human. Socialization ensures the continuity of society or it
persistence over time due to inculcation into its members of
the essential values and norms necessary for its survival and
208 International Relations and Area Studies
development. It is through Socialization that individuals
and groups are assigned specific roles e.g., men and women
in the society and they will continue to perform their various
responsibilities or duties. It further serves to standardize the
acceptable patterns of behaviours in most societies and
among the individuals and corporate groups in existence.
Socialization process also serves the function of
providing the members of society with appropriate skills
and knowledge for performing future roles e.g., training of
people in formal institute such as schools, colleges,
vocational institutions etc. It prepares the individual for the
role s/he have to play in society and the status they occupy
with proper belief, attitudes, norms, values, skills and
knowledge. New members of the society are often socialized
into accepting the moral code of society, the basis upon
which the society survives; without moral regulation, most
societies are likely to fall apart. Finally, it is through
Socialization that every member of the society is provided
with his or her personality. It should, however, be noted that
consequences of the Socialization process may also prevail
resulting in deviant behaviours, including criminality,
among individuals and groups in society. Socialization
transmits the heritage from generation to generations which
ensures persistence and continuity.
The Process of Socialization
The social order is maintained largely by socialization.
Unless the individuals behave in accordance with the norms
of the group, it is going to disintegrate. It is said that the
process of socialization begins long before a child is born.
The parents’ courtship, marital selection, customs concerning
pregnancy and child birth and the whole system of cultural
practices surrounding the family are important for the child’s
growth.
Direct socialization begins after birth. Reflexes are the
automatic and rigid response of the organism to a given
stimulus. They are unlearnt and are not modifiable. They set
limits on what an organism can do. But they are the base
on which the process of direct socialization begins.
Instincts are said to have some influence on human
behaviour. For example, Freud is of the opinion that the sex
instinct is the source of all human endeavours. The human
infant at birth does not have complete instincts but only
some elements of them, such as reflexes and urges. Urge
provides a firm ground for explaining human behaviour. If
human needs are not satisfied, it leads to tension until it
encounters a stimulus capable of relieving the tension. The
urge is thus a dynamic force behind behaviour, it provides
a starting point for the process of socialization. The process
of socialization involves different stages. They are the
following:
(a) Imitation: Imitation is copying by an individual of
the actions of another. G.H Mead defines it as ‘self-
conscious assumption of another’s acts or roles’. Thus
when the child attempts to walk impressively like the
father swinging a stick and wearing spectacles, he/
she is imitating. Imitation can be conscious or
unconscious. In imitation the person imitating
performs exactly the same activity as the one who is
imitated. It is the main factor in the process of
socialization. Through it the child learns many social
behavioural patterns. The child as compared to the
adult possesses the greatest capacity for imitation.
Language and pronunciation are acquired by the child
only through imitation. It is because of the tendency
to imitate that children are so attuned to the influence
of their parents and friends whose behaviour they
imitate.
(b) Suggestion: Suggestion is the process of
communicating information which has not logical or
self-evident basis. It is devoid of rational persuasion.
It may be conveyed through language, pictures or
some similar medium. Suggestion influences not only
behaviour with others but also one’s own private and
individual behaviour. In trade, industry, politics,
education and every other field people make use of
suggestion to have their ideas and notions accepted
by other people and to make them behave
accordingly. Advertising is based on the idea of
suggestion. Children are more influenced by
suggestion than adults.
(c) Identification: In the early age, the child cannot
make a difference between his/her own organism and
the environment. Most of their actions are random.
As they grow in age, they come to know of the nature
of things which satisfy their needs. Such things
become the objects of their identification. Thus the
toys with which they play, the picture-book which
they enjoy looking at, the mothers who feed them etc
become objects of identification.
(d) Language: It is the medium of social interaction. In
the beginning the child does not know how to speak.
At first the child utters some random syllables which
have no meaning. Gradually the child learns by
hearing the parents and all those with whom he is
associated with. The mother tongue is learnt this
moulds the personality of the individual from infancy.
AGENCIES OF SOCIALIZATION
Introduction
Individuals acquire the culture of their society through
participation in a variety of groups and institutions. From
their family the child learns the first words of language,
religion and several other roles. But the family cannot teach
everything, at every stage of life we learn rules and
behavioural patterns as we interact with others. The primary
agents of socialization are the family, peer group, school
and mass media.

Agencies of Socialization
Family
The family is a permanent, the most complete and primary
institution that looks after the needs of an individual. It is
the family where the child comes in contact with human
beings specially the mother and the child has physical and
social contact. It is the group into which the child is born.
Being the first group which has influence over the
individual, the child learns his first lessons in socialization
from the family. From his parents s/he learns her/his speech
and language. S/He learns respect for persons in authority.
The child gets his first lessons in co-operation, tolerance,
love and affection in the family. The family has tremendous
influence on the character and morality of the person.
The self concept of an individual depends to a large
extend on one’s family. The child develops his sense of self
through observing the reactions of his parents. He learns to
define himself as his parents define him. The family acts as
a mediator between the individual and the other agencies
of socialization. Even though there are other agencies like
school, work place, media etc; it is the family that determines
how the individual comes to be influenced by these agencies.
For e.g. which school the child goes to, which friends he has
contacts with etc…
Peer Groups
Peer group refers to people of almost the same who share
similar interests. They also help in the development of
personality. The first peer group is the neighbourhood play
group; children who hang out together in the neighbourhood
and play different games. They begin to spend more time
together than in their own families. They play games like
cricket together, or just hang out. Participation in such
groups gives the child important social identity such as a
team player, leader, or shy person etc. The first
neighbourhood playgroups are breeding grounds for leaders.
Children also learn the rules of the game here, their first
exposure to rules of the society.
Later in life, peer groups become more influential in
school and the workplace. Unlike the neighbourhood
playgroups, in the school the child gets to choose his own
friends. Friends may be chosen on the basis of physical
attraction, common interests, or shared backgrounds. They
share similar interests in sports, music, movies, fashion, and
even ideologies. The first taste of alcohol or the first act of
smoking may be peer-induced. Young adults who grow up
in crime-ridden localities are drawn into deviant subcultures.
The influence of the peer group continues in the
workplace. The office norm, or the unwritten rules of
behaviour, is a product of peer socialization. For example,
in an industry or in a government office, there is often this
shared understanding that a honest day’s work is not
necessary, and the peers frown upon people who are eager
International Relations and Area Studies 209
to complete the task in a timely fashion. At the same time
friends in the workplace can help individuals tide over
many life crises such as domestic problems, divorce,
accidents, and death.
The School
The school is considered to be an important formal setting
where the child spends many hours together with friends
and teachers. The school is the first formal agency which
exposes the child to the rules of the larger society. Here the
child learns to recognize and obey rules, practice skills, and
relate to people in positions of authority. Children learn to
behave in group settings, sit quietly and listen to teachers,
participate in social events, and accept responsibilities. The
school plays the most important role in the development of
social and intellectual skills and the reception of society’s
cultural heritage. It is not only responsible for reading,
writing, and arithmetic, but for the transmission of the
accumulated social heritage of the community. Education
refines social skills, and frequent interaction with peers and
teachers helps in the formation of a healthy social identity.
The school also teaches civic sense, patriotism, and pride in
the nation’s shared heritage. Above all, education is
supposed to foster critical thinking so that individuals can
think for themselves and become creative and productive
members of the society.
Mass Media
In the present-day society, mass media play a significant,
although subtle role in the socialization process. Media
imparts information through audio visual and print. Mass
media refers to all instruments of communication such as
television, radio, newspapers, magazines, movies, and
records. Television has become by far the most influential
medium in recent years. India has come a long way from the
days of the government controlled single-channel television.
With the growth of the cable industry and numerous private
television channels, people have a choice. Not only is there
a wide range of programmes available, but there is also an
instant transmission of images, events, styles and fashions
from around the world. Young people are now able to enjoy
Western music, dance, fashion and fast food, and adopt
types of behaviour patterns. There are also educational
channels such as Discovery, National Geographic, and
History, which inform, entertain and truly instruct. However,
there is considerable controversy over what some people
call ‘cultural pollution’, which is the result of the ‘pernicious’
influence of the West. Much of the controversy is the result
of stereotypes and the comparison of our ‘ideal’ culture
with West’s ‘real’ culture.
It is possible that many people watch too much television
and that they devote too little to reading. Once upon a time,
good books were the only form of entertainment. Now we
can watch television any time of the day or night. Studies
in USA show that pre-schoolers and young children spend
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almost one-third of the day in front of the television. Studies
have also shown that exposure to violence in the media can
contribute to aggressive behaviour, insensitivity to violence.
In India, parents are more likely to regulate children’s
viewing of television and violent movies. However, it will
be worthwhile to undertake some extensive research on the
impact of certain television programmes on young children.
We also depend on other agents of mass media such as
newspapers and journals to transmit enormous amounts of
information. There are magazines that cater to every
conceivable interest – women, young adults, fashion, film
industry, sports, health and fitness, news stories, politics,
occupations and professions, music and religion. Then there
are, of course, the books – fiction, biographies, and social
commentaries – which convey a host of ideas. In a sense,
every book is a powerful instrument of socialization.
Once the individual completes his teenage, he enters
the long phase of adulthood. The young adult is physically
mature and socially responsible. His personality is integrated.
He is independent and is able to make decisions for himself.
He has the knowledge and skills necessary for social living
and environmental mastery. Early adulthood is characterized
by maximum physical and mental capacity. Speed of
response and work capacity is at their best during this
period. Training for a job usually occurs during this period.
The young adult usually concentrates his attention on job
success and advancement. There is a strong emphasis on
work achievements in these years.
Old age, age of retirement, is accompanied by physical
mental and social changes. There are important changes in
the social roles of an individual. It is at this age period that
we find signs of gradual withdrawal from active social
involvements.
Workplace
As the individual grows into an adult person, work becomes
part of life. Occupation brings about reality in front of the
person as the individual earns for survival to fulfill his
ambition. Occupational socialization deals with the people
as well as with the field. Personal goals and basic needs are
fulfilled. The individual learns to cooperate, adjust with
others at the work place. Discipline continues and if s/he
violates the rules it may cost the loss of job.
Stages in Socialization
The Development of the Self continues throughout our
lives which helps the individual to grow into an adult
person and be an accepted member of the society. Values,
norms, beliefs are taught to the individual so that the person
follows the norms of the society.
An important aspect in the process of socialization is
the development of the self. The development of the self
concept takes place through the child’s interaction with the
social world and is the heart of socialization. The self is
essentially an individual’s awareness of his or her physical
and social identity. The self may be divided into two – the
physical or existential self and the social or categorical. The
first stage in the development of the self concept is the
development of the existential self. For the infant the first
step in developing a self concept is to understand that he
is separate and distinct entity. Once this process is over, the
process of defining the social self begins, process that
continues over one’s entire life span. This is sometimes
referred to as categorical self because the definition takes
form of placing one self in a wide range of categories.
Two theorists who have made considerable contribution
to the understanding of self are C.H. Cooley and G.H. Mead.
C.H Cooley- ‘Looking Glass Self’
C.H. Cooley stressed the role of primary groups and social
interaction in the development of self. According to him the
self develops within the context of social relationships “there
is no sense of ‘I’……. without its correlative sense of ‘you’,
‘he’ or ‘they’…” according to Cooley one discovers oneself
through reactions of others to him. The self concept is
gained from the reactions of parents and later modified by
the reactions of other individuals. Murphy explains self as
any individual who is known to have his own identity and
self image. The self of a person is what s/he consciously or
unconsciously conceives her/himself to be. This concept of
self is the combination of one’s attitude and the feelings of
others.
Cooley introduced the concept of ‘Looking glass self”-
there are three elements in the process of development of
self:
(i) The imagination of our appearance to another person
(ii) The imagination of his/her judgment of that
appearance
(iii) Some sort of self feeling such as pride or shame.
Explaining theses points we can understand that the
way we look not only appeals to us but also provokes
others to react. The reactions can have a positive or negative
reaction on our behaviour. Therefore this theory ‘Looking
Glass Self’ is considered to be important in the life of an
individual.
G.H. Mead- ‘Development of Self’
Development of Self according to G.H. Mead has described
as the passing of the individual through distinct stages and
the self emerges. He expressed the ‘double centre of gravity’
in his concept of the self, which he divided into ‘I’ and
‘Me’. ‘I’ is the creative, spontaneous, instinctive part of the
self that has ideas and imagination, while ‘Me’ is the social
self with its capacity to take the role of the other takes into
account the reactions of others. Both ‘I’ and ‘Me’ pulls one
to behave in a particular way. Consciousness is a form of
a conversation between the ‘I’ and ‘Me’.
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According to Mead the development of self takes place
in 3 stages:
(i) The stage of developing self consciousness
(ii) The play stage
(iii) The game stage
In the first stage, the stage of developing self
consciousness is apparent in most children at the early
childhood. It is the product of language learning and the
social interactions that necessarily accompany it. In this
stage he begins to become conscious of him in the same
way that others are conscious of him. He becomes self
conscious through the use of language.
The play stage begins around the age of 3-5. During
this stage the child’s verbal ability increases and he or she
engages in a great deal of role playing. Children from 5-8
years of age spend much of their free time in imagination
role playing of one kind or another. Mother and father,
teacher, soldier, policeman etc. are all common roles assumed
by children in play. Children learn to do things from this
kind of activity – they learn to play the adult roles around
them and they learn who they are by being who they are
not. Play is a significant preparation for the later life.
In the play stage the roles they play are free, independent
of each other. In the next stage, game stage, the roles are
related to each other by rules that define how they are to
be played. In the most simple and universal of all games-
hide and seek- there are only 2 related roles hider and
seeker. There is no meaning in hiding if no one seeks or in
seeking if no one hides. Thus in the games the meaning of
one role lies solely in its relation to the other roles; it has
no meaning outside that relation. Sociologically, therefore,
play is characterised by role playing, while games are
characterised by position enactment since the rules are the
social norms of the game. In this stage, the player in order
to do his part, must know all the roles of all other players
and adjust his behaviour to the others.
Erving Goffman, a symbolic interactionist, argued that
identities were the resources we ‘pick up and put down’ to
negotiate everyday life. For Goffman, individuals are like
actors playing the roles on stage, such as teacher, student,
etc…and we self consciously monitor our performances.
Goffman recognized that, like actors, people have time off
stage, when they are less obviously presenting an identity.
So although they are performing some roles there, they are
doing so less self consciously.
The chief architect of the dramaturgical analysis is
Erving Goffman. The world is a theatre in which we are the
actors. The theatre has a front region, where the performances
are done and a back region, where rehearsals appear. At the
back region, the behaviour and actions are less deliberate
and there is less presentation of self, an individual’s effort
to create specific impressions in the minds of others.
International Relations and Area Studies 211
He adds that it is through the impression management
technique that they present themselves on the stage. For
e.g.: Waiters at expensive restaurants are acutely aware of
being on stage and act in a dignified manner when they are
at service. Once in the kitchen, however, they don’t act in
the same manner.
RESOCIALIZATION
Introduction
Resocialization is a sociological concept dealing with the
process of mentally and emotionally “re-training” a person
so that he or she can operate in an environment other than
that which he or she is accustomed to.
Key examples include the process of resocializing new
recruits into the military so that they can operate as soldiers
(or, in other words, as members of a cohesive unit) and the
reverse process, in which those who have become
accustomed to such roles return to society after military
discharge.
The primary socialization received in childhood is just
one part of the lifelong socialization process. Adults go
through a process of resocialization, which is the learning
of new norms and values that occurs when they join a new
group or when life circumstances change dramatically.
Learning new norms and values enables people to adapt,
though newly learned things may contradict what was
previously learned.
Though senility and certain diseases associated with
old age can impair a person’s ability to learn and adapt to
new situations, many adults experience change throughout
life. A new job, the loss of friends or a spouse, children
leaving home, and retirement are all milestones that require
resocialization.
Most instances of resocialization are mild modifications,
such as adapting to a new work environment. Extreme forms
of the process can include joining the military, going to
prison, or otherwise separating from mainstream society.
The workplace is an agent of socialization—in this
case, resocialization. A new job brings with it new norms
and values, including the following:
1. What papers to fill out
2. What equipment to use
3. What tasks to complete and when to complete them
4. When to arrive at work
5. When to take a break
6. When to leave
The employing organization also has its own values.
The socialization process involves learning how strictly the
company enforces work-related norms, such as whether it’s
acceptable for people of different job levels to fraternize
outside of working hours, or whether a very late arrival will
212 International Relations and Area Studies
incur some kind of punishment. During resocialization,
people learn how to modify behaviour to fit the new
situation.
Most people are socialized to think for themselves and
make their own decisions about daily tasks. That changes
when they are resocialized by what sociologist Erving
Goffman labelled a total institution. A total institution is an
organization or setting that has the following characteristics:
1. Residents are not free to leave.
2. All actions are determined and monitored by authority
figures.
3. Contact with outsiders is carefully controlled.
4. The environment is highly standardized.
5. Rules dictate when, where, and how members do
things.
6. Individuality is discouraged.
Examples of total institutions include prisons, mental
hospitals, and the military. In these total institutions, part
of the resocialization process includes the loss of some
decision-making freedom. The military decides what its
soldiers wear, how they spend their time, and when and
what they eat. To be promoted to a higher rank, they must
demonstrate that they have been resocialized and have
successfully adapted to the military’s norms and values.
Sociologist Erving Goffman studied resocialization in
mental institutions. He characterized the mental institution
as a total institution—one in which virtually every aspect
of the inmates’ lives was controlled by the institution and
calculated to serve the institution’s goals. For example, the
institution requires that patients comply with certain
regulations, even when compliance is not necessarily in the
best interest of the individual.
The goal of total institutions is resocialization which
radically alters residents’ personalities through deliberate
manipulation of their environment. Resocialization is a two-
part process. First, the staff of the institution tries to erode
the residents’ identities and independence.
Strategies to erode identities include forcing individuals
to surrender all personal possessions, get uniform haircuts
and wear standardized clothing. Independence is eroded by
subjecting residents to humiliating and degrading procedures.
Examples are strip searches, fingerprinting and assigning
serial numbers or code names to replace the residents’ given
names.
The second part of resocialization process involves the
systematic attempt to build a different personality or self.
This is generally done through a system of rewards and
punishments. The privilege of being allowed to read a book,
watch television or make a phone call can be a powerful
motivator for conformity. Conformity occurs when
individuals change their behaviour to fit in with the
expectations of an authority figure or the expectations of
the larger group.
No two people respond to resocialization programs in
the same manner. While some residents are found to be
“rehabilitated”, others might become bitter and hostile. As
well, over a long period of time, a strictly controlled
environment can destroy a person’s ability to make decisions
and live independently. This is known as institutionali-
zation, this negative outcome of total institution prevents
an individual from ever functioning effectively in the outside
world again.
Resocialization is also evident in individuals who have
never been “socialized” in the first place, or who have not
been required to behave socially for an extended period of
time. Examples include feral children (never socialized) or
inmates who have been in solitary confinement.
Socialization is a lifelong process. Adult socialization
often includes learning new norms and values that are very
different from those associated with the culture in which the
person was raised.
This process can be voluntary. Currently, joining the
military qualifies as an example of voluntary resocialization.
The norms and values associated with military life are
different from those associated with civilian life.
Goffman also developed the concept of dramaturgy, the
idea that life is like a never-ending play in which people
are actors. Goffman believed that when we are born, we are
thrust onto a stage called everyday life, and that our
socialization consists of learning how to play our assigned
roles from other people. We enact our roles in the company
of others, who are in turn enacting their roles in interaction
with us. He believed that whatever we do, we are playing
out a role on the stage of life.
Gender Socialization
A baby is born and the doctor looks at the proud parents
or parent and says three simple words: “It’s a boy,” or “It’s
a girl!” Before a newborn child even takes his or her first
breath of life outside the mother’s womb, he or she is
distinguishable and characterized by gender. The baby is
brought home and dressed in clothes that help friends,
family and even strangers identify the sex of the child.
Baby boys are dressed in blue and baby girls are dressed
in pink. The baby boy may be dressed in a blue jumpsuit
with a football or a baseball glove on it. The baby girl may
wear a bow in their hair and flowered pajamas. As the boy
begins to grow, he is given a miniature basketball and a
hoop to play with. The girl is given dolls and doll clothes
to dress them up in. Even going further, eventually the boy
may play with Legos and Lincoln Logs and the girl gets a
Play School oven and a plastic tea set with which to play
house.
As illustrated in the not-so-fictional scenario above,
gender socialization begins very early in life. Society has
accepted such stereotypical things as baby boy blue and

baby girl pink to help identify the sex of a child. Heaven
forbid the little Joey looks like a girl or baby Michelle is
mistaken for a boy. Mothers and fathers make it easy for
everyone to distinguish their bundle of joy by utilizing the
socially established gender stereotypes.
But where and how did these stereotypes come from?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a definite answer to that question.
We seem to accept that blue is for boys and pink is for girls.
Boys generally play with balls, toy trucks and building
blocks whereas girls spend their time with dolls, tea sets and
stuffed animals. But these are the stereotypes that are
influenced by the parents. A baby child isn’t concerned
with his or her gender identity. As the child gets older
though, he or she will begin to develop an identity for his
or herself and establish a personality that reflects their
masculinity or femininity.
Another aspect of everyday life that is highly influential
in gender socialization is the media. What we see on
television or at the movies, what we read in the newspaper
or in magazines, what we see on billboards or hear on the
radio are all very significant on how we form an opinion on
gender identity. Media publishers have very successfully
learned to “play” to an audience and are extremely successful
in communicating with the audience they wish to reach.
Advertisers are the biggest example of this concept. Society
is very apt in recognizing images seen in commercials and
printed ads and viewing them as socially acceptable
behaviour.
For example, beer companies will target the twenty to
thirty year old male audience and include scantily clad
women enjoying their favourite beers. Ironically, popular
women’s magazines also use beautiful women to promote
cosmetics and beauty products. How often do you think
people question the activities they see portrayed in
advertising and question them as to there validity? Probably
not very often. It is much easier for society to just accept
the images and not bother to take the time to analyze their
bias and untrue nature. It is this societal indifference that
clouds the mind and allows the images to continue to
influence what we believe to be socially acceptable. And
when society is presented with something or someone out
of the ordinary which doesn’t follow what we deem to be
correct, we rebel and try to modify it to our socially
acceptable standards.
Advertisers utilize female images to sell products.
Society associates beauty with the female and we are more
inclined to pay attention to a beautiful woman presented to
us on a screen or a page in a magazine. In a perfect world,
there would be no gender differentiation, no racial tension
and no “political incorrectness”. But we live in an imperfect
world that is currently making a turn towards becoming
more “PC” (politically correct). Fading away are such terms
as fireman, stewardess, boyfriend and girlfriend, policeman
and secretary. Now we are starting to use a more socially
International Relations and Area Studies 213
acceptable language and replacing such terms with fire
fighter, flight attendant, domestic partner or significant other,
police officer and administrative assistant. We are slowly,
and do mean slowly, moving towards a non gender separated
society. Eventually we may be able to control what we see
and how we see it, but until then we must rely on ourselves
to determine what is reality and what is part of a Dream
World.
Political Socialization
The development of political socialization is the process by
which people come to acquire political attitudes and values.
Socialization in childhood has been extensively studied.
Children acquire warm feelings towards authority figures
that might appear in fairy stories such as that of queens and
kings.
It is claimed that political socialization as a concept is
somewhat new. Almond and Verba who studied the problems
and effects of political socialization on political activities
gave serious thinking to this concept. Followings are three
main stages of political socialization.
The first stage is when a child begins to realize that
there is a world around him. Then, he realizes that outside
the family there are more powers. He/she starts living and
learning outside family. They put certain demands on the
society and recognize authorities, which operate in the
society. Second stage is when one reaches adolescence stage
and becomes mature enough to participate in political
activities. Third stage is when either he/she begins to love
or hate surrounding political institutions and systems. At
this stage, values and attitudes become clear.
It should be noted that sociologists have been more
interested in how people related to groups and society,
social psychologists have been interested in how individuals
learn about and adjust to the demands of groups and society,
and anthropologists have been interested in how people
learn about their culture.
Political socialization is a process that takes place in
every society. This process begins very early in life and is
a continuous process. Generally, the main aim of political
socialization is to create good citizens. Political socialization
is the process by which individuals learn about politics and
that factor can shape political culture. Political socialization
is an attempt to train people to do what the system requires
in values, norms, information and skills that are considered
desirable and useful in the society.
Following are some of the important types of political
socialization.
 Manifest socialization: Certain values and feelings
towards a political system are directly expressed.
There is an explicit communication of information to
other parties e.g. formal education given in
educational institutions, talk on electronic and mass
214 International Relations and Area Studies
media about political problems, and use of platform
for audience. Such a manifestation can be both
voluntary and involuntary. It includes all types of
propaganda. It is not necessary that such a
manifestation will be for the maintenance or stability
of political system, rather it can be for instability,
change and even revolution.
 Latent manifestation: There is no direct approach to
the problems, and that ideas are transmitted indirectly.
 Particularistic socialization: Political ideas of
individuals are directed towards a particular value,
which they are required to adhere and appreciate.
Thus, all political energies are directed in that
direction alone.
 Universalistic socialization: Here, political energies
are not directed in one direction, but a liberal outlook
is developed. One then can learn and perform several
roles. Such roles can be in any walk of life.
The process of political socialization is to create a
nominal interest among the people, to inculcate value,
discipline, and teaches people to become obedient, and to
inculcate some lofty values.
What is the importance of political socialization for the
political system?
David Easton says that political socialization creates a
reservoir of support for political system. He further adds that
political system is a set of human interactions in which
authoritative allocation of values take place. In political
system we have input, output, adaptation, and maintenance.
Political socialization is the adaptation and maintenance
function of political system. Political socialization is
interested in maintaining the status quo. The whole exercise
of political socialization is to exercise order and stability,
and normally political socialization is a pro-stable process.
Citizens are trained to believe that political system is
good and responsive. Reservoir of support ensures non-
active and supportive citizens. Political socialization brings
changes in public opinion. It helps in the creation of political
culture and modifies that to the changing needs.
There is close relationship between political culture &
political socialization. Both are closely linked and
connected with each other. Political socialization maintains
and transforms political culture of a group. It maintains
political culture by successfully transmitting it from an old
generation to a new one. The process of political
socialization in every society involves a combination of
three tasks of maintaining, transforming, and creating a new
political culture. How we develop political culture in fact
is a process called political socialization. In brief, it is
difficult to separate political socialization from political
culture.
SOCIAL CHANGE
Introduction
People long for stability, security through continuity.
However, no society remains static or stable. Society is
constantly changing in it’s structure & function. This change
in the society is inevitable. It’s a continuous process. Some
changes are willingly accepted by the society, some are not.
Speed of change also varies from society to society. Some
societies experience speedy change, some take long period.
Social scientists are trying to understand the process of
social change, the direction of social change and various
factors that bring this social change. The word change refers
to anything that is done differently. It does not necessarily
mean the social change, because all the changes cannot be
regarded as social changes.
Meaning & Definition
If we say that, society is a complex network of relationship
then social change would mean change in social relationship.
Different sociologists have tried to explain social change
by defining it in different ways.
According to T. B. Bottmore “social change refers to
change occurring in social structure or in institution or in
the relationship between the institutions.”
According to Kinsley Davis “social change is change
which occurs in the social organization i.e. its’s structure
and function.”
Social change may be defined as the process in which
is discernible significant alteration in the structure and
functioning of a particular social system.
Thus, social change is an universal phenomenon. It is
a process that also implies continuity. Social change is thus
inevitable and a demand of time.
Theories of Change
The theories of social change are of four types. Some show
the existence of more or less general and irreversible trends.
Second type takes the form of conditional and structural
laws. The third type deals with the forms of change and the
fourth type deals with causes or factors of change. The
details are discussed in the following table:
Table : 1 : TYPES OF THEORIES OF CHANGE
Type Definition Exampels
1 Search for  Parsons : trend towards
trends Universalism
 Comte : the three stages
 Rostow : the stages of
growth
2 a. Conditional  Parson : Industrialization
Laws  Nuclear family

 Dahrendorf : Industrialization
 Disappearance of class
conflicts
b. Structural  Nurkse : Vicious circle of
Laws poverty
 Bhaduri : Reproductive
nature of semi-feudal
relations of production.
3 Forms of change  Hegelian triad
 Kuhn : scientific revolutions
4 Causes of change  Weber : the rotestant ethic
 McClelland : the achieving
society
We will discuss the following three types of theories in
detail
I. Evolutionary
II. Functionalist
III. Conflict
Evolutionary Theory of Change
The concept of evolution implies order, change and
composition of given populations by such processes as
mutation and natural selection. Often the analogy between
the development of an organism and the development of
human society is made or implied, hence the concept of
social evolution has been used to refer to certain definite
stages through which all societies were belived to pass, in
the passage from a simple to a more complex form.
Classical evolutionary theory, was based on the
assumptions that the history of human societies represented
the history of their development from a simple, hardly
differentiated, i.e., ‘backward’ state to more complex i.e.-
‘advanced’ state. In the 19th and early 20th century
conjectures about unilineal societal development
characterized the study of social evolution.
Theorists taking the evolutionary approach differed in
many particulars. August Comte [1798-1857] viewed society
as passing through three main epoch:
1. The theological and military epoch in which
supernatural preoccupations dominate the culture and
military conquest slavery are the major social goals.
2. The metaphysical and juridical epoch which is a
transitional epoch between the first and the third and
3. The scientific and industrial epoch in which
positivism displaces religious speculation and
peaceful economic production displaces war making
as the dominant aim of social organization.
Sir Henry Maine [1822-1888] viewed the progress of
civilization as a series of stages between early forms of
social order based on patriarchy and status and later forms
based on freedom and contract.
International Relations and Area Studies 215
Herbert Spencer, in his Principles of Sociology, felt
that in social life there was a change from simple to complex
forms from the homogenous to the heterogeneous and that
there was with society integration of the ‘whole’ and a
differentiation of the parts.
E. B. Taylor, in his great work, Primitive Culture, 1871,
linked his observations covering a wide range of different
societies to the evolutionary framework. In particular, be
sought to establish a sequential development of religious
forms: a concern which also motivated Sir James Frazer in
the Golden Baugh : A study in Comparative Religion &
Emile Durlkheim in his, Les Elementariness De La Vie
Religious, 1912, Karl Marx & F. Angles in Das Capital
1848, put forward a materialist variant of evolutionary theory
when they would be transition from capitalist control to
rule by the proletariat similar to the earlier development
whereby capitalism itself replaced feudalism.
The evolutionary doctrine provided a broad general
framework through which the whole progress of human
society could be conceptualized. The neo-evolutionary
theory of society focused more on the apparent variation of
change patterns with respect to certain social groups, regions
of organization as their major focus of analysis while the
classical evolutionary theory dealt with the mankind,
civilization or some institutional ideal type of society.
The Functionalist Theory of Change
The functionalists presented the best known theoretical
approach that views exogenous forces as the source of major
changes in society. The early functionalists were involved
in by the variety of socio-cultural phenomena and by the
uniformity of certain characteristics of the various societies.
This led them to the idea that cultural manifestations and
social institution were closely related to the satisfaction of
basic human needs. E.g.:- Theories of Radcliffe Brown and
Malinowski, needs were largely considered to be constant
only the societal organization to meet the needs are variable.
Social change hence, can be understood as change of the
institutional arrangements available to take care of those
needs or as change of the manifest and latent functions of
these institutions. Equilibrium was considered as the most
important assumption with which the functionalists view
society. E.g. :- Kingsley Davis, Talcott Parsons etc. In most
general terms, a system is said to be in equilibrium when its
component parts are so compatible with each other, barring
an outside disturbance, none of them will change its position
or relation to the others in any significant way. A theory of
social equilibrium is a theory that seeks to uncover the
general condition for the maintenance of a society in stable
equilibrium and to specify the mechanism by which that
stability is preserved or established after the occurrence of
outside disturbances.
216 International Relations and Area Studies
The Conflict Theory of Change
Common to all conflict theoretical approaches is that they
explain change in terms of antagonism or tension producing
elements that are present in the social system. The causes
of such conflicts leading to societal changes are especially
sought in those elements of the social structure which on
the other hand are related to the establishment and
sanctioning of social norms and on the other hand to the
control and allocation of scare resources such as income,
property, prestige, influence and authority. These theories
focus on processes of social life that tend toward instability
and conflict between parts of society or simply the actors
concerned. Change is seen as a dialectical relationship
between dominant elements of society (central values,
ideologies, power relations, distribution of resources etc.)
and those arrangements that compete with or oppose the
former. Karl Marx was one of the earliest exponents of
conflict theory.
In Marxism, the basis of conflict is to be found in the
social relations of production. Thus all supporting social
institutions support the different ‘sides’. In this conflict and
the unitary concept of a cultural and social system tend to
disappear. The political and economic institutions of
capitalist society are seen as representing ‘the political and
economic way of bourgeoisie’ and as against this there is
reference of the ‘political economy of the working class’. So
conflict between classes in the social relations of production
spills over to become a conflict in all spheres and the social
system becomes one of two conflicting classes.
Ralf Dahrendorf, on the other hand has suggested that
intra-institutional conflicts occur about authority in all
institutions and that there need not necessarily be any
overlapping. In particular he argues that industrial conflict
has become institutionalized i.e., confined within a particular
institutional context. Lockwood, has drawn attention to the
importance of conflict between institutional sub systems
E.g.; there is no necessary harmony between industrial and
educational institutions.
Factors of Social Change
For social change, not one cause may be effective. There
may be many factors which set the process in motion.
Although social causation is always a multiple causation,
some sociologists have emphasized on factor over another,
we would take into account all the factors, though some
consider social and cultural factors to be most predominant.
1. Physical Factors: Changes in the physical
environment are not rapid, but the occasional changes
in the environment bring total changes in human
social lives. E.g. :- Earthquake, storms, heavy rainfall.
These changes force people to migrate to new areas
hence people have to change themselves according
to that society. This brings out change in culture,
way of clothing, manners etc.
2. Biological Factors: Biological factors too have some
indirect influence upon social change. Among the
biological factors is the qualitative aspect of the
population related to heredity. The qualitative aspect
of population is based upon powerful and great men
and their birth is dependent to a large extent upon
heredity and mutation. Hence, biological factors play
a part in social change to that extent. In addition to
this the biological principles of natural selection and
struggle for survival are constantly producing
alterations in society.
3. Technological Factors: Human beings are never
satisfied. In the process of satisfying his wants man
devised new means and created new needs. To satisfy
his new needs man invented new techniques to use
natural resources. This technological factor brought
out severe changes in the society.
Technological factors has immense influence in social
change. Technology changes society by changing
our environments to which we in turn adopt. This
change is usually in the material environment and
the adjustment we make to the changes often modifies
customs and social institutions. In this way, the
increase in new machines and methods due to new
discoveries has had a very great influence upon social
institutions. In the modern age, technological factors
are among the predominant causes of social change.
4. Economic Factors: Karl Marx has given economic
interpretation of social changes. With the changes in
the economic system, the entire society changes in
its structure and functioning. Economic conditions
in countries do affect the health, mortality, marriages,
divorce rate, suicide, crime and emigration etc. It can
also bring social unrest and revolution and war. Of
course not all the social changes are necessarily caused
by economic conditions. Changes have also occurred
due to educational moulding in peoples attitudes etc.
5. Cultural Factors: The main cause of social change
is the cultural factors. Changes in the culture are
accompanied by social change. Changes and
variations in culture inevitably influence social
relationships. Culture gives speed and direction to
social change and determines the limits beyond which
social changes cannot occur. Max Weber, has proved
this hypothesis by a comparative study of religious
and economic institution.
6. Environmental Factors: The geographists have
emphasized the impact of geographical environment
upon human society. Huntington has gone so far as
to assert that an alteration in the climate is the sole
cause of the evolution and devolution of civilizations
and cultures. Even if these claims of the geographists
are to be discarded, it can not be denied that floods,
earthquakes, excessive rain, drought, change of season
etc. have significant effect upon social relationships
and these are modified by such natural occurrences.

7. Psychological Factors: Most sociologists regard
psychological factors as important elements in social
change. The cause of social change is the psychology
of man himself. Man is by nature a lover of change.
He is always trying to discover new things in every
sphere of life and is always anxious for novel
experience. As a result of this tendency, the mores,
traditions, customs etc. of every human society are
perpetually undergoing change. The form of social
relationships is constantly changing in the process of
interations between the tendencies of moving towards
the new while preserving the old. New customs and
methods replace the old traditional customs while
old traditions that demand change with time adapts
to changing traditions.
8. Other Factors: In addition to the above mentioned
factors, another factor of social change in the
appearance of new opinions and thoughts. E.g. :-
Changes in the attitudes towards dowry, caste system,
female education etc. have resulted in widespread
social variations and modifications. In fact a majority
of the social revolutions take place as a result of the
evolution of new ways of thinking. War, thoughts of
great thinkers i.e., Mahatma Gandhi, Karl Marx etc.
influence the population and has socio-economic
impact causing social change.
Resistance to Change
Any change is not accepted easily. As we have seen unless
there is mental preparation, no change is accepted by the
society. Thus there are various factors which hinder the
social change.
1. Inertia: People should feel the dissatisfaction with
existing situation, then only social change can take
place. But many times people are so much used to
that lethargic situation that they do not wish to change
the situation. They have no mental capacity to fight
against the situation and to change it. Such attitude
is one of the obstacles in social change.
2. Habit: Habit is developed through repeated actions
for a long period of effect to break that habit is
always resisted.
3. Custom and Tradition: People have inculcated the
tradition and custom through fore father so much that
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The use of phonemes in relation to kinship system
was done by whom?
A. C. Levi-Strauss B. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
C. B. Malinowski D. S.F. Nadel
2. What percentage of the total profit a corporate must
invest for the purpose of ‘Corporative Social
Responsibility (CSR)’ in India?
A. 5% B. 4%
C. 3% D. 2%
International Relations and Area Studies 217
any revolutionary idea to change the custom is always
criticized.
4. Vested Interest: Resistance to the change comes form
such group of people who would be threatened by
that change. Any suggested change is likely to have
resistance when it’s not beneficial to the personal
ambitions.
5. Lack of Proper Knowledge: Social change is resisted
by those who lack the knowledge of a new discovery.
For want of facts, misconception and misunderstandings
influence attitudes of people against any change.
Illiteracy and ignorance make understanding of any
technological innovation difficult. It took generations
for the Baigas of Central India to accept iron plough
for they were not prepared to hurt their mother earth
with a knife. It is necessary, therefore to educate the
people before introducing any change in their native,
traditional setting. Knowledge can clear misconceptions
and make people accept change readily.
6. Desire For Stability: Any change disrupts normal
routine life in which people find stability. They are
not sure that the change is going to be beneficial or
harmful. They tend to be apprehensive about it. It is
the desire for stability that makes people resist change.
7. Suspicion: When people suspect that a given change
is harmful, anti-social or irreligious, they resist it.
Those who believe that taking vaccine against
smallpox is to arouse the wrath of goddess ‘Mata’
refuse to take inoculation. Superstitions, religious
beliefs and prejudices often contribute to the
suspicion that illiterate, ignorant, tradition bound
people entertain against any innovation.
These are some of the stumbling blocks in the process
of acceptance of social change. However, with
education, persuasion and deliberation it is possible
to prepare the people mentally to accept the change,
if it is meant for their well-being and welfare of the
society at large. Attitudes of the people can not be
changed with the stroke of a pen, by passing laws or
by any other forcible, drastic measures. When attitudes
change favourably, the speed of social change is
accelerated.
3. Match List-I with List-II:
List-I List-II
(Concepts) (Authors)
(a) Timeless Time (i) David Held
(b) Hyperglobalizers (ii) Anthony Giddens
(c) Late Modernity (iii) Immanuel
Wallerstein
(d) World System (iv) Manuel Castells
Theory
2105 (MA–IR)—28
218 International Relations and Area Studies
Choose the correct option from the following: 13. Who said that ‘the habitus is the product of past
(a) (b) (c) (d) experiences, but it always transmits their experiences
A. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) in an active creative fashion’?
B. (ii) (i) (iv) (iii) A. H. Garfinkel B. A. Giddens
C. (iv) (i) (ii) (iii) C. E. Leach D. P. Bourdieu
D. (iii) (iv) (i) (ii)
14. Match List-I with List-II:
4. Among the following, who supported the ideal typical List-I List-II
cultural theme of Hinduism? (Author) (Contribution)
A. M.K. Gandhi B. B.R. Ambedkar (a) Max Weber (i) Interaction Ritual
C. Kabir D. Periyar (b) E. Goffman (ii) The Nation State and Violence
5. Who has written/edited the book, Peasants and (c) A. Giddens (iii) The Religion of India
Peasant Societies? (d) David Held (iv) Models of Democracy
A. Eric Wolf Choose the correct option from the following:
B. Oscar Lewis (a) (b) (c) (d)
C. Robert Redfield A. (i) (iv) (iii) (ii)
D. Teodor Shanin B. (iii) (iv) (ii) (i)
6. In Goffman’s dramaturgy, which one of the following C. (iii) (i) (ii) (iv)
is NOT included? D. (iv) (i) (ii) (iii)
A. Side stage 15. Why has ultrasound technology in reproductive
B. Mystification medicine led to ‘missing girls’ in India but not in the
C. Front stage West?
D. Impression management A. High value of daughter
7. Which of the following is NOT an esssential attribute B. Aversion to daughter
of a state? C. Aversion to son
A. Territory B. Government D. Aversion to marriage
C. Sovereignty D. Civil Society 16. Which section of Indian Penal Code deals with LGBT?
8. Around the world, neo-liberalism has been imposed A. 376 B. 377
by powerful financial institutions. Which of the C. 487 D. 497
following is one of such institutions? 17. Who has popularized the term ‘Total Institution’?
A. International Labour Organization (ILO) A. F. Tonnies B. Erving Goffman
B. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural C. Talcott Parsons D. Karl Mannheim
Organization (UNESCO)
C. Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) 18. Digital divide is the result of increasing:
D. BRICS A. viewership of television
B. usage of automatic machines in production
9. The statement ‘History is graveyard of Aristocracies’ C. computer technology in everyday life
is attributed to: D. imparting technology for industrialization
A. G. Mosca B. K. Marx
C. V. Pareto D. L. Feuerbach 19. Who stated ‘Magic is sacred and science is profane’?
A. B. Malinowski B. J. Frazer
10. ‘Punaluan’ as a form of family has been classified by: C. E. Durkheim D. E.B. Tylor
A. G.P. Murdock B. P.N. Prabhu
C. L.H. Morgan D. K.M. Kapadia 20. Who has authored the work, Distinction (1981)?
A. Anthony Giddens B. Pierre Bourdieu
11. Which one of the following is NOT the work of G.S. C. C. Geertz D. Jurgen Habermas
Ghurye?
A. Class, Caste and Occupation 21. Structural-differentiation model of econom ic
B. The Scheduled Community development was formulated by:
C. Caste and Race in India A. Neil J. Smelser B. W.W. Rostow
D. Indian Sadhus C. Daniel Lerner D. E.M. Rogers
12. According to Max Weber, which entities are always 22. Famous environmental NGO ‘Tarun Bharat Sangh’
struggling for domination? was founded by:
A. Class B. Parties A. Rajendra Singh B. Kailash Satyarthi
C. Class situation D. Status C. Rukmini Banerji D. Bharat Vatram
 International Relations and Area Studies 219

23. Which scholar is associated with the term ‘thick 34. Who is the author of the book, Rural Development :
description’? Putting the Last First?
A. Karl Mannheim B. Alfred Schutz A. Robert Pritnam B. Jane Krippers Black
C. Erving Goffman D. Clifford Geertz C. Dadabhai Naoroji D. Robert Chambers
24. According to Durkheim, low regulation in society 35. When was the term ‘Social Forestry’ used for the first
will lead to which type of suicide? time in India?
A. Egoistic B. Fatalistic A. 1972 B. 1976
C. Altruistic D. Anomic C. 1978 D. 1979
25. Alliance Theory in Kinship Studies is associated with 36. Who coined the term ‘Vote Bank’ in India?
which of the following scholars? A. M.N. Srinivas B. Rajni Kothari
A. Kathleen Gough C. Girish Kumar D. Dipankar Gupta
B. Pauline Kolenda 37. The Weberian model of social stratification has been
C. C. Levi-Strauss applied to caste by:
D. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown A. M.N. Srinivas B. S.C. Dube
26. Who is associated with the concept ‘Reflexive C. A. Beteille D. G.S. Ghurye
Modernization’? 38. Match List-I with List-II:
A. Edward Said B. J. Habermas List-I List-II
C. Manuel Castells D. Anthony Giddens (Concepts) (Explanation)
27. Which test can be applied to measure relationship (a) Authority (i) Ideas and behaviour logically
between a qualitative and a quantitative variable? coherent
A. Correlation coefficient (r) (b) Power (ii) Socially accepted norm
B. Phi coefficient () (c) Rationality (iii) The legitimate form of power
C. Chi-square (2) (d) Legitimacy (iv) Depends on a perso-nal source
D. t-test Choose the correct option from the following:
28. Who commented on holocaust and modernity? (a) (b) (c) (d)
A. (ii) (iv) (i) (iii)
A. Zygmunt Bauman B. Norbert Elias
B. (iii) (i) (iv) (ii)
C. Ernest Gellner D. Benjamin Gregg
C. (iii) (iv) (i) (ii)
29. Who said that ‘role is the dynamic aspect of status’? D. (iii) (iv) (ii) (i)
A. Linton B. Lundberg
39. Who has defined education as “the action exercised
C. MacIver D. Herskovitz
by the older generations upon those who are not yet
30. Who has authored the book, What Is This Thing Called ready for social life...”?
Science? A. R.H. Lowie B. E. Durkheim
A. C. Wright Mills B. A.F. Chalmers C. D.P. Mukerji D. P. Bourdieu
C. Y. Singh D. B.K. Pattanaik 40. Which of the following authority types is based on
31. Which of the following practices do PNDT (1994) Act unique personal traits?
and its Amendments aim to prohibit? A. Traditional B. Personal
A. Abortion in India C. Charismatic D. Rational-legal
B. Sex-selective abortion in India 41. A rule or standard of behaviour defined by shared
C. Autonomy of women to abort a child expectations of two or more people regarding what
D. Legal right to abort a foetus behaviour is to be considered as socially acceptable,
32. Who among the following coined the term ‘Cultural is referred to as:
Ecology’ in his famous book, Theory of Culture A. custom B. value
Change : The Methodology of Multilinear Evolution? C. tradition D. norm
A. J.H. Steward B. G.L. Young 42. Match List-I with List-II:
C. W.R. Cattton Jr. D. R. Dunlop List-I List-II
33. A set of policies which emphasizes the rule of market, (Acts and Policies) (Year)
cutting public expenditure for social services, (a) Biological Diversity Act (i) 1972
deregulations, privatization and elimination of the (b) Environmental Protection (ii) 2002
public good or community is conceptualized as which Act
of the following? (c) Wild Life Protection Act (iii) 1986
A. Neo-Marxism B. Neo-functionalism (d) Plastic Waste (iv) 2016
C. Neo-liberalism D. Fordism Management Rules
220 International Relations and Area Studies
Choose the correct option from the following: 50. When a newly married couple resides in the man’s
(a) (b) (c) (d) father’ house this type of residence is termed as:
A. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) A. patrilocal B. varilocal
B. (ii) (i) (iii) (iv) C. matrilocal D. neolocal
C. (ii) (iii) (i) (iv)
51. Match List-I with List-II:
D. (iii) (i) (iv) (ii)
List-I List-II
43. Which critical theory has Jurgen Haberm as (Books) (Authors)
emphasized? (a) After Kinship (i) David
A. Theory of Neo-colonialism M. Schneider
B. Theory of exchange (b) American (ii) Janet Carsten
C. Theory of structuration Kinship
D. Theory of communicative action (c) Structural (iii) Bob Simpson
44. Which form of crisis in capitalist societies was NOT Anthropology
discussed by Habermas? (d) The Theory of (iv) Claude
A. Legitimation B. Rationality Social Structure Levi-Strauss
C. Motivation D. Emotional (v) S.F. Nadel
45. Who is considered as the Father of functionalist theory Choose the correct option from the following:
of culture? (a) (b) (c) (d)
A. R.K. Merton A. (iv) (v) (ii) (i)
B. B. Malinowski B. (iii) (iv) (v) (i)
C. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown C. (ii) (i) (iv) (v)
D. H. Spencer D. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
46. Given below are two statements, one labelled as 52. In which community did Durkheim examine
Assertation (A) and the other as Reason (R). Totemism?
Assertion (A) : Gated enclaves represent high income A. Red Indian
group residential areas. B. Trobriand Islanders
Reason (R) : Only rich can afford to live in such C. Australian Arunta
enclosures. D. African Gypsies
Choose the appropriate option from the following: 53. Who refers to Indian villages as ‘Little Republics’?
A. Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct A. Lord Ripon
explanation of (A) B. Charles Metcalfe
B. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct C. Lord Macaulay
explanation of (A) D. Jawaharlal Nehru
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false
54. Which one of the following cities has changed from
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true
‘pensioners’ paradise to ‘silicon valley of India’?
47. Which one of the following describes all the forms of A. Hyderabad B. Pune
information technology that involve communication? C. Bengaluru D. Gurugram
A. Electronic Communication Technology
B. Interpersonal Communication Technology 55. The estate system is more often associated with:
C. Mass Communication Technology A. ancient society B. socialism
D. Official Communication Technology C. feudalism D. capitalist society

48. The distinction between in-group and out-group was 56. Who propounded the concept of ‘Hegemony’?
given by: A. Antonio Gramsci B. Karl Marx
A. G. Simmel B. P. Sorokin C. Max Weber D. R. Dahrendorf
C. W.G. Sumner D. H. Spencer 57. Kinship terminologies reflect a great deal about
49. Internet originated in which one of the most innovative preferences and prohibitions of marriage. Which
research institutions of the world? categories of relatives are preferred in Dravidian
A. Defence Research Establishment, Ottawa marriage as reflected in the terminology?
B. US Defence Department’s Advanced Research A. Preference for ‘sapinda’ marriage
Project B. Preference for cross-cousin marriage
C. Bell Laboratory C. Preference for parallel cousin marriage
D. Microsoft D. Prohibited cross and parallel cousin marriage
 International Relations and Area Studies 221

58. Who emphasized that any cultural item can be 68. Who analyzed the ways in which economic and social
analyzed through a circuit of culture? transformation in capitalism connect to the information
A. Stuart Hall B. David Held technology revolution?
C. Max Horkheimer D. T.W. Adorno A. Edward Said B. J. Habermas
C. Manuel Castells D. Clifford Geertz
59. By which year New Delhi is estimated to be the most
populous city of the world? 69. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of
A. 2050 B. 2040 Weberian Bureaucracy?
C. 2030 D. 2025 A. Specialization B. Hierarchy
C. Job tenure D. Reservation
60. Which of the following terms is used for the study of
symbols and signs? 70. Jallikattu is the traditional sport of which state?
A. Epimatrix B. Logocentric A. Tamil Nadu B. Telangana
C. Semiotics D. Signa matrix C. Kerala D. Karnataka
61. Who has applied Robert Redfield’s concept of ‘Little 71. Which of the following is NOT an attribute of rural
and Great Tradition’ to understand the Indian society? society?
A. S.C. Dube B. Yogendra Singh A. Predominance of natural environment
C. T.K. Oommen D. Milton Singer B. Agrarian economy
C. Manufacturing and industry
62. L. Dumont is the exponent of which of the following
D. Joint family
views of caste?
A. Functional B. Structural 72. Consider the following statements:
C. Cultural D. Mythological (a) Modernization is a consequence of development.
(b) Development is progressive but all progress is not
63. Who is the author of the monograph An Environmental development.
History of the World? (c) Development is nothing but planned change.
A. Ramchandra Guha B. L. Feuerbach
C. Francis Zimmerman D. Donald Hughes Which of the above statements are correct?
A. (a), (b) and (c) B. (b) and (c) only
64. What is the measure of extreme poverty internationally C. (a) and (b) only D. (a) and (c) only
in terms of per day per head of purchasing parity?
A. $ 1.0 B. $ 1.9 73. Which one of the following countries is an example
C. $ 3.5 D. $ 4.5 of ‘state capitalism’?
A. China B. India
65. Honour killing is aimed at protecting which of the C. Switzerland D. France
following social institutions?
A. Family and Caste 74. Who has written the book, The Structure of Scientific
B. Caste and Law Revolutions?
C. Law and Marriage A. John Dewey B. Thomas S. Kuhn
D. Women and Khap C. David Held D. Manuel Castells

66. Match List-I with List-II: 75. In which state was the ‘Appiko’ movement launched?
List-I List-II A. Kerala B. Karnataka
(Sociologists) (Sociological Traditions) C. Andhra Pradesh D. Telangana
(a) Emile Durkheim (i) Structuralism 76. Which community has the majority of its population
(b) Clifford Geertz (ii) Post-modernism living in diaspora than at home?
(c) Claude Levi-Strauss (iii) Interpretative A. Jewish B. Indian
(d) Michel Foucault (iv) Functionalism C. Chinese D. Canadian
Choose the correct option from the following: 77. Which ruling party in Cambodia was associated with
(a) (b) (c) (d) mass killing in the 20th century?
A. (iv) (iii) (i) (ii) A. National Socialist
B. (iv) (i) (ii) (iii) B. Bosnian Nationalist Group
C. (i) (iii) (iv) (ii) C. Khmer Rouge
D. (iii) (i) (ii) (iv) D. Republican Party
67. Which of the following motives of the actor was NOT 78. The History of Sexuality (3 volumes) was authored
dealt by T. Parsons? by:
A. Cognitive B. Evaluative A. Paul Rabinow B. Michel Foucault
C. Numerative D. Cathectic C. Peter Brown D. Saint Augustine
222 International Relations and Area Studies
79. Which one of the following states has highest 88. Match List-I with List-II:
percentage of metropolitan population in relation to List-I List-II
total urban population of the state? (Works) (Authors)
A. Kerala B. Maharashtra (a) Presentation of Self (i) Peter Berger
C. Gujarat D. West Bengal in Every day Life
80. Which of the following works is concerned with a (b) The Social Construction (ii) Harold Garfinkel
process of development from primitive to modern of Reality
society? (c) The Phenomenology (iii) Erving Goffman
A. Division of Labour in Society (E. Durkheim) of the Social World
B. Economy and Society (Max Weber) (d) Studies in (iv) Alfred Schutz
C. The Handbook of Economic Sociology (N.J. Ethnomethodology
Smelser) (v) George Lukacs
D. The Origin of the Family, Private Property and Code:
State (F. Engels) (a) (b) (c) (d)
81. Major credit for introducing case study method into A. (i) (ii) (iii) (v)
the field of social investigation goes to: B. (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
A. G.W. Allport B. Robert Redfield C. (iii) (i) (iv) (ii)
C. Oscar Lewis D. Fredrick Leplay D. (iv) (i) (iii) (v)
82. Which of the following perspective focuses on the 89. Match List-I with List-II:
methods used by members of society to make sense List-I List-II
of their everyday life? (Type of (Name of
A. Phenomenology Movement) Movement)
B. Ethnomethodology (a) Ethnic (i) Naga Movement
C. Symbolic Interactionism (b) Reformist (ii) Jharkhand Movement
D. Behaviourism (c) Secessionist (iii) Birsa Munda Movement
83. Althusser’s Concept of “Social formation” has three (d) Subnational (iv) Bhagat Movement
main elements. Mark these correct elements from the Select the correct answer from the code given below:
following codes: Code:
A. Society, Polity and Ideology (a) (b) (c) (d)
B. Polity, Economy and Culture A. (iii) (ii) (i) (iv)
C. Economy, Polity and Ideology B. (i) (iv) (iii) (ii)
D. Society, Culture and Personality C. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
84. Who among the following was the first sociologist to D. (iii) (iv) (i) (ii)
systematically study ‘White-Collar Crime’?
90. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as
A. M.B. Clinard B. W.G. Carson
Assertion (A) and other Reason (R):
C. E.H. Sutherland D. A. Cohen
Assertion (A) : Regional, Ethnic and religious
85. ‘Rewards and punishments are associated with role disharmonies act as barrier to Nation
expectation’. That is known as: building.
A. Mores B. Folk ways Reason (R) : Political Elites are interested in
C. Norms D. Sanctions creating disharmony to create vote
86. Who has classified roles as ‘Pivotal’, ‘Sufficiently bank.
relevant’ and ‘Peripheral’ in his theory of social
Select the correct answer from the code given below:
structure?
A. Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is the correct
A. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
explanation of (A)
B. S.F. Nadel
C. G.P. Murdock B. Both (A) and (R) are correct but (R) is not the
D. C. Levi-Strauss correct explanation of (A)
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false
87. Who among the following advocated a version of D. (A) is false, but (R) is true
anthropology called ‘Comparative Method’?
A. E. Durkheim 91. Who among the following, while dealing with
B. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown globalisation, gives importance to ‘Network Society’?
C. B. Malinowski A. Manuel Castells B. Zygmunt Bauman
D. F. Boaz C. Jurgen Habermas D. Ulrich Beck
 International Relations and Area Studies 223

92. There are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
(A) and other as Reason (R): Codes:
Assertion (A) : In an industrial society, the rate of (a) (b) (c) (d)
suicide is significantly higher than in A. 4 3 2 1
peasant society. B. 3 1 4 2
Reason (R) : Autonomy of individual increases with C. 2 1 4 3
the increasing division of labour. D. 1 2 3 4
Select the correct answer from the code given below: 98. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer
A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is correct from the codes given below the lists:
explanation of (A) List-I List-II
B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct (Concepts) (Sociologists)
explanation of (A) (a) Verstehen 1. Auguste Comte
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false (b) Historical Materialism 2. Emile Durkheim
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true (c) Positivism 3. Max Weber
93. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer (d) Indirect experiment 4. Karl Marx
from the code given below the lists: Codes:
List-I List-II (a) (b) (c) (d)
(Authors) (Issues) A. 1 2 3 4
(a) Sharmila Rege (i) Widowhood B. 4 1 2 3
(b) Urvashi Butalia (ii) Dalit Women C. 2 3 4 1
(c) Martha A. Chen (iii) Gender and Land Rights D. 3 4 1 2
(d) Bina Agarwal (iv) Women and 99. Who have written the book, ‘The Social Construction
Conflict of Reality’?
Code: A. T. Luckmann and Reinhardt Bendix
(a) (b) (c) (d) B. Peter Berger and T. Luckmann
A. (ii) (iv) (i) (iii) C. Ruth Benedict and Peter Berger
B. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) D. Reinhardt Bendix and Ruth Benedict
C. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i)
100. According to Alexander which one of the following
D. (ii) (iv) (iii) (i)
is not the problem associated w ith structural
94. Who has said that “Man’s uniqueness lies in his functionalism that neofunctionalism needs to
possession of culture”? overcome?
A. R.M. MacIver B. E. Durkheim A. Anti-individualism
C. R. Benedict D. K. Davis B. Conservatism
95. Who has observed that ‘each person in society C. Idealism
inevitably occupies multiple statuses and that, for D. Multi-dimensionalism
each of these statuses, there is an associated role’? 101. Which of the following tribes were studied by Surajit
A. R.K. Merton B. R. Linton Sinha?
C. T. Newcomb D. W.F. Ogburn (a) Bhumij (b) Bhils
96. Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical perspective makes use of (c) Odiya (d) Maria Gonds
the concept of capital. Which of the following is not Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a part of this concept? A. (a) and (b) B. (a) and (c)
A. Economic Capital B. Political Capital C. (a) and (d) D. All of the above
C. Social Capital D. Cultural Capital 102. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as
97. Match List-I with List-II: Assertion (A) and other as (R):
List-I List-II Assertion (A) : The Melting Pot thesis does not hold
(Books) (Authors) true for the nation building process in
(a) The Theory of Social 1. R.K. Merton India.
Structure Reason (R) : The political unification preceded the
(b) Social theory and 2. C. Levi-Strauss cultural integration of the country.
Social Structure Select the correct answer from the following codes:
(c) Structure and Function 3. S.F. Nadel Codes:
in Primitive Society A. Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is the correct
(d) Structural Anthropology 4. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown explanation of (A).
224 International Relations and Area Studies
B. Both (A) and (R) are correct, but (R) is not the 108. For Whom, ‘patriarchy is no less inflicting than caste’?
correct explanation of (A). A. Self Employed Women’s Associations
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false. B. Dalit Women’s Organizations
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true. C. Human Rights Movements
D. Alliance for Restoration of peace
103. Who among the following attempted to discover the
social causes of suicide by relating the rates of suicide 109. Which one of the following statements represents the
in different social groups to the characteristics of the idea of C. Wright Mills about sociological imagination?
group? A. Looking social world as social fact.
A. E.H. Sutherland B. E. Durkheim B. Understanding differences among the classical
C. Max Weber D. R.K. Merton theorists.
C. Bringing together private troubles and public
104. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer issues.
from the codes given below the lists: D. Avoiding individual based explanation.
List-I List-II
110. According to whom internalized ‘shared values’ are
(Concepts) (Authors)
regarded as playing a decisive role in the social
(a) Little Community 1. Andre Beteille
integration of any society?
(b) Universalization and 2. Oscar Lewis
A. T. Parsons B. B. Malinowski
Parochialization
C. E. Durkheim D. R.K. Merton
(c) Dominant Caste 3. Robert Redfield
(d) Cumulative and 4. Mckim Marriott 111. Which are not the characteristics of a primary group?
Dispersed Inequalities (a) Own norms/rules
5. M.N. Srinivas (b) Age
Codes: (c) Sex
(a) (b) (c) (d) (d) Face to face interaction
A. 1 2 3 4 Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
B. 2 3 4 5 Codes:
A. (a) and (b) B. (a) and (d)
C. 3 4 5 1
C. (b) and (d) D. (b) and (c)
D. 4 5 3 2
112. Match the items in List-I with List-II:
105. When did the first National Commission on Labour
List-I List-II
submit its Report on labour problems, both in the
(Concepts) (Authors)
organized and unorganized sector?
(a) Social Morphology (i) Levi-Strauss
A. 2002 B. 1969 (b) Reciprocity (ii) Ferdinand de Saussure
C. 1952 D. 2006 (c) Alliance Theory (iii) Radcliffe-Brown
106. The slogan “Save planet earth” was generated at: (d) Structural-Linguist (iv) Marcel-Mauss
A. Rio Earth Summit Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
B. Jakarta Summit Codes:
C. Copenhagen Summit (a) (b) (c) (d)
D. Brazil Summit A. (iii) (ii) (iv) (i)
B. (ii) (iii) (i) (iv)
107. Match List-I with List-II:
C. (iii) (iv) (i) (ii)
List-I List-II
D. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i)
(Authors/Editors) (Issues)
(a) Rita Manchanda 1. Condition of Widows 113. To Karl Marx, five great modes of social change
(b) Vandana Shiva 2. Women’s Movement in which successively embody the dynamics of human
India society are:
(c) Neera Desai 3. Women in Conflict (a) Slavery (b) Primitive communism
(d) Martha A. Chen 4. Ecofeminism (c) Capitalism (d) Feudalism
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: (e) Socialism
Codes: In what order did he place these stages?
(a) (b) (c) (d) Codes:
A. 3 4 2 1 A. (a), (b), (c), (d), (e)
B. 1 2 3 4 B. (b), (a), (c), (d), (e)
C. 2 4 1 3 C. (b), (a), (d), (c), (e)
D. 4 3 2 1 D. (a), (b), (d), (c), (e)
 International Relations and Area Studies 225

114. Match the List-I with List-II and select the correct C. (A) is true, but (R) is false.
answer from the codes given below the lists: D. (A) is false, but (R) is true.
List-I List-II
119. The 73rd Amendment in the Indian Constitution has
(Books) (Authors)
brought about reservation for which of the following
(a) The Methodology (i) John Madge
categories?
of the Social
A. SCs and STs B. Women
Sciences
C. Both (A) and (B) D. None of the above
(b) The Rules of (ii) Jahoda and Others
Sociological Method 120. Who is the author of the book ‘New Technology and
(c) The Tools of Social (iii) Emile Durkheim the Workers Response’?
Science A. K.C. Agrawal B. A.K. Bagchi
(d) Methods in Social (iv) P.V. Young C. N.K. Banerji D. N.R. Sheth
Relations
121. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as
(v) Max Weber
Assertion (A) and other as Reason (R):
Codes: Assertion (A) : According to I. Wallerstein core
(a) (b) (c) (d) countries are dominant capitalist
A. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) countries.
B. (v) (iv) (iii) (ii) Reason (R) : Because they developed by
C. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i) exploiting peripheral countries for
D. (v) (iii) (i) (ii) cheap labour and raw material.
115. A French Philosopher has influenced very much the Select the correct answer from following codes:
sociological thinking by drawing a methodology of Codes:
human language. Who is he? A. Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is the correct
A. A. Giddens B. J. Derrida explanation of (A).
C. M. Foucault D. None of the above B. Both (A) and (R) are correct, but (R) is not the
116. Who says, about Indian society that ‘polity is, in the correct explanation of (A).
dominant tradition, relatively autonomous with regard C. (A) is true, but (R) is false.
to absolute value’? D. (A) is false, but (R) is true.
A. M.N. Srinivas B. L. Dumont 122. Policies which aim at influencing fertility are known
C. M. Marriott D. P. Kolenda as:
117. ‘Gender is socially constructed, w hile sex is A. Pro-natalist B. Anti-natalist
biologically given’ is a statement that could be C. Both (A) and (B) D. None of the above
attributed to: 123. The book ‘Narratives from the Women’s Studies
A. First wave of feminism Family : Recreating Knowledge’ is about:
B. Second wave of feminism A. Panchayati Raj Institutions
C. Emergence of functionalism B. Violence against women
D. Impact of globalization C. Women and health issues
118. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as D. Women’s studies centres
Assertion (A) and the other is Reason (R): 124. Match the List–I with List–II:
Assertion (A) : The process of democratization and List-I List-II
secularization in Indian context have (Author) (Issue)
unfolded the contradictions of the (a) Flavia Agnes (i) Land
old society and the new state.
(b) Bina Agarwal (ii) Law
Reason (R) : It indicates the empowerment of
traditionally marginalized communi- (c) Susheela Kaushik (iii) Dowry
ties but also means uneven distribu- (d) Madhu Kishwar (iv) Panchayati Raj
tion of the resources. Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: Codes:
Codes: (a) (b) (c) (d)
A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct A. (iii) (iv) (ii) (i)
explanation of (A). B. (ii) (i) (iv) (iii)
B. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct C. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
explanation of (A). D. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i)
2105 (MA–IR)—29
226 International Relations and Area Studies
125. The book “Social Structure of Values” was written by Codes:
.................. . (a) (b) (c) (d)
A. M.N. Srinivasan A. (ii) (i) (iv) (iii)
B. Radhakamal Mukherjee B. (i) (iv) (ii) (iii)
C. S.C. Dube C. (iii) (ii) (i) (iv)
D. Yogendra Singh D. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i)
126. Caste based stratification is: 133. “Caste is a Brahmanic child of Indo-Aryan culture
A. Ascribed craddled in the land of Ganges and thence transferred
B. Achieved to other parts of India”. Whose statement is this?
C. Open A. D.P. Mukherjee B. M.N. Srinivas
D. Neither open nor closed C. G.S. Ghurye D. L. Dumont
127. In explaining his views on Division of Labour, 134. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as
Durkheim invoked which theory? Assertion (A) and the other is Reason (R).
A. Darwinian Principle B. Canon’s Principle
C. Marxian Principle D. Spencer’s Principle Assertion (A): Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.)
growing at a higher rate is not a true indication of
128. Who among the following has considered human social development.
society as a moving equilibrium?
A. T. Parsons B. R.K. Merton Reason (R): It only indicates growth in G.D. P but not
C. Max Weber D. None of these its pattern of distribution among various strata.
Codes:
129. Who is the author of ‘Deschooling Society’? A. Both (A) and (R) are correct but (R) is correct
A. E. Durkheim B. Ivan Illich explanation of (A)
C. Kingslev Davis D. Krishan Kumar B. Both (A) and (R) are correct, but (R) is not correct
130. Match the following Lists: explanation of (A)
List-I List-II C. (A) is true, but (R) is false
(Authors) (Books) D. (A) is false, but (R) is true
(a) Alfred Schütz (i) Presentation of Self in
135. ‘Imitation Theory of deviance’ was propounded by:
Everyday Life
A. H.S. Becker B. G. Tarde
(b) Peter Berger (ii) The Phenomenology
C. E. Durkheim D. S. Cohen
and Thomas of the Social World
Luckmann 136. Which were the general land tenure systems prevalent
(c) Harold (iii) The Social Construction in rural India before independence?
Garfinkel of Reality (a) Zamindari System (b) Ryotwari System
(d) Erving (iv) Studies in Ethnome- (c) Mahalwari System (d) Sajhedari System
Goffman thodology Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: A. (a), (b), (d) B. (b), (d), (c)
(a) (b) (c) (d) C. (a), (b), (c) D. (b), (d)
A. (iii) (i) (ii) (iv)
B. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i) 137. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as
C. (ii) (iii) (iv) (i) Assertion (A) and other as Reason (R).
D. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Assertion (A): According to Wallerstein core counties
131. Who popularised the conception of an are dominant capitalist countries.
‘epistemological break’ between young Marx and the Reason (R): Because they exploit peripheral countries
mature Marx? for cheap labour and raw material.
A. L. Althusser B. J. Habermass
C. J.C. Alexander D. R. Dahrendorf Codes:
A. Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is correct
132. Match the following Lists: explanation of (A).
List-I List-II B. Both (A) and (R) are correct, but (R) is not the
(Books) (Authors) correct explanation of (A).
(a) Hindu View of Life (i) Jawaharlal Nehru C. (A) is true, but (R) is false.
(b) Discovery of India (ii) S. Radhakrishnan D. (A) is false, but (R) is true.
(c) Hindu Social (iii) D.G. Mandalbaum
Organisation 138. The Theory that relates population growth with
(d) Society in India (iv) P.H. Prabhu development stages is known as:
2105 (MA–IR)—29-II
 International Relations and Area Studies 227

A. Wealth Flow Theory Mark the correct answer from the codes given below:
B. Malthusian Theory Codes:
C. Demographic Transition Theory A. (a) (b) (d) B. (c) (d) (a)
D. Social Capillarity Theory C. (b) (c) (d) D. (a) (b) (c)
139. Match the List-I with List-II: 143. Which of the following is not the characteristic feature
List-I List-II of caste system?
(Books) (Authors) A. Hierarchical ranking B. Endogamous strata
(a) Social Framework of (i) E.R. Ramaswamy C. Vertical mobility D. Ascribed status
an Industry 144. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as
(b) Workers, factories (ii) Jan Breman Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
and social change Assertion (A) : N.K. Bose emphasised the need to
in India bring ethnology and Indology
(c) Footloose labour: (iii) Richard D. Lambert together in the study of Indian
working in India’s society.
informal Sector Reason (R) : It is possible to reconstruct the
(d) Workers consci- (iv) N.R. Sheth structure of Indian constitution
ousness and Trade through these two approaches.
Union response In the context of above statements which one of the
Mark the correct answer from the codes given below: following is correct?
(a) (b) (c) (d) A. Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is the correct
A. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i) explanation of (A)
B. (i) (iii) (ii) (iv) B. Both (A) and (R) are correct, but (R) is not the
C. (iii) (ii) (i) (iv) correct explanation of (A)
D. (ii) (iii) (iv) (i) C. (A) is true, but (R) is false
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true
140. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer
from the codes given below the Lists : 145. Critical Theory is synonymously known as:
List-I List-II A. Post-structural sociology
(Works) (Authors) B. Post-modern school perspective
(a) Argonauts of the 1. Emile Durkheim C. Post-industrial perspective
western pacific D. The Frankfurt school perspective
(b) The Andaman Islanders 2. B. Malinowski 146. Match List-I with List-II:
(c) Elementary forms of 3. C. Levi-Strauss List-I List-II
religious life (a) Dowry Prohibition Act 1. 1955
(d) Structural Anthropology 4. A.R. Radcliffe- (b) Hindu Marriage Act 2. 1956
Brown (c) Hindu Succession Act 3. 2005
5. S.F. Nadel (d) Domestic Violence Act 4. 1961
Codes: Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
(a) (b) (c) (d) Codes:
A. 2 3 4 5 (a) (b) (c) (d)
B. 1 2 3 5 A. 1 3 4 2
C. 2 4 3 1 B. 4 1 2 3
D. 2 4 1 3 C. 2 1 3 4
D. 3 2 4 1
141. To Mead “the generalised others” and “significant others”
are the creators of : 147. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as
A. I B. Me Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
C. Ego D. Super ego Assertion (A) : Change in traditional social values
leads to modernization.
142. According to R.K. Merton content analysis includes Reason (R) : Changes in traditional society hardly
which of the following? take place.
(a) One dimensional classification Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
(b) Symbol counts Codes:
(c) Campaign analysis A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct
(d) Qualitative analysis explanation of (A)
228 International Relations and Area Studies
B. Both (A) and (R) are correct, but (R) is not the A. A.R. Desai B. B.R. Ambedkar
correct explanation of (A) C. David Hardiman D. Surjit Sinha
C. (A) is true, but (R) is false
153. The concept ‘BIMARU’ states was coined by :
D. (A) is false, but (R) is true
A. K. Srinivasan B. J.R. Rele
148. Who has identified capitalist mode of production in C. Asish Bose D. S. Chandrasekhar
Indian Agriculture?
154. P.A. Sorokin is noted for his distinction between:
A. T.K. Oommen B. Utsa Patnaik
A. In-groups and out-groups
C. Andre Beteille D. D.N. Dhanagare
B. Primary and secondary relationism groups
149. There are two statements given below. One is labelled C. Mechanical and organic solidarity
as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). D. Familistic, contractual and compulsory systems of
Assertion (A) : Gender relation refers to relative interaction
position of men and women and
155. Two statements are given, one is labelled as Assertion
their relations are socially constructed.
(A) and the other as Reason (R):
Reason (R) : Feminine and masculine qualities
Assertion (A): Dalit assertion in Indian politics
are phased through the history of
resulted in Dalit identity.
social relations.
Reason (R): Politicization of the Dalits led to social
Codes :
mobility among them.
A. (A) is false and (R) is true
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
B. (A) is true and (R) is false
Codes:
C. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the
A. (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct
correct explanation of (A)
explanation of (A).
D. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct
B. (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct
explanation of (A)
explanation of (A).
150. There are two statements given below. One is labelled C. (A) is true, but (R) is false.
as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). D. (A) is false, but (R) is true.
Assertion (A) : Internet is likely to have wider
156. Research carried out in order to improve social
repercussions in comparison to
situation for the betterment of individuals or social
traditional crimes.
group or an organisation is called:
Reason (R) : In traditional crimes, only two parties
A. Survey Research B. Action Research
i.e. perpetrator and the victim are
C. Qualitative Research D. None of the above
directly present in the scene but in
cyber crimes more number of people 157. Which one of the following thinkers stated that ‘man
may be affected. who classifies facts of any kind whatever, who sees
Choose the correct answer from the codes given below: their mutual relation and describes their sequences is
A. (A) is false and (R) is true applying scientific method and is a man of science’?
B. (A) is true and (R) is false A. K. Popper B. E. Nagel
C. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the C. J. Galtung D. Karl Pearson
correct explanation of (A) 158. Match the List-I with List-II.
D. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct List-I List-II
explanation of (A) (Authors) (Works)
151. Industrialization in India has polluted major rivers (a) P.L. Berger 1. Social Mobility in Industrial
which has led to : City
(a) Rise in water born diseases (b) J. Bowley 2. The Presentation of Self in
(b) Detrimental effect on aquatic life Everyday Life
(c) Desalination of soil (c) E. Goffman 3. Child Care and Growth of
(d) Imbalance of the ecology Love
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: (d) S.M. Lipset and 4. Invitation to Sociology
A. (a), (c) and (d) B. (b), (c) and (d) R. Bendix
C. (a), (b) and (c) D. (a), (b) and (d) Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Codes:
152. Whose research sought for a sharp break from the (a) (b) (c) (d)
predominant colonialist and nationalist paradigms A. 4 3 2 1
of South Asian history which were seen to validate B. 1 2 3 4
the history of elites over and above the history of C. 2 3 4 1
subordinate groups? D. 3 2 1 4
 International Relations and Area Studies 229

159. Who has propounded the concept of ethnocentrism? 164. In Anthony Gidden’s theory of structuration primacy
A. W. Sumner B. Theodor W. Adorno is granted to _____ .
C. Max Weber D. Immanuel Wallerstein A. Structure
160. Feminist epistemology is a concept which is based on B. Agency
the principle of: C. Both structure and agency
A. differences between sociology and feminism D. Neither of the two (structure, agency)
B. feminization of occupation 165. Two statements are given, one is labelled as Assertion
C. sexuality (A) and the other as Reason (R).
D. a reflection of women’s lived experience and place Assertion (A): Increased social disintegration leads
giving emphasis on affectual relationships to increased number of suicides in industrial societies.
161. There are two statements given below. One is labelled Reason (R): Weaker influence of moral and social
as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R): values on individuals results in more number of
Assertion (A) : Large scale development projects such suicides.
as dams and mines evoke resistance from marginalised Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
people, as rehabilitation programmes are not Codes:
realistically planned. A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct
Reason (R) : The rehabilitation programmes include explanation for (A).
only the compensation of land which is partial in B. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct
nature. explanation for (A).
Choose the correct answer from the codes given below: C. (A) is true and (R) is false.
Codes: D. (A) is false and (R) is true.
A. (A) is false and (R) is true.
B. (A) is true and (R) is false. 166. Match the items in List-I with List-II:
C. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct List-I List-II
explanation of (A). (Authors) (Books)
D. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct (a) Simone de 1. Sex, Gender and Society
explanation of (A). Beavoir
162. Which form(s) of scientific knowledge, J. Habermass (b) Ann Oakley 2. The Second Sex
has identified in his works? (c) Shulamith 3. Gender Trouble – Feminism
1. Empirical-analytical Firestone and the Subversion of Identity
2. Hermeneutic (d) Judith Butler 4. The Dialectic of Sex : The Case
3. Critical and emancipatory of Feminist Revolution
4. None of the above Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Codes: Codes:
A. 1, 2 and 3 B. 4 (a) (b) (c) (d)
C. 2 and 3 D. 1 and 3 A. 1 4 3 2
B. 4 2 1 3
163. Match the items in List-I with List-II:
C. 3 2 1 4
List-I List-II
(Approaches) (Objective) D. 2 1 4 3
(a) Women in 1. Women’s 167. Match the items in List-I with List-II:
Development Emancipation List-I List-II
(b) Women and 2. Restructuring
(a) Assimilation 1. The situation within state or
Development Development
social organization in which
Programs
pow er is shared among
(c) Gender and 3. Sustainable
multiplicity of groups and
Development Development
organization.
(d) Women, Environment 4. Alternative
and Development Development (b) Pluralism 2. The process of contacts
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: between different cultures and
Codes: also the outcome of such
(a) (b) (c) (d) contacts.
A. 1 3 2 4 (c) Acculturalism 3. The process in which minority
B. 2 4 1 3 gets absorbed in host culture.
C. 4 1 3 2 (d) Multiculturism 4. Acknowledgement and promo-
D. 2 4 3 1 tion of cultural diversity.
230 International Relations and Area Studies
Select the correct answer from the codes given below: C. Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct
Codes: explanation of (A).
(a) (b) (c) (d) D. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct
A. 1 3 2 4 explanation of (A).
B. 4 3 1 2
172. Match the items in the List-I with the items in the
C. 3 1 2 4
List-II and select the correct answer from the codes
D. 4 3 2 1
given below:
168. Historically society witnessed various stages of List-I List-II
development. Different authors have given their own (a) J.W.B. Douglous (i) The Home and the School
classification of stages of development in their works. (b) D.H. Hargreaves (ii) Social relations in a
Their names are given in List-I and the stages of secondary school
development are given in List-II. Match List-I with (c) S. Bowles and (iii) Schooling in capitalist
List-II and mark the correct answer from the codes H. Gintis America
given below: (d) Ivan Illich (iv) Deschooling society
List-I List-II Codes:
(a) A. Comte 1. Savagery, barbarism and (a) (b) (c) (d)
civilization A. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
(b) Adam Smith 2. Feudalism, capitalism, B. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i)
socialism and communism C. (ii) (i) (iii) (iv)
(c) L. H. Morgan 3. Theological, meta-physical D. (iii) (iv) (i) (ii)
and positive
(d) Karl Marx 4. Hunting, pastoral, agriculture 173. “An Outline of Social Psychology” is written by
and manufacturing A. C.H. Cooley B. Sigmund Freud
Codes: C. Muzafer Sherif D. G.H. Mead
(a) (b) (c) (d) 174. Match the items in List-I with the items in List-II and
A. 3 4 1 2 choose the correct answer from the codes given below:
B. 4 3 2 1
List-I List-II
C. 2 1 3 4
(a) Culture is man made part (i) E.B. Taylor
D. 1 2 4 3
of environment.
169. Given below are two statements, one labelled as (b) Culture is that complex (ii) Herskovits, M.J.
Assertion (A) and the other labelled as Reason (R): whole which includes
Assertion (A): Both Lewis Coser and Randall Collins knowledge, belief, art,
are grouped under the conflict school. morals, law customs and
Reason (R): Both of them highlight the function of other capabilities and
conflict in maintaining the society. habits acquired by man as
a member of society.
Codes:
(c) The culture of a society (iii) Ralph Linton
A. Both (A) and (R) are true.
is the way of life of its
B. (A) is true, but (R) is false.
members ; the collection
C. (A) is false, but (R) is true.
of ideas and habits which
D. Both (A) and (R) false.
they learn, share and
170. “Sociology is the science of understanding of the transmit from generation
meaning of social action.” The proceeding statement to generation.
was made by (d) Culture is a ‘design for (iv) C. Kluckhohn
A. Max Weber B. Auguste Comte living’ held by members
C. Herbert Spencer D. Emile Durkheim of a particular society.
171. Assertion (A): Privatization of education in India is Codes:
leading to commercialization of education. (a) (b) (c) (d)
Reason (R): Commercialization of education has A. (ii) (i) (iii) (iv)
deprived many poor deserving students from quality B. (i) (iii) (iv) (ii)
education. C. (iii) (ii) (i) (iv)
Codes: D. (iv) (iii) (ii) (i)
A. (A) is true, but (R) is false. 175. Who is most generally regarded as the founder of
B. (A) is false and (R) is true. symbolic interactionism?
 International Relations and Area Studies 231

A. Herbert Blumer B. George Herbert Mead B. R.K. Merton

C. Max Weber D. Anthony Giddens C. Talcott Parsons
D. G.P. Murdock
176. Who among the following criticized Marxian theory
as “a monocausal explanation for a multi-causal 186. Who has considered that social structure is made up
world”? through the internal structure of roles?
A. Max Weber B. Ralf Dahrendorf A. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown B. R.K. Merton
C. Randall Collins D. Lewis Coser C. R. Linton D. S.F. Nadel

177. Who argues that families are factories which produce 187. Who has given ‘abridging the role relationships’ as a
human personalities? mechanism of articulation of roles in the role set?
A. M.G. Smith B. D.H.J. Morgon A. Talcott Parsons B. S.F. Nadel
C. G.P. Murdock D. T. Parsons C. C. Levi-Strauss D. R.K. Merton

178. From among the following who has contended that 188. The classification of groups into monad, dyad and
individuals who could not fit in did not deserve to triad is attributed to:
flourish? A. P.A. Sorokin B. G. Simmel
A. Auguste Comte B. Herbert Spencer C. W.G. Sumner D. G. Hasen
C. Emile Durkheim D. Max Weber 189. Which one of the following is incorrect match?
179. Which sociological perspective assumes that “most A. Sumner - In-group and Out-group
B. Mead - Significant others
human gratification is derived from the actions of
C. Giddings - Horizontal and Vertical Groups
other humans”?
D. Cooley - Primary and Secondary Groups
A. Symbolic interactionist
B. Exchange 190. Who has defined classes as occupational groups
C. Exploitative created by division of labour and maintained by
D. Structural heredity?
A. Karl Marx B. G. Schmoller
180. Which of the following is not a feature of community?
C. E. Durkheim D. G. Friedmann
A. Specific locality
B. Historical heritage 191. Anticipatory socialization takes place due to which
C. A social, religious, occupational or other groups one of the following?
sharing common characteristics A. Family behaviour
D. Small patches of localities spread over many areas B. Schooling behaviour
C. Play group behaviour
181. Learned and shared cultural products that justify D. Reference group behaviour
certain type of behaviour in a given society are known
as: 192. Who accounts for the emergence of the state by
A. Norm B. Value differentiation into social classes within the
C. Culture D. Custom community?
A. F. Oppenheimer B. Karl Marx
182. In a social setting if people assume that their own C. Peter M. Blau D. Max Weber
culture, group and behaviour are superior to those of
others then it is known as: 193. ‘One fact that stands out, beyond all others, is that
A. Ethnocentrism B. Xenocentrism everywhere the husband, wife and immature children
C. Selfcentrism D. Nationalism constitute a unit, apart from the remainder of the
community’. Who said this?
183. A set of beliefs and values that radically reject the A. R.H. Lowie B. K.M. Kapadia
society’s dominant culture and prescribe an alternative C. K. Davis D. G.P. Murdock
one is called:
194. Which one of the following processes is considered
A. Sub culture B. Idioculture
equivalent to socialization?
C. Counter culture D. Cultural complex
A. Acculturation B. Accommodation
184. A person is a school teacher, he is Vice Principal, C. Enculturation D. Mobilization
member of a local club and President of the village
195. The process involved in becoming an adult social
panchayat. All these positions together constitute his:
being, with focus on childhood, is called:
A. Status B. Status set
A. Primary socialization
C. Multiple statuses D. Status sequence
B. Secondary socialization
185. Who has given a structural theory of role conflict? C. Re-socialization
A. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown D. Anticipatory socialization
232 International Relations and Area Studies
196. Who among the following formulated the theory of 203. Who is associated with the study of ‘structure of
middle class within the Marxian framework? myth’?
A. R. Collins B. L.A. Coser A. C. Levi-Strauss B. James Frazer
C. R. Dahrendorf D. G. Simmel C. B. Malinowski D. A.L. Kroeber
197. Who has classified social mobility into two ways: 204. According to Durkheim which sequence of modern
“Social climbing” and “Social sinking”? society is correct?
A. P.M. Blau B. S.M. Miller A. differences, high degree of interdependence, high
C. P.A. Sorokin D. S.M. Lipset moral density, repressive sanctions, low volume
198. ‘X’ is a clerk in an office, his father was a police of collective conscience
B. similarity, high degree of interdependence, low
inspector and his grandfather was a judge. What kind
of change is this? moral density, restitutive sanctions, high volume
of collective conscience
A. Horizontal mobility
B. Vertical mobility C. differences, high degree of interdependence, high
moral density, restitutive sanctions, low volume
C. Vertical downward mobility
D. Vertical upward mobility of collective conscience
D. differences, low degree of interdependence, high
199. Among the following who has reconciled with the moral density, repressive sanctions, low volume
functional and conflict theory of stratification? of collective conscience
A. Celia S. Heller
205. Who among the following contended that not all
B. Joseph T. Howell
C. G. Lenski structures are indispensable to the working of the
social system?
D. Wilbert E. Moore
A. Parsons B. Giddens
200. Who among the following has considered that history C. Merton D. Simmel
fluctuates between two kinds of culture-sensate and
206. Who among the following assumed that any society
ideational during the phase of social change?
is composed of a series of subsystems that differ in
A. Comte B. Spencer
C. Hobhouse D. Sorokin terms of both their structure and function which have
significance for the whole society?
201. Match List-I with List-II. A. Merton B. Parsons
List-I List-II C. Durkheim D. Giddens
(Works) (Sociologists)
207. Who among the following has identified four types -
(a) Structural (i) A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
Anthropology simple, compound, doubly compound and triply
compound - of societies in their evolutionary stages?
(b) The Theory of (ii) R.K. Merton
Social Structure A. Herbert Spencer
B. Auguste Comte
(c) Structure and (iii) S.F. Nadel
Function in C. Leonard T. Hobhouse
D. Emile Durkheim
Primitive Society
(d) Social Theory and (iv) C. Levi-Strauss 208. Who insisted that the interpretative process and the
Social Structure context in which it is done are the vital elements in
(v) Talcott Parsons the person’s use of meaning and formation itself?
A. G.H. Mead B. V. Pareto
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
C. Max Weber D. H. Blumer
(a) (b) (c) (d)
A. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 209. Who among the following made distinction between
B. (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) two types of conflict, namely, realistic and non-
C. (v) (iv) (ii) (iii) realistic?
D. (iv) (iii) (i) (ii) A. Karl Marx B. L.A. Coser
202. Who has studied the structure of Kinship system of C. G. Simmel D. R. Dahrendorf
African Tribes: Choctah and Omaha? 210. Considering that conflict and consensus are the two
A. E.B. Tyler sides of the same coin, who felt that handling both
B. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown the faces was difficult?
C. Evans Pritchard A. Karl Marx B. L.A. Coser
D. B. Malinowski C. G. Simmel D. R. Dahrendorf
 International Relations and Area Studies 233

ANSWERS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A D C A D A D C C C
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
B B D C B B B C A B
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
A A D D C D C A A D
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
B A C D B A C C B C
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
D C D D B A A C B A
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
C C B C C A B A C C
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
D C D B A A C C D A
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
C B A B B A C B A A
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
D B C C D B B C D A
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
A B A D B B B D B D
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
C A B C B A A B C A
111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
D C C D B B B A C B
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130
A C D B B A A A B C
131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
A A C B B C A C A D
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
B D C C D B B B D D
151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160
D C C B A B D A A D
161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170
D A B D A D C A B A
171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
D A C A B A D B B D
181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190
B A C C B D D B C B
191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
D B A C A C C C C D
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210
D B A C C B A D B D

  

2105 (MA–IR)—30
234 International Relations and Area Studies
U
N
I
T 4
EUROPEAN PENETRATION AND
BRITISH CONQUEST OF INDIA
Portuguese
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in India
in 1498. The closing of the traditional trade routes western
Asia by the Ottomans and rivalry with the Italian states, set
Portugal in search of an alternate sea route to India. The first
successful voyage to India was by Vasco da Gama on May
17, 1498, when he arrived in Calicut, now in Kerala piloted
by Abdul Majid and was received by the Hindu king,
Zamorin. Vasco da Gama visited India for a second time in
1502. The Portuguese established a chain of outposts along
the Indian west coast and on the island of Ceylon in the
early 16th century which were called Feitorias.
In 1501, Portuguese established Cochin as their first
trading station in India, it was the early capital of Portuguese
in India. In 1505, Franchise De Almedia (1502-09) was sent
as first Portuguese governor to India to establish Portuguese
naval supremacy in this region.
He was followed by Alfonso de Albuquerque in 1509
who was the real founder of Portuguese power in India. In
1510, Albuquerque captured Goa from ruler of Bijapur, and
also controlled over parts of Rajouri and Dabhol thereby
bringing Bijapur naval trade at stand still. Albuquerque
encouraged his countrymen to marry Indian women and
abolished Sati.
Nino-da-Cunha transferred the Portuguese capital from
Cochin to Goa in 1530 and acquired Diu in 1535 and
Daman in 1559. The famous Jesuit Saint Francisco Xavier
came to India with the governor Martin Alfonso De Souza.
The Portuguese power witnessed a decline by the end of the
16th century as they lost Hugli in 1631 after being driven
out by Qasim Khan, a Mughal noble. They lost Hormuz in
1622 to the British. The Marathas captured Salsette and
234
Bassein in 1739. Ultimately the Portuguese were left only
with Goa, Daman and Diu, which they retained till 1961.
The naval monopoly of Portuguese was shattered by the
Dutch. In 1661, the Portuguese king gave Bombay to
Charles II of England as dowry for marrying his sister. The
Portuguese made spice trade particularly (pepper trade) a
monopoly. The Portuguese had armed vessels plying in the
Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
Ships carrying commodities which were not given passes
(cartage) by the Portuguese officials were confiscated by
them. The cartage was first issued in 1502, which was
available at their custom house. The booty thus obtained
yielded a sizeable source of income which was again
invested in trade. In cartage, it was specifically mentioned
that certain items like pepper, horses, ginger, coir, ship,
pitch, sulphur, lead, saltpeter, cinnamon, etc. were not to be
loaded on others ships.
British
The Growth of the East India Company’s Trade
and Influence (1600-1740)
John Mildenhall, a merchant adventurer was the first
Englishman who arrived in India in 1599 by overland route
ostensibly for the purpose of trade with Indian merchants.
The English East India Company was formed by a group of
merchants known as ‘Merchant Adventures’ in 1599. The
company was given a Charter by Queen Elizabeth-I on 31
December 1600, giving it the monopoly of Eastern trade for
fifteen years.
In 1608, the company decided to open a factory (the
name given to a trading depot) at Surat. The English
ambassador Captain Hawkins arrived at Jahangir’s Court to
seek permission for trade with India. He was granted a
Mansab of 400 zat. In 1611, as a result of Portuguese
intrigue, he was expelled and had to leave Agra for Surat,

where he met Henry Middleton head of three big English
ships. In 1612, two English naval ships under Captain Best
reached Surat, defeated a Portuguese naval squadron at
Cwally near Surat and again in 1615 by Nicholas Downtown.
A firman was issued by Jahangir permitting the English to
build a factory at Surat (1613) under Thomas Aldworth and
also on the west coast.
Sir Thomas Roe came to India as ambassador of James
to Jahangir’s court in 1615, received imperial firman to
trade and establish factories in different parts of India. In
1619, by the time Sir Thomas Roe left India, English had
already set up factories in different parts of India. Captain
Best succeeded in getting a royal firman to open factories
in Surat, Cambaya, Ahmedabad and Goa in 1613. In South,
factories were established at Masulipatnam in 1611 and at
Armagaon (near Pulicat) in 1626.
Francis Day obtained the site of Madras from the Raja
of Chandragiri with permission to build a fortified factory
(1639) which was named Fort St. George. All the English
settlements in Eastern India (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa) and
their command were placed under the control of the president
and council of Fort St. George in 1661. The company
acquired Bombay from Charles II on lease of 10 pounds
annually. Gerald Aunger was the first governor from 1669
to 1677. Later, Bombay replaced Surat as headquarters of
the company on west coast. In Eastern India, English
company had opened its first factories in Orissa at Hariharpur
(1633), and also opened factories at Patna, Balasore (1633),
Decca and other places in Bengal and Bihar. The Sultan of
Golkunda issued the company the Golden Firman allowing
them to trade within the parts of the kingdom freely on
payment of duties worth 500 pagodas a year (1632).
The English East India company got a nishan from
Sultan Shuja in 1651 which they received trading privileges
in return for a fixed annual payment of ` 3,000. By another
nishan the English company was exempted from custom
duties in 1656. In 1689, English under Sir Joseph Child
captured two Mughal ships, which prompted Aurangzeb to
order Siddis to block Bombay. English factories at Surat,
Masulipatnam, Vizagpatnam were seized and their fort at
Bombay besieged. On Sir John Childs plea Aurangzeb
granted them permission to trade on payment of ` 1,50,000
as compensation. The company acquired zamindari of
Sutanati, Kalikata and Govindpur (1698), which later grew
into the city of Calcutta.
The factory at Sutanati was fortified and named Fort
William (1700) and all settlements in Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa were placed under Fort William (1700). Dr. William
Hamilton, a member of Surman commission, cured
Farrukhsiyar of a painful disease. Farrukhsiyar granted a
firman in 1717 for duty free trade. The firman also gave
British the right to rent additional territory around Calcutta.
In return for an annual payment of sum of ` 10,000 it was
exempted from payment of all duties at Surat.
International Relations and Area Studies 235
The company’s coins minted at Bombay were allowed
currency throughout Mughal Empire. Bombay was fortified
in 1720 by Charles Boon. The company’s superior body
court of directors was based in London while its subordinate
body was in Asia. Each factory was administrated by a
Governor-in- Council. The governor was the President of
Council with no extra privileges. Everything was decided
in council by majority votes. The members of the council
consisted senior merchants of the company. The Court of
directors was the supreme authority in framing policies for
the country. No non-member was allowed to trade with East
or to share its high profits. Many English merchants
continued to trade in Asia inspite of monopoly of East India
Company. They called themselves Free Merchants and the
company called them ‘interlopers’.
In 1694, Parliament passed a resolution that all citizens
of England had equal rights to trade in the East. The rivals
of the company founded another company known as ‘New
Company’ and was consequently granted monopoly of trade
with East. Old company refused to give up its profitable
trade. After long drawn conflict, both the companies agreed
to join hands and a new company, ‘The Limited Company
of Merchant of English trading to the East India’ was formed
in 1708.
Dutch
Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602; its chief
administrative centre was Batavia. In 1595, first Dutch
expedition under Cornelis de Houliman crossed the Cape of
Good Hope to reach Sumatra and Bantam (1596). Dutch
Company was governed through 17 directors commonly
known as the Gentleman XVII. The main interest of the
Dutch was in the Indonesian archipelago and the Spice
Islands, but later they broke the Portuguese monopoly in
India. They popularized textile trade and also exported
indigo, saltpetre and raw silk. In 1639, Dutch encircled Goa,
in 1641 captured Malaysia, in 1658 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) the
largest Portuguese settlement was captured by the Dutch.
They had two factories in the interior of the Golkunda
territories.
They got the right to mint coins at Pulicat in 1657. By
firman of 1676, the Golkunda ruler granted the Dutch
complete freedom from tariffs in Golkunda. In Bengal region
two more factories were established by the Dutch in
Khanakul in 1689 and in Malda in 1676 but both had to
close down soon. The Dutch succeeded in getting firman
from the Mughal Emperor Jahangir for trading along the
West-coast. They were exempted from tolls from Burhanpur
to Combay and Ahmedabad. Shah Alam granted total
exemption to the company from paying transit throughout
the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb confirmed all privileges
granted by Shahjahan to the Dutch in Bengal in 1662.
Jahandar Shah confirmed all the privileges granted by
Aurangzeb in Coromandel in 1712.
236 International Relations and Area Studies
Dutch commercial activities began to decline by the
beginning of 18th century and with the Battle of Bedera
with the English in 1759 came to an end. By 1795, the
English succeeded in expelling the Dutch completely. In
1667, Dutch agreed to leave alone English settlements in
India, while English gave up all claims to Indonesia.
French
French East India Company was formed under state
patronage by Colbert in 1664 under the reign of Louis XIV.
The French company was created, financed and controlled
by the State and it differed from the English company
which was a private commercial venture. In 1667, a French
group under Francois Caron reached India and in 1668, he
set up the first French factory at Surat. Later, Maracara set
up a factory at Masulipatnam in 1669 by securing a patient
from the Sultan of Golkunda. In 1672, Admiral De La Haye
defeated Sultan of Golkunda and Dutch, to capture San
Thome. In 1673, two French (Francious Martin and
Bellanger De Lesp-iniary) acquired from the Muslim
governor of Valikoindapuram, Sher Khan Lodi a small
village. The village developed into Pondichery and its first
governor was Francois Martin.
They acquired Chandernagore in Bengal from Mughal
governor Shayista Khan in 1690. In 1693, Dutch snatched
Pondicherry from French but was restored in 1697 by treaty
of Ryswick. In 1706, population of Pondichery was 40,000
while population of Calcutta was only 22,000 - which shows
the prosperity of Pondichery. Pondicherry (Fort Louis) was
made the headquarters of all French settlements in India and
Francois Martin became the governor general of French
affairs in India. In 1720, the company was reconstituted as
Perpetual Company of the Indies. The French power in
India was revived under Lienor and Dumas (who were
governors between 1720 and 1742). They occupied
Mauritius in 1721, Calicut in 1739, Male in 1725 and
Yanam, in Coromandal and Karaikal in 1739.
Duplex was an important French governor in India
(1742). His coming saw the beginning of Anglo- French
conflict (Carnatic wars) resulting in their final defeat in
India. The French maintained close ties with Dost Ali, the
Nawab of Carnatic. On recommendation of Dost Ali, the
Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah issued a firman granting
permission to the French to mint and issue gold and silver
currency bearing the stamp of Mughal emperor and the
name of the place of minting.
The Dutch blocked the French commercial activities at
Hugli. They seized San Thome near Madras in 1672 but
were soon defeated by the combined forces of Sultan of
Golkunda and the Dutch. Later, the Dutch established their
control over San Thome. In Dutch-French rivalry, the Dutch
were always supported by the English. After 1742, the
French governor Duplex began the policy of extending
territorial empire in India and started political occupations,
leading to series of conflicts with English. They fought a
decisive battle at Wandiwash against the East India
Company in 1760 and lost almost all their possessions in
India. Final settlement of the French with that of English
was done by the treaty of Paris (1763), by which Pondicherry
and some other French settlements were returned to the
French.
Danish
The Danish formed an East India Company and arrived in
India in 1616. They established settlements at Tranquebar
(Tamil Nadu) in 1620 and at Serampore (Bengal) in 1676.
Serampore was their headquarter in India. At one time the
Danish and Swedish East Asia companies together imported
more tea to Europe than the British did. They could not
establish their position in India and eventually sold all their
Indian settlements to the English in 1845. They were more
concerned with missionary activities than trade. They
established their factories at Masulipatnam and Porto Novo.
During the 18th century the English and the French
succeeded in ousting the Dutch and the Portuguese traders
from the Indian soil and became fiercely competitive. Soon
after the death of Aurangzeb, the political stability of the
subcontinent dwindled leading to the interference of the
English and the French in the affairs of the country.
MAJOR BATTLES
The Carnatic Wars
Reminiscent of European hostilities of the eighteen century,
Anglo-French rivalry beginning with the outbreak of the
Austrian War of Succession and ending with the conclusion
of the Seven Years War, resonated in India in the animosity
between the English and the French East India Companies;
which issued the British expansion in South India. The
French settlement was headquartered at Pondicherry with
subordinate factories at Masulipatnam, Karaikal, Mahe, Surat
and Chandernagore. The principal settlements of English
included Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.
First Carnatic War (1746-1748)
Causes
The Anglo-French animosity in India ensued as a sequel to
the state of affairs in Europe with the breakout of the
Austrian War of Succession in March 1740 in which the
English and the French were on opposite sides. This
animosity was fuelled by the trading rivalry of the
companies which climaxed with the arrival of Dupleix (who
wanted to strengthen the French position) as the French
Governor of Pondicherry in 1742.
Course/Events
The English navy under Barnett took the offensive action
and captured French ships. Dupleix, the French Governor

General, appealed to La Bourdonnais, the French Governor
of Mauritius (Isle of France) for help and the latter responded
with a squadron of over 3000 men; defeating the English
fleet, and reaching the Coromandal coast on 7 July 1746.
Madras besieged by the French both by land and the sea
capitulated to the French on 21st September 1746. However,
it was restored to the English by La Bourdonnais for a
ransom of £ 4,00,000 without the consent of Dupliex who
later recaptured Madras but was unsuccessful in capturing
Fort St. David.
The Battle of St. Thome, on the banks of the River
Adyar followed in which the French fought and defeated
the Indian forces of Anwar-ud-din, the Nawab of Carnatic
for the custody of Madras after its reduction in 1746. The
First Carnatic came to an end after the conclusion of
hostilities in Europe with signing of the Treaty of Aix-La-
Chappelle in 1848 which also concluded the 18-month
long siege over Fort St. David.
Results
The Treaty of Aix-La-Chappelle that concluded the war
mandated the return of Madras back to the English company
in exchange of Louisburg in North America to France. The
First Carnatic war demonstrated the importance of naval
power in the Anglo-French conflict and the superiority of
the small, well disciplined and relatively modern European
army against the much larger, loose Indian civvies.
Second Carnatic War (1748-1754)
Though the Anglo-French rivalry ended in Europe, it
continued in India; where encouraged by his success against
the Nawab’s forces, Dupleix sought to increase his power
and the French political influence in Southern India by
interfering in local dynastic disputes in a bid to outmaneuver
the English.
Causes
On 21st May 1748 Subedar of Deccan i.e., the Nizam of
Hyderabad Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah died, which resulted in
a war of succession between his second son Nasir Jang and
the Nizam’s grandson/the former’s nephew Muzaffar Jang
on the ground that he was appointed by the Mughal
Emperor as the Subedar of Deccan. In Carnatic, the right of
Nawab Anwaruddin was disputed by Chanda Sahib, son-in-
law of former Nawab Dost Ali. The two conflicts were merged
into one and alliances formed as Muzzaffar Jang and Chanda
Sahib joined under French support while Nasir Jang and
Anwaruddin aligned together with the English help. Thus
the disputes over the thrones of Hyderabad and Carnatic
became the cause of the war.
Course/Events
The combined armies of Muzaffar Jang, Chanda Sahib and
French defeated and killed Anwaruddin at the battle of
Ambur near Vellore in August 1749. Anwaruddin’s son
International Relations and Area Studies 237
Muhammad Ali fled to Trichinopoly and Chanda Sahib
became Nawab of Carnatic while Muzaffar Jang became
Subedar of Deccan after the encounter death of Nasir Jung
in 1750. Dupleix was appointed Governor of all the Mughal
territories south of river Krishna. Some districts in Northern
Circars were also surrendered to the French, including famous
market town of Masulipatam. In return Bussey with a French
army was stationed at Hyderabad. In 1750, the situation
changed with the appointment of Saunders as Madras
Governor; who decided to assist Muhammad Ali and on the
suggestion of Robert Clive, the British under the former
captured Arcot, the capital of Carnatic in a bid to divert
pressure on Trichinopoly in August 1751, successfully
sustaining the siege for fifty three days (September 23 to
November 14) and demoralizing the French.
Subsequently, the British under Major Stringer
Lawrence relieved Trichinopoly defeating the French forces
and Chanda Sahib in Arni and Kaveripakkam in 1752.
Chanda Sahib was treacherously killed by Raja of Tanjore.
However, Dupleix not one to give up, won over Morari Rao,
the Maratha chief of Mysore and secured the neutrality of
Raja of Tanjore, thereby renewing the siege of Trichinopoly
in December 1752 which continued for more than one year,
both sides succeeding alternatively. Dupleix failure to
capture Trichinopoly along with his political ambitions and
ruinous expenses sealed his fate as he was recalled by the
Directors of French Company in 1754. With his recall the
second Carnatic war came to an end.
Results
In August 1754, Godeheu replaced Dupleix as Governor-
General of French possessions in India and reopened
negotiations with the British; concluding a provisional
peace treaty - the Treaty of Pondicherry in January 1755
according to which each party was left in possession of the
territories that it actually occupied at the time of the treaty.
Thus, Godeheu and his incompetent Generals Astru and
Maisi lost those territories which Dupleix had won. The
English emerged victorious and Muhammad Ali was
appointed Nawab of Carnatic.
In Hyderabad, the French General, Bussy maintained a
steady ascendency of the French with a grant of the Northern
Sarkars by Subedar Salabat Jung (Muzaffar Jang had been
killed in accidental skirmish in Feb, 1751) consisting of the
districts of Mustafanagar, Ellore, Rajahmundry and
Chicacole, generating annual revenue of more than Rs 30
lakhs to meet expense of maintaining the French army.
Third Carnatic War (1756-1763)
Causes
The third Carnatic war was an echo of the outbreak of the
Seven Years War in Europe and ended the short peace
between the European Companies in India.
238 International Relations and Area Studies
Course/Events
In 1757, The British under Clive defeated Siraj- uddaula
and captured Bengal. Clive and Watson also won
Chandernagar, the French possession in Bengal, thus
capacitating the British finances. The French government
sent Count-de-Lally as the Governor and Commander-in-
Chief of the French possessions in India, who soon after his
arrival attacked and captured Fort St. David in 1758. The
French military effort could not be sustained in Tanjore and
on Indian waters due to lack of naval cooperation, shortage
of finances and ammunition, mutual distrust, etc.
However, Lally continued to challenge the British and
called Bussy from Hyderabad, leaving the French forces
under the incompetent Commander Corntla. Seizing the
opportunity, Clive sent Colonel Ford from Bengal to
Northern Circars and occupying Rajahmundry and
Masulipatnam, the English concluded a favourable treaty
with Salabat Jang, the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1759. The
decisive battle of the third Carnatic War was fought at
Wandiwash on 22 January, 1760 where Sir Eyre Coote
defeated Lally. Bussy was taken prisoner; Lally retreated to
Pondicherry and signed a treaty with Haider Ali. However,
Pondicherry after a blocade of eight months was surrendered
to the English on 16 January, 1761. Mahe, Jinji were lost
by French in quick succession.
Results
The third Carnatic war came to an end in 1763 by the
Treaty of Paris. Pondicherry, Karaikal and some other French
settlements were returned to the French by the Treaty but
these were never to be fortified. This sealed the French
ambitions in India and with the English conquest of Bengal
and the significant disposal of resources; it furthered the
growth of British power in Bengal.
Growth of British Power in Bengal
The first English factory in Bengal was established at Hugli
in 1651 under permission from Sultan Shuja, Subedar of
Bengal, the second son of Emperor Shah Jahan. In 1651,
much pleased with services of Mr. Boughton in curing a
royal lady the Subehdar granted the company the privilege
of free trade throughout Bengal, Bihar and Orissa for
nominal a lumpsum payment of ` 3,000. In 1689, the
English obtained from Subedar Azimus-Shan the zamindari
of three villages Sutanati, Kalikata and Govindpur, the
present site of Calcutta on payment of ` 1,200 to previous
proprietors. In 1700, Murshid Quli Khan was appointed
Diwan of Bengal and started administering as real ruler.
There were three rebellions during Murshid Quli Khan’s
reign. First by Sitaram Ray, Uday Narayan and Ghulam
Mohammad. Second, by Shujat Khan and third and last by
Najat Khan. In 1705, Aurangzeb appointed Murshid Quli
Khan as Governor of Bengal and later placed Orissa under
his authority. He shifted his capital from Dacca to
Murshidabad and after Aurangzeb’s death, founded an
independent kingdom.
Murshid Quli Khan was succeeded by his son-in-law
Shuja-ud-daula Khan who added Bihar to his dominions,
where he appointed Alivardi Khan as his deputy. In 1717,
Emperor Farukhsiyar confirmed the trade privileges granted
by earlier Subedar of Bengal, besides according permission
to the company to rent additional territory around Calcutta.
Shuja died in 1739 and was succeeded by his son Sarfaraz
Khan. In 1741, Alivardi Khan, Deputy Governor of Bihar
under Nawab Sarfaraz Khan rose in revolt killed Nawab and
became Subedar of Bengal, got confirmation from Emperor
Mohammad Shah by paying a huge amount.
Battle of Plassey, 1757
Causes
On Alivardi Khan’s death in 1756, Siraj-ud-daula, his
grandson became the Nawab of Bengal at 24. Soon after his
accession to the throne, the Nawab came into conflicts with
the English in Bengal. Siraj prevented the English from
fortifying Fort William. However the English refused to
stop the new fortification which prompted the Nawab to
attack their factory at Cassim Bazar.
The Nawab captured Fort William, taking 146
Englishmen prisoners. Holed up in a very small room 123
died on 20th June, 1756 out of suffocation and only 23
survived. English historians describe this incident as the
Black Hole Tragedy. This incident instigated the English at
Chennai to send a relieving force under Robert Clive
alongwith Admiral Watson to Bengal. And Clive entered
into a conspiracy with Mir Jafar, the Commander-in-Chief
of Siraj-ud-daulah.
Course/Events
Clive marched towards Plassey on 23rd June, 1757; which
was near the Nawab’s capital of Murshidabad. As agreed
earlier, Mir Jafar, the Commander-in-chief of Siraj-ud-daula
did not take up arms against the English army and on the
other hand the Nawab’s soldiers fled from the battlefield.
Later the Nawab was killed by Miran, Mir Jafar’s son and
the latter was made the Nawab of Bengal as promised by
Clive.
The conspirators against Siraj, besides Mir Jafar
included Manick Chand, the office-in-charge of Calcutta,
Amichand, a rich merchant, Jagat Seth, the biggest banker
of Bengal and Khadim Khan, who commanded a large
number of the Nawab’s troops. Mir Madan and Mohan Lal,
loyal to the Nawab fought bravely but were killed due to
treachery of Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh.
Results
The battle of Plassey was merely a skirmish but in its results
was one of the most decisive battles in Indian history as it

paved the way for the foundation of the English rule in
India. The English acquired a large sum of money from the
new Nawab - the first installment of wealth paid to the
Company being a sum of £ 8,00,000, all paid in coined
selve. Jafar granted the English, zamindari of 24 Parganas
and a personal gift of 2,34,000 pound to Clive.
Mir Jafar became a puppet in the hands of Clive and
could not satisfy the demands of the English. He was forced
to resign in 1760. His son-in-law, Mir Kasim succeeded him
but in due course of time he too failed to satisfy the growing
demands of the English.
Battle of Buxar, 1764
Causes
Mir Kasim was a young, energetic and ambitious ruler.
Wanting to be independent he shifted his capital to
Monghyr, a place far away from Calcutta. He also employed
foreign experts to train his army. Mir Qasim took a drastic
step to abolish all inland duties, thus placing the Indian
merchants on the same as the English. The English decided
to overthrow him and war broke out between Mir Kasim and
the Company in 1763. Mir Qasim escaped to Oudh to
organise a confederacy with Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab of
Oudh and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II in a final bid
to oust the English from Bengal. The Combined armies of
the three powers numbering between 40,000 to 60,000 met
the English army of 7,072 troops commanded by Major
Munro in the battle of Buxar on October 22, 1764.
Course/Events
The combined armies were defeated by the British. Mir
Qasim fled from the battle and the other two surrendered to
the English.
Results
Clive was sent out to India as Governor and Commander-
in-Chief of the British possession in Bengal in 1765 and he
made political settlements with Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh
and Emperor Shah Alam II concluding the Treaty of
Allahabad (16 August 1765) which ended the Battle of
Buxar.
By the Treaty Shuja-ud-Daulah was confirmed in his
possessions on the following conditions:
(i) The Nawab surrendered Allahabad and Kara to
Emperor Shah Alam;
(ii) He agreed to pay Rs. 50 lakh to the Company as war
indemnity;
(iii) He confirmed Balwant Singh, Zamindar of Benares in
full possession of his estate;
While also being forced to maintain English troops for
the defence of the state.
Fugitive Emperor Shah Alam was taken under the
Company’s protection and was to reside at Allahabad where
International Relations and Area Studies 239
he was assigned Allahabad and Kara ceded by the Nawab
of Awadh. The Emperor in turn issued a firman on 12 Aug
1765 granting tothe Company in perpetuity the Diwani of
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in return for the Company making
an annual payment of ` 26 lakhs to him and providing for
expenses of Nizamat of said provinces which was fixed at
` 53 lakhs. The Battle of Buxar made the English virtually
the masters of Bengal as it also proved their military
superiority and unchallenged power. As a result of his
success in Bengal, Robert Clive was appointed the first
Governor General of Bengal and he consolidated the British
power both in Bengal and in the Deccan.
The Company acquired Diwani functions from Emperor
Shah Alam II (12th August 1765) and Nizamat functions
from Subedar of Bengal. For the exercise of Diwani
functions, the company appointed two Deputy Diwans,
Mohammad Reza Khan for Bengal and Raja Shitab Roy for
Bihar. Md. Reza Khan acted as deputy Nizam. This
arrangement was known as Dual Government wherein the
administration of Bengal was carried out by two heads with
the Nawab of Bengal being the nominal head and the
Company, as the Diwan controlled the revenue as well as
police and judicial powers.
In time, the Company authorities in England stopped
sending money from England to purchase Indian goods,
instead they purchased goods from revenues of Bengal and
sold them abroad. Clive compelled servants of the Company
to sign ‘covenants’ prohibiting acceptance of presents and
forbade ‘servants’ of the Company from indulging in private
trade and made payment of internal duties obligatory. A
Society of Trade was formed in August 1765 with monopoly
of trade in salt, betelnut and tobacco, but he abolished it in
January1765. Clive issued an order with effect from 1st
January 1766 according to which double allowance would
be paid only to officers on service outside frontiers of
Bengal and Bihar.
The Mysore Wars
Haider Ali, born in 1721 was the son of a faujdar of the
Mysore army. He started his career as an ordinary soldier.
Though unlettered his hardwork, determination, keen
intellect, admirable courage and commonsense took him to
the post of Commander-in-chief of the army. When the ruler
of Mysore died he proclaimed himself the ruler and became
the Sultan of Mysore.
First Mysore War (1767-1769)
Causes
Hyder Ali strengthened his army by including French
soldiers into his service. In 1755, established modern arsenal
in Dindigul with French help. He extended his territories by
conquering many areas in South India including Bidnur,
Sunda, Sera, Canara, and Malabar to gain access to Indian
Ocean. His rapid rise fuelled the jealousy of the Marathas,
240 International Relations and Area Studies
the Nizam of Hyderabad and the English who joined
together and formed a triple alliance and declared war on
Hyder Ali.
Course/Events
By his diplomacy Hyder Ali cleverly won over the Marathas
and the Nizam but under the leadership of the English
General, Smith, Hyder Ali was defeated at Changam and
Tiruvannamalai in 1767. At the same time Tipu Sultan, son
of Hyder Ali advanced towards Madras and the English
were forced to enter into an agreement.
Results
The war ended by the Treaty of Madras in 1769. Territories
conquered during the war were restored to each other. The
English agreed to help Hyder Ali in case of an attack by his
enemies, the Nizam and the Marathas.
Second Mysore War (1780-1784)
Causes
Mysore was attacked by the Marathas in 1771. In violation
of the Treaty of Madras, the English did not help Hyder Ali.
This angered the latter who wanted an opportunity to strike
at the English. When Mahe, a French possession in the
dominion of Hyder Ali was attacked by the English, he
declared war on the English in 1780.
Course/Events
In the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-89), Hyder formed
a common front with the Nizam and the Marathas against
the English. Hyder Ali defeated Colonel Braithowaite in
Arcot and made the English surrender. He occupied almost
the whole of Carnatic. But the English under Sir Eyre Coote,
defeated Hyder Ali at Porto Novo in 1781. In the meantime
Hyder Ali died in 1782. But his son Tipu Sultan continued
the war with the British for two more years.
Results
The war came to an end with an agreement signed in 1784
called the treaty of Mangalore. Both sides agreed to
exchange the captured territories and war prisoners. Thus
the second Mysore war came to an end without any tangible
results.
Third Mysore War (1786-1793)
Causes
The English started improving their relationship with the
Nizam and the Marathas. Tipu Sultan on the other hand
improved his resources with the French help. He attacked
Travancore in 1789, a friendly state of the British which
prompted Lord Cornwallis who had been made the Governor
General of Bengal and the Commander-in-Chief of the
English army in 1786; to declare a war on Tipu in 1790.
Both the sides were victorious and defeated alternately and
the war came to an end in 1792.
Results
Tipu Sultan signed the Treaty of Srirangapatnam with the
British according to which he had to give half of his
kingdom to the English. The English got Malabar, Coorg,
Dindugal and Baramahal (now Salem and Erode areas).
He was also compelled to pay a huge war indemnity of
over three crore rupees and had to surrender two of his sons
as hostages to the English until he paid the indemnity.
Fourth Mysore War (1799)
Causes
The Treaty of Srirangapatnam failed to bring peace between
Tipu Sultan and the British. Tipu refused to accept the
subsidiary alliance of Lord Wellesley and instead wanted to
take his revenge on the English. He sent emissaries to
Kabul, Constantinople, Arabia and France to get their
support - the knowledge of which instigated the British to
declare war on him once again in 1799.
Results
Tipu Sultan suffered defeat at the hands of General Stuart
and General Harris. Wellesley him self besieged
Srirangapatnam and Tipu Sultan died in battle while his
family was deported first to Vellore and later to Calcutta.
His territories were divided between British and the Nizam
of Hyderabad. A boy of a royal family (Wodeyar) was
installed on the Mysore throne, and the subsidary alliance
signed.
Lord Wellesley, the Governor General of Bengal (1798-
1805) after the Mysore war furthered the expansion of the
East India Company from a trading corporation into a
supreme power in India by using the method of Subsidiary
Alliance apart from wars and conquests and annexation of
territories.
Subsidiary Alliance System
The Indian rulers were persuaded by Wellesley to sign a
friendly treaty with the British according to which they
would have to follow certain conditions:
1. The states had to accept the English as a supreme
power.
2. A British Resident and British subsidiary forces had
to be stationed inside the state.
3. The states had to cede territories to the company for
the maintenance of the subsidiary forces.
4. The natives could not entertain any other Europeans
other than the English.
5. The states were not allowed to negotiate with any
other kingdom without the permission of the
Governor-General.

6. In return the English promised them protection against
any external attacks and non-interference in their
internal matters.
States which Entered into the Subsidiary
Alliance
The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to accept the
subsidiary alliance system. He handed over Cuddappah,
Belllary, Anantapur and Carnool. After the death of Tipu
Sultan, his kingdom was handed over to Krishna Raja
Wadiar who accepted the scheme. The Nawab of Oudh
accepted the pact and surrendered Rohilkhand and Southern
districts of Doab region. Peshwa Baji Rao II and many
Rajput rulers also entered into this alliance.
The Maratha Wars
The Third Battle of Panipat fought between Ahmad Shah
Abdali and the Marathas on 14th January 1761 weakened
the Maratha power.
First Maratha War (1775-1782)
Causes
After the third Battle of Panipat, the fourth Peshwa Madhaw
Rao had reorganised the Maratha power under him. However,
after his death in 1772 internal dissensions among Marathas
left them weakened. His younger brother, Peshwa Narayan
Rao succumbed to the intrigues of his ambitious uncle
Raghunath Rao, another claimant for the gaddi. Raghunath
Rao was opposed by a strong party at Poona under Nana
Phadnavis who proclaimed Narayan Rao’s posthumous son
as Peshwa.
This drove Raghunath Rao to point of desperation and
he signed Treaty of Surat (1775) with Bombay Government
hoping to gain the gaddi with the help of English subsidiary
troops. By this Treaty, Raghunath agreed to hand over the
islands of Salsette and Bassein to the English in return for
their help to get Peshwaship. However, this was done without
the knowledge of Warren Hastings, the Governor-General of
Bengal and the supreme head of the English in India, who
rejected the treaty.
Course/Events
Thus the English were involved in a long drawn war with
the Marathas which lasted from 1775 to 1782. In the
beginning, the Marathas defeated British at Talegaon and
forced them to sign convention of Wadgaon by which
English renounced all their conquest and gave up the cause
of Raghunath Rao. Nana Phadnavis signed the Treaty of
Purandhar in 1776 with the English, raised his position and
defeated Raghunath Rao. But then all Maratha Chiefs were
united behind Peshwa and his Chief Minister Nana
Phadnavis while on the other hand, the British were led by
Governor-General Warren Hastings.
International Relations and Area Studies 241
A British force under Goddar marched across Central
India and after series of victorious engagement reached
Ahmedabad which he captured in 1780. Mahadji Scindhia
did not want confrontation with British and Treaty of Salbai
was signed in 1782 by which status quo was maintained,
was ratified by Nana Phadnavis in 1785. This ended the war
and gave the British respite from Maratha menace.
Results
British possession of Salsette was confirmed and Madhaw
Rao Narayan was recognised and ratified Peshwa. Raghunath
rao was granted a pension of three lakh rupees a year. Treaty
of Salbai enabled British to exert pressure on Mysore as
Marathas promised to help them in recovering territories
from Hyder Ali.
Second Maratha War (1803-1805)
Causes
Nana Phadnavis died in March 1800 “with him”, remarked
Colonel Palmer “departed all wisdom and moderation of the
Maratha Government.” Maratha Empire at this time consisted
of confederation of five big chiefs, Peshwa at Poona,
Gaikwad at Baroda, Scindhia at Gwalior, Holkar at Indore
and Bhonsle at Nagpur, Peshwa being nominal head. After
Nana Phadnavis’ death war broke out among the Maratha
chiefs. Yashwant Rao Holkar vs Daulat Rao Scindhia and
Peshwa Baji Rao II on other side were locked in a mortal
combat and in April 1801, Peshwa brutally murdered Vithuji,
the brother of Jaswant Rao Holkar.
On 25th October 1802, on the occasion of Diwali day,
Jaswant Rao Holkar defeated the combined armies of Peshwa
and Scindhia at Hadaspar near Poona, placing Vinayak Rao,
son of Amrit Rao on the gaddi of Peshwa. Peshwa
approached Wellesley for help thereby providing the British,
the much wanted opportunity to intervene and accepted the
subsidiary alliance and signed the treaty of Bassein on 31st
December 1802. The Peshwa agreed to receive from the
Company a permanent regular Native Infantry stationed in
his territories, to cede in perpetuity territories yielding an
income of Rs 26 lakhs. The territories surrenderd were in
Gujarat, South of Tapti, between Tapti and Narmada and
some Territory near Tungabhadra. He also surrendered Surat
and agreed to give up all claims of Chauth on Nizam’s
dominions and agreed not to resort to arms against Gaikwad.
Course/Events
Thus coming to the call of the Peshwa for help, in South,
the British armies led by Arthur Wellesley defeated the
combined armies of Scindhia and Bhonsle at Assaye in
Sept. 1803, Aragon in November 1803. In North, Lord Lake
routed Scindhia’s army at Laswari on first November and
occupied Aligarh, Delhi and Agra. The two chiefs accepted
humiliating treaties and signed the Subsidiary Alliance.
2105 (MA–IR)—31
242 International Relations and Area Studies
Results
By Treaty of Deogaon (17th Dec 1803) the Bhonsle Raja
ceded to the Company province of Cuttack and the entire
territory west of River Warda. Scindhia concluded the Treaty
of Sarji-I-Arjangaon (December 30, 1803), surrendered
territories between Jamuna and Ganges, all territories north
of principalities of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Gokul besides the
fort of Ahmadnagar, harbour of Broach and his possessions
between Ajanta Ghat and River Godavari were surrendered
to British.
Raja of Bharatpur, Holkar’s ally, fought British armies
to a stand-still and inflicted heavy losses on Lord Lake who
unsuccessfully attempted to storm his fort. Wellesley was
called back from India. It was Sir George Barlow who
concluded with Holkar the treaty of Rajpurghat (25th Dec
1805) whereby the Maratha Chief gave up all claims to
places North of Chambal, Bundelkhand and over Peshwa
and other allies of the Company while the latter got back
greater part of his territories.
Third Anglo Maratha War (1817-1818)
Causes
Final phase of struggle began with coming of Lord Hastings
as Governor General in 1813. Hastings moved against
Pindaris, transgressed the sovereignty of Maratha Chiefs
and two parties were drawn into war. Hastings forced
humiliating treaties on the Raja of Nagpur (27th May 1816)
on Peshwa (13th June 1817) and Scindhia (05th Nov 1817).
Refusing to sign the humiliating treaty, the Peshwa made a
last bid to throw off the British yoke in course of the third
Maratha War and attacked British Residency at Poona in
November 1817.
Course/Events
Appa Sahib of Nagpur attacked Residency at Nagpur and
Malhar Rao Holkar made preparation for war. Peshwa was
defeated at Khirki in November 1817, Bhonsle army routed
at Sitabaldi and Holkar army crushed at Mahidpur. Peshwa,
however, continued to fight but was defeated at the battle
of Korgaon and Ashi in January-February, 1818.
Results
The Peshwa was dethroned and pensioned off at Bithur near
Kanpur, Maratha confederacy dissolved and Peshwaship
abolished. Peshwa’s territories were annexed and Presidency
of Bombay came into existence. Holkar accepted subsidiary
forces by the Treaty of Mandasor. The British occupied
Bhonsle’s territory but a small part was given to Raghoji’s
son to rule. The small kingdom of Satara was founded out
of Peshwa’s land and given to a descendant of Shivaji,
Pratap Singh. Thus all Maratha chiefs were reduced to a
subordinate position under the English.
Pindari War (1817-1818)
Hastings assembled a large force to round up and
exterminate the seemingly lawless Pindaris and their chiefs
- Karim Khan, Wasil Muhammad and Chintu. Karim Khan
submitted and was offered an estate at Gawashpur. Wasil
Muhammad was forced to lay down arms and died in
captivity. Chintu was defeated and not heard of again.
Anglo-Sikh Wars
First War (1845-1846)
Anarchy in Punjab after the death of Ranjit Singh; murder
of three rulers (Kharak Singh, Nao Nihal Singh and Sher
Singh) within six years (1839-1845); succession of Dalip
Singh (5 year old son of Ranjit Singh in 1845) and the
absence of any control over the army (Khalsa) contributed
to the weakening of the Sikh power. The British pursued the
policy of encirclement of Punjab from 1833 onwards
(occupation of Ferozepur in 1835 and Sikharpur in 1836,
and appointment of British Residents in Ludhiana and in
Sindh in 1838) and their military preparations (increase of
their army from 2500 in 1836 to 14000 in 1843) fuelled the
animosity between the British and the Sikhs. Confirmations
of the suspicions of the Sikh army were exacted by the
annexation of Sindh by the British in 1843 and the first
Anglo-Sikh War started soon after in 1845.
Course/Events
The Sikh army was soon defeated under Lal Singh (P.M.) by
Sir Hugh Gough at Mudki in 1845. The British also defeated
the Sikh army under Tej Singh, Commander-in-Chief at
Ferozepur in 1845. However, the British under Harry Smith
suffered a blow at the hands of Ranjur Singh Majhithia at
Buddewal in 1846. Finally the Sikhs were defeated by
Smith at Aliwal and Sobroan (1846) on the crossing of the
Sutlej and occupation of Lahore by the British. The War
ended with the Treaty of Lahore in 1846.
Results
Jullundar Doab was ceded to the British and payment of a
war indemnity of ` 1.5 crore imposed on the Sikhs. But they
were able to pay only half of this amount and for the rest
the British got Kashmir which they sold to Gulab Singh. A
British resident, Sir Henry Lawrence was appointed at Lahore
and Dalip Singh was recognized as the ruler of Punjab with
Rani Jindan as his regent. The Sikh army was reduced and
its ruler prohibited from employing any European without
the prior consent of the British. Also, the British troops were
permitted to pass through Sikh territory whenever the need
arose.
 Soon after the Treaty of Bhairowal was signed in
December 1846 which resulted in:
 Removal of Rani Jindan and setting up of a Council
of Regency for Punjab (consisting of 8 Sikh Sardars
and presided over by Sir Henry Lawrence.)
2105 (MA–IR)—31-II

 Stationing of British forces at Lahore for which the
Sikhs had to pay ` 22 Lakhs.
 Power to the governor general of India to take and
garrison any fort in Punjab.
Second War (1848-1849)
Causes
Desire of the Sikh army to avenge their humiliation of
the first war and the discontentment of the Sikh Sardars with
the British control over Punjab. Treatment of Rani Jindan
by the British - her transportation to Shaikpur first and then
to Benaras and the drastic reduction in her pension fuelled
the second Anglo-Sikh War.
Course/Events
The Revolt of Mulraj, Governor of Multan ensued two
English officers, Vans Agnew and Lt. Anderson who were
sent to take over the administration in Multan were
murdered. Sher Singh, sent to suppress the revolt of Mulraj,
himself joined the revolt against the British leading to an
outbreak of general rebellion by the Sikh army and the
Sardars. The Battle of Ramnagar between Sher Singh and
Lord Gough in 1848 and the Battle of Chillianwala in 1849
between the two ended without any result. Lord Gough
captured Multan and Mulraj surrendered who was deported
for life. The Sikhs were finally defeated by Gough in the
Battle of Gujarat (1849) and Sher Singh and other Sikh
chiefs surrendered.
Results
Punjab was annexed by Lord Dalhousie and Dalip Singh
disposed and pensioned off to England along with Rani
Jindan. A Board of Three Commissioners consisting of the
Lawrence brothers - Henry and John and Charles G. Mansel
was constituted in 1849 to administer Punjab. Soon
afterwards the Board was abolished and a Chief
Commissioner for Punjab, Sir John Lawrence was appointed
in 1853.
Annexation of Sindh
Sindh in the 18th Century was ruled by Kallora Chiefs. In
1783, Mir Fateh Ali Khan leader of Talpura established
complete hold over Sind and Kallora prince was exiled.
When Fateh Ali Khan died in 1800, brothers popularly
known as ‘Char Yar’ divided the kingdoms among
themselves calling themselves Amirs or Lords of Sind. The
Amirs extended dominion on all sides, took Amarkot from
Raja of Jodhpur, Karachi from chief of Luz, Shikarpur and
Bukkar from Afghans and established three branches with
head-quarters at Hyderabad, Khairpur and Mirpur.
Early Relations between Sindh and the British
In 1775, East India Company had established factories at
Thatta and had commercial relations with Sindh which were
International Relations and Area Studies 243
abandoned in 1792 due to political unrest. Fear of the
French design prompted Lord Minto to send British mission
to Kabul, Persia, Lahore and Sind and a treaty of ‘eternal
friendship’ was signed with the Amirs in 1809 providing for
mutual intercourse through envoys, and Amirs promised not
to allow the French to settle in Sindh. The Treaty was
renewed in 1820 with an additional article which excluded
Americans from Sindh. Punjab under Ranjit Singh became
powerful and planned to conquer Sindh, with this intention
met Lord William Bentinck in 1831 at Ropar with proposal
of jointly conquering Sindh and dividing it between them
but, Bentinck refused it.
In pursuance of commercial motives in 1831, Alexander
Burnes under order from Lord Ellenborough was sent to
explore Indus under pretence of carrying presents to Ranjit
Singh at Lahore. In 1832, William Bentinck sent Col.
Pottinger to Sindh to sign a new commercial treaty with
Amirs and Lieutenant Del Host was sent to survey course of
Lower Indus. Terms of treaty signed between Pottinger and
Amirs of Sindh were:
(i) A free passage for English travellers for merchants
through Sind for use of Indus for commercial pursuits;
(ii) No English merchant was to settle in Sindh, travellers
and visitors were required to have Passports;
(iii) Tariff rates were to be announced and no military
dues or toll be demanded and tariffs could be altered
if high;
(iv) Amirs to put down border robbers of Cutch in concert
with Raja of Jodhpur;
(v) Old treaties of friendship were confirmed.
Details of tariff rates were settled by a supplementary
commercial treaty of 1834. Colonel Pottinger was stationed
as the Company’s political agent in Sind. Pottinger was sent
to Hyderabad to negotiate a new Subsidiary Treaty in 1838
by which Amirs accepted mediation in their dispute with
Sikhs and secondly accepted a British Resident at
Hyderabad who could move freely. Auckland brought Ranjit
Singh, Shah Shuja and Amirs to sign a tripartite treaty in
June 1838 whereby Ranjit Singh accepted British mediation
for his disputes with Amirs and Shah Shuja agreed to
relinquish his sovereign rights on Sindh against receiving
arrears of tribute.
Under threat of superior military force of British, Amirs
accepted a treaty in February 1839 by which British
subsidiary force was to be stationed at Shikarpur and Bukkar
and Amir of Sind to pay ` 3 lakh annually for its
maintenance. Amirs were not to negotiate with foreign states
without the Company’s knowledge, were to provide a store
room at Karachi for military purposes abolish all tolls on
Indus and furnish an auxillary for Afghan war it needed.
The British, in turn, were not to meddle in internal affair of
Sindh. The Amirs even helped the British in the Afghan
War (1839 - 1842).
244 International Relations and Area Studies
Causes
Conquest of Sindh was result of growing Anglo-Russian
rivalry in Europe, to counter Russia, British Government
decided to increase its influence in Afghanistan and Persia.
This policy could be successful if Sindh was under British
control. Commercial possibilities were an additional
attraction. In 1842, Lord Ellenborough succeeded Auckland
as Governor-General, he made plan to annex Sindh. To
regain prestige of English, suffered in Afghan War. In
September 1842, Sir Charles Napier replaced Major Outram
as Company’s Resident at Sind with full civil and military
authority and was placed in charge of all the troops of upper
and lower Sind. He got the pretext when Amir Rustum of
Khairpur was charged with entering into a secret offensive
and defensive alliance against the Company.
As a punishment, Lord Ellenborough imposed a new
treaty on the Amirs in 1843 and Outram was sent to
negotiate the details. By this treaty, the Amirs were required
to cede important territories like Karachi, Thatta, Bhakkar,
Rohri in lieu of tribute to provide fuel to steamers of
Company navigating the Indus and surrender right of
coining money. A dispute of succession rose at Khairpur
which gave Napier the opportunity to interfere. Napier
supported claims of Ali Murad, brother of old Mir Rustum,
in preference to Mir Rustum’s son whom he had abdicated
and taken to flight. Napier prior to Treaty of 1843 had
destroyed the fort of Imamgarh at Khairpur and Hyderabad
in January 1843.
Course/Events
Baluchis attacked Major Outram on 15th February, 1843
and declared war. In February 1843, Napier defeated a
Baluchi army at Miani and won another victory at Dabo in
March, 6 miles from Hyderabad the following month. By
April, the whole of Sindh had capitulated; Amirs were
captured and banished from Sindh. In August 1843, Sindh
was formally annexed to English Empire.
Results
Napier was appointed as the first Governor of Sindh and
received 7 lakh rupees as prize money and Outram offered
3000 pounds.
BRITISH POLICIES
The British conquest had a pronounced and profound
economic impact on India. There was hardly any aspect of
the Indian economy that was not changed during the entire
period of British rule down to 1947. The economic politics
followed by the British led to rapid transformation of Indian
economy into colonial economy whose nature and structure
were determined by the needs of the British economy.
The British conquerors were entirely different from
previous ones. They totally disrupted the traditional
structure of Indian economy. Moreover, they never became
integral part of Indian life. They always remained foreigners
in the land, exploiting Indian resources, carrying away Indian
wealth, as a tribute. Through laws, administrative, economic
and fiscal policies, the British government in England and
companies administration in India used their powers for the
advantage of British manufacturers and to detriment of
India´s socio-political and economic fabric.
The gradual “development of underdevelopment” has
been traced through three stages of British colonialism. R.P.
Dutt in his classic work “India Today” has made a brilliant
analysis of Indian colonial economy and delineated three
phases of British colonialism and economic exploration of
India:
 Period of Merchant Capital (Mercantilism)—from
1757 to the end of 18th century.
 Period of Industrial Capital (Free Trade Capitalism)—
developed during the 19th century and;
 Period of Finance Capital—from the closing decades
of 19th century to 1947.
Mercantilist Phase
From 1757 (the British victory in the battle of Plassey) the
East India Company completely monopolised trade and
began the direct plunder of Indian wealth. This was the
phase of buccaneering capitalism whereby wealth flowed
out of the barrel of trader’s guns with which they could
impose their own prices which had no relation to the cost
of production. Twin aims of the merchant companies were:
to have a favourable balance of trade and to promote flow
of bullion into the home country. The Merchant Companies
aimed at large profit margin.
This could be possible through three methods:
(a) Monopoly control over trade and elimination of all
possible rivals.
(b) Purchase of goods at cheap rates and sale of
commodities at very high rates.
(c) The above objectives could be achieved if they
could establish political control over the countries
they traded with.
The Company used its political power to dictate terms
to weavers of Bengal who forced to sell their products at a
cheap and dictated price. Many of them were compelled by
the Company to work for them and were forbidden to work
for Indian merchants. The servants of the Company
monopolised the sale of raw cotton and made the Bengal
weaver pay exorbitant prices for it.
Period of Industrial Capital
The real blow to Indian handicrafts fell after 1813, when
Indians lost not only the foreign markets but markets in
India also. Thus India entered the second phase of
colonialism, the Industrial Phase (1813 - 1858). India was

thrown open for exploration at the hands of British
mercantile industrial capitalist class. The Industrial
Revolution in Britain completely transformed Britain’s
economy and its economic relationship with India. The
British now took away raw materials and brought back
manufactured goods for being marketed in India. Imports of
British cotton goods alone increased from 1,000000 pounds
in 1813 to 6,300000 pounds in 1856. The doors of India
were open to foreign trade but the Indian products had to
compete with British products with heavy import duties on
entry into Britain. Indian sugar had to pay on entry into
Britain a duty that was over 3 times its cost price.
In some cases, the duties went as high as 400%. India
was now forced to export raw materials instead of exporting
manufactured goods. Thus the Indian exports consisted of
raw cotton, jute, silk, oilseeds, wheat, indigo and tea. After
1813, all policy was guided by the needs of British industry.
Finance Capital
This was coterminous with emergence of the phase of
Finance Capitalism in Britain. It began after 1860. The
rebellion of 1857 was the key factor in change of the nature
of the colonialism. British capital penetrated into India in
diverse economic fields in the latter half of the 19th century
but tightened its tentacles over India in 20th century in
form of finance capital. Finance capital became the new
most powerful mode of colonial exploitation. Forms of
Investment were:
(a) Loans raised in England by the Secretary of State
on behalf of Indian Government and by semi -
public organisation mostly for investment in
railways, irrigation, development of ports, hydro
electric projects, etc.
(b) Foreign business investment in India.
It has been estimated that before 1914, nearly 97% of
British capital investment in India were diverted towards
completion of economic overheads (mainly railways, road
transport, merchant, shipping, etc) mining industry (coal
and gold mines) development of financial houses (banking,
finance, insurance etc) towards promotion of auxiliaries
calculated to fuller commercial exploitation of India’s
natural resources. British capital went into activities that
were complementary to British industries and was in no way
planned for industrial development of India.
British capitalist retained a dominant control over Indian
banking, commerce, exchange and insurance and with their
capital resources and official patronage dominated industrial
sectors in Indian economy.
Economic Impact
Drain of Wealth
The constant flow of wealth from India to England for
which India did not get an adequate economic, commercial
International Relations and Area Studies 245
or material return has been described by Indian national
leaders and economists as ‘drain of wealth’ from India. The
drain of wealth was interpreted as an indirect tribute
extracted by imperial Britain from India year after year. The
drain of wealth was first cited by Dadabhai Naoroji etc.
which was later expanded by R.P. Dutt, Bipan Chandra and
others. Dadabhai Naoroji brought it to light in his book
titled “Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.”
Concept of Economic Drain: In the mercantilist
concept an economic drain takes place if gold and silver
flow out of the country as a consequence of an adverse
balance of trade. In the 50 years before the battle of Plassey
(1757), the East India Company had imported bullion worth
£ 20 million into India to balance the exports over imports
from India. As there was a flourishing market for Indian
cotton and silk outside, while demand for western products
were low. British mercantilists were highly critical of the
trade policies of the Company. Even the British government
adopted a series of measures to restrict or prohibit the import
of Indian textiles into England. Apart from other measures
in 1720, the British government forbade the wear or use of
Indian silk and calicoes in England on pay of a penalty of
£ 5 for each offence on the wearer and of £ 20 on the seller.
After Plassey the situation was reversed and the drain
of wealth took an outward turn as England gradually
acquired monopolistic control over the Indian economy.
After the East India Company extended its territorial
aggression in India and began to administer territories and
acquired control over the surplus revenues of India, the
shape of drain underwent a change. Henceforth, the
Company had a recurring surplus which accrued from a)
profits from oppressive land revenue policy; b) profits from
its trade resulting from monopolistic control over Indian
market and c) exactions made by Company officials. The
entire surplus was used by Company as an ‘investment’ i.e.
for making purchases of exportable items in India and
elsewhere. Again the export of goods made out of this was
‘investment’ India did not get anything in return. This
system was brought to an end by the Charter Act of 1813
when territorial and commercial revenues of the Company
were separated.
From 1813 onwards economic drain took the form of
unrequited export. Barring a few exceptional years
favourable balance of trade had been the normal feature of
our foreign trade till the outbreak of World War II.
The focal point of the Drain Theory was that a portion
of the national product of India was not available for
consumption for her people or for capital formation but was
being drained away to England for political reasons and
India did not get an adequate economic return.
Constituents of Economic Drain: The first constituent
of economic drain was Home Charges, which were as
follows:
246 International Relations and Area Studies
(a) The costs of Secretary of State’s India Office
(previously the cost of East India Company’s
London establishment)
(b) India’s debt in England (caused by East India
Company military adventures, the cost of
suppressing the Mutiny of 1857 and the
compensation to the Company’s shareholders).
(c) Home charges also included pensions to the British
Indian officials and army officers, military and other
stores purchased in England, cost of army training,
transport and campaigns outside India, guaranteed
interests on railways.
Economic Consequences of the Drain: Dadabhai Naoroji
described the drain of wealth as the “evil of all evils” and
the main cause of Indian poverty. He maintained that Britain
was “bleeding India White”. Comparing the plundering
raids of medieval rulers with the British methods of colonial
plunder, another critic’ has pointed out that the old time
plunder had to restrict itself to richmen’s houses and
godowns where wealth was accumulated. It was not
worthwhile ransacking every little hut and little village. In
contrast the colonial plunder could reach the most lowly,
the most humble and most remote. Thus, British methods of
exploitation though less painful were more thorough and
resembled the blood sucking leeches.
The drain of wealth checked and retarded capital
accumulation in India, thereby retarding the industrialization
of India. Indian products and treasure drained to England
without adequate returns was of great help in creating
conditions in that country conducive for the growth of
British factory industry in early stages of industrial
revolution.
What is worse is that part of the British capital entered
India as Finance Capital and further drained India of her
wealth. Dutt lamented that moisture raised from Indian soil
under colonial rule descended as fertilizing rain largely on
England and not India.
Deindustrialization
During the first half of the 19th century or even upto 1880,
India’s economy witnessed a strange phenomenon. While
western countries were experiencing industrialization, India
suffered a period of industrial decline. This process has
been described as ‘deindustrialization’.
There was a sudden and quick collapse of the urban
handicrafts which had for centuries made India’s name a
byword in the markets of entire civilized world. The collapse
was caused largely by competition with cheaper imported
machine-goods from Britain. The British imposed a policy
of one way free trade on India after 1813 and the invasion
of British manufactures, in particular cotton textiles
immediately followed. The ruin of Indian industries,
particularly rural artisan industries proceeded even more
rapidly once the railways were built.
The railways enabled British manufacturers to reach
and uproot the traditional industries in the remotest villages
of the country. The ruin of Indian handicrafts was reflected
in the ruin of the towns and cities which were famous for
their manufacture. The tragedy was heightened by the fact
that the decay of the traditional industries was not
accompanied by the growth of modern machine industries
as was the case in Britain and Western Europe.
The gradual destruction of rural craft broke up the
union between agriculture and domestic industry in the
countryside and thus contributed to the destruction of self
sufficient village economy. Thus the British conquest led to
the deindustrialization of the country and increased
dependence of the people on agriculture. This increasing
pressure on agriculture was one of the major causes of the
extreme poverty of India under British rule.
Commercialisation of Agriculture
In the latter half of the 19th century another significant
trend in Indian agriculture was the emergence of the
commercialization of agriculture. So far agriculture had been
a way of life rather than a business enterprise. Now
agriculture began to be influenced by commercial
considerations i.e., certain specialised crops began to be
grown not for consumption in the village but for sale in the
national and even international markets. Commercial crops
like cotton, jute, groundnut, oilseeds, sugarcane, tobacco
etc. were more remunerative than food grains.
Again the cultivation of crops like spices, fruits,
vegetables could cater to a wider market perhaps the
commercialization trend reached the highest level of
development in the plantation industry i.e., tea, coffee, rubber,
etc. which were all produced for sale in a wider market.
A number of factors encouraged specialization and
commercialization of new market trend such as the spread
of money economy, the replacement of custom and tradition
by competition and contract led to the growth of internal
and external trade, the emergence of a united national market
(facilitated by expansion of railways and road transport)
and the boost to international trade given by entry of British
Finance Capital etc. were also important.
Social & Economic Effects
Commercialization was an artificial and forced process
which led to differentiation without genuine growth. To
meet excessive land revenue demand of the state and high
rates of interest charged by the money lender the cultivator
perforce had to rush a part of his harvest into market and
sell it at whatever price it fetched. Many poor cultivators
had to buy back after six months a part of crop they had
sold away at low prices at harvest time. The precise pattern
of commercialization varied from crop to crop and from
region to region. Tea required plantations directly managed
by whites using indentured labour nearing slavery. Indigo

was mainly cultivated by peasants, forced into their
cultivation via forced advances by the sahib planters. No
coercion was needed for jute in East Bengal.
British business houses had a near total control over
overseas trade, shipping and insurance. Hence the bulk of
the profits that accrued from the export boom of 1850s were
appropriated by foreign business firms. These profits were
a part of foreign leakages in the Drain of wealth.
Further Indian agriculture began to be influenced by
widely fluctuating world prices. The cotton boom of the
1860s pushed up the prices but mostly benefited the host
of intermediaries while the slump in prices in 1866 hit the
cultivator the most - bringing in its turn heavy indebtedness,
famine and agrarian riots in the Deccan of the 1870’s. Thus,
the cultivator hardly emerged better from the new
commercialization.
Transport and Communication
With British rule, came modern means of transport like
railways, buses and steamship and communication-
telegraph. They were essential instruments for colonial
management and control of vast alien territories. It was in
the logic of colonialism that the empire was well knit by a
vast network of roads and railways so as to ensure that
colonial goods could penetrate the remotest village in India
and swiftly transport the instruments of coercion and control
to trouble spots thereby ensuring the vast tracts it controlled
would remain subjugated for perpetuity.
It had the added benefit of supporting the newly
developing modern industries of iron, steam engines, coal
etc. and of being an investment area of the excess capital
accumulated in Britain which needed an outlet for
investment in the new era of Finance Capital. British
Capitalists wanted to introduce the railways to facilitate
their machine made goods.
Lord Dalhousie initiated a programme of wide railway
construction in India. In his famous Minute on Railways, he
defined the economic reason behind the construction. The
first railway line running from Bombay to Thane was opened
to traffic in 1853. By 1905 nearly 45000 kms of railways
had been built. The entire amount of 350 crores invested in
them was provided by the British investors. The railway
lines were laid primarily to satisfy the interest of the British.
Several railway lines in Burma and North-West India were
built at high cost to serve the British imperial interest.
The British also established an efficient and modern
postal system and introduced the postage stamps. Railways
and other modern means of transport played extremely
important role in the destruction of self sufficient economy
of the villages and the propagation of the ideas of freedom
movement. It is a fact that with the coming of the railways
ancillary industries did not develop in India. Only about
700 locomotives were indigenously produced in the entire
British period.
International Relations and Area Studies 247
By 1921, only 10% of the superior posts in the railways
were manned by Indians. So the diffusion of new skills
remained slim. Thus we see that means of transport and
communication developed strictly to suit the purpose of
colonial interests.
Modern Industries
An important development in the second half of the 19th
century was the establishment of large scale machine based
industries in India. The British rulers of India did not
conceive of an industrialized India. However, compulsions
of maintaining imperial control over the country and its
thorough economic exploitation led Britain to construct
roads, railways, posts and telegraph lines, develop ports,
irrigation works, banking, exchange and insurance facilities
etc. developments which provided the material basis for
beginning of modern industry in India.
The machine age in India started when cotton textile,
jute and mining industries were started in the 1850s. The
first textile mill was started in Bombay by Cowasjee
Nanabhoy in 1854 and first jute mill in Rishra (Bengal) in
1855. These industries expanded slowly but continuously.
Most of the modern Indian industries were owned or
controlled by British capital. Foreign capitalists were
attracted to Indian industry by the prospects of high profits.
Labour was extremely cheap; raw materials were readily and
cheaply available; for many goods, India and its neighbours
provided a ready market. For many Indian products, such as
tea, jute and manganese, there was a ready demand the
world over. On the other hand, profitable investment
opportunities at home were getting fewer. At the same time,
the colonial government and officials were willing to
provide all help and show all favours.
Traditional business communities flourished mainly as
moneylenders or dependent traders serving as agents of
British export-import firms in the interior. The firm of
Tarachand-Ghansyamdas acted as the agents of Shaw and
Wallace. Moreover, Government followed a conscious policy
of favouring foreign capital as against Indian capital.
Jute Industries
Demand for hemp, traditionally used in the West for rope,
sail canvas and sacking, greatly increased with the growth
of international commerce. Till 1870 Dundee had an almost
complete monopoly of the world’s factory made jute cloth
trade based on cheap Indian jute. In 1855 George Auckland
started the first modern jute spinning factory in Rishra,
Bengal which initially spun only yarn which was sold to
local handloom weavers. By 1870s jute gunny bags and
clothes penetrated foreign markets, leading to massive
exports of finished jute products. The Indian Jute Mills
Association (IJMA) was formed in 1884 to cope with the
problems of over production and excess capacity.
248 International Relations and Area Studies
Cotton Textiles
Whereas the jute industry was dominated by foreigners, the
cotton industry was essentially Indian in origin, largely
controlled by Indian investors mainly in Bombay and a
little later, at Ahmedabad.
The first steam powered mill was started near Calcutta
by English-men in 1818, while 2 Frenchmen in 1830 set up
a spinning mill in Pondicherry. In 1853 James Landen set
up a spinning mill in Broach. These did not trigger off any
development. Its rapid expansion only began after 1870.
In 1854, Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar floated a spinning
company with a capital of Rs. 50,000 which was the first
indigenous mill. By 1861 the first mill was opened in
Ahmedabad and later the Bombay merchants financed mills
in Surat and Kanpur. The great expansion began after the
1870s. British mills tended to specialize in spinning yarn
or weaving cloth, while Indian mills did both. These mills
quickly found foreign outlets in the Middle East and East
Asian markets.
During the Swadeshi movement, boycott of Manchester
goods led to expansion in Bombay. The Banga Lakshmi
cotton mill was launched with much fanfare in August,
1906. The Bombay Mill Owners Association was founded
in 1875. Parsis played the most important role in the
Bombay Textile industry, but Europeans, Hindus, Muslims
and Jews were also active. By 1895, at least 57% of all
technical and administrative posts were held by Indians.
Iron and Steel
In the 1820’s an Englishman named J.M. Heath started a
firm to produce Iron and Steel at Porto Novo, with the aid
of the East India Company which was a failure, and was
dissolved in 1874. It sought to produce charcoal iron. In
1874 the Bengal Iron works Company was formed but was
shut down in 1879. The Government of India operated it as
a public enterprise till 1889. In 1889 the Bengal Iron and
Steel Company (BISCO) was incorporated in England.
J.N. Tata started TISCO, which was registered in 1907
with a nominal capital of ` 25,175,000 entire amount being
subscribed by 8000 Indians in 3 weeks. In 1924, Tata Iron
and Steel Company received a Government subsidy and
protection at the rate of 33·33%.
Land Revenue System
The British imperial rulers of India unleashed for reaching
changes in Indian agrarian structure. New land tenures, new
land ownership concepts, tenancy charges etc. were
extended to farmers.
Permanent Settlement in Bengal
Cornwallis’ introduced permanent settlement in 1793 which
declared zamindars as proprietors of the soil and fixed
demand for their perpetuity: the government would promise
never to increase it in future.
Effects of the Permanent Settlement: It may seem that
the settlement was greatly in favour of the zamindars but
they were also now obliged to pay a fixed amount by fixed
dates every year, and any failure on their part meant the sale
of the zamindari. Furthermore, many of the zamindaris were
rated for large sums that left no margin for shortfalls due to
flood, drought or other calamity. As a result, many zamindars
had their zamindaris taken away and sold in the decades
immediately after the permanent settlement.
However, many zamindars still found it difficult to pay
the amount demanded by the British. One such zamindar,
the Raja of Burdwan then divided most of his estate into
‘lots of fractions called patni taluqs’. Each such unit was
permanently rented to a holder called patnidar, who
promised to pay a fixed rent. If he did not pay, his patni
could be taken away and sold. Other zamindars also resorted
to this: thus a process of sub-infeudation commenced.
Maximum powers were given to zamindars to ensure
revenue collection. Regulation Act of 1793 without using
the court could seize movable property in case of default.
In pre-British India recovery of loans was not a legal
right of the money-lender. It was instead a moral obligation
of the debtor. British regulations strengthened the money
lenders hand through a) Civil Procedure Code of 1859 b)
Limitation of 1859 imposed a three year limit on realization
of debt.
Ryotwari System
Meanwhile, Munro and Read introduced the Ryotwari
system. Under this system every registered holder of land is
recognised as the proprietor of the land and is held
responsible for direct payment of land revenue to the state.
He has the right to sub-let his landholdings— to transfer,
mortgage or sell it. He is not evicted from his holdings by
the Government so long as he pays the state demand of land
revenue.
Accountable Situations: The factors responsible for
Ryotwari System were as follows:
(a) It was believed that Ryotwari System was the
original system.
(b) Maximization of revenue necessitated negation of
intermediaries and direct collection.
(c) With Permanent Settlement there was a loss of
revenue in the future.
Mahalwari System
Mahalwari system was developed by Holt Mackenzie. Under
this system the taluqdars and zamindars were originally
appointed by the state, and the real owner of villages was
zamindars who lived in them or constituted the village
community. This required that Government officials should
record all the rights of cultivators, zamindars and others,
and also fix the amounts payable from every piece of land,
 International Relations and Area Studies 249

demand of land revenue village by village or mahal by  In 1921, Birla setup the first Indian financed and
mahal and collection through village headman or lambardar. controlled mill, followed by Hukum-Chand (1922).
The system broke down because of the excessive state  The first steam powered mill was started near Calcutta
demand and harshness in its working and collection of land by Englishmen in 1817 while two Frenchmen in
revenue. 1830 set up a spinning mill in Pondicherry.
 In 1854 Cowasjee Nanabhoy Dawar floated a
LAND REVENUE SYSTEM
spinning Company with a capital of ` 500,000, which
Name of % of Areas of Additional was first indigenous mill.
the Total Implementation Points  The Bombay Mill Owners Association was founded
System Land in 1875.
Bihar, Bengal, Implementaed  In 1878, the Bengal Iron Works Company was formed
Orissa, North in Bihar but was shut down in 1879.
Permanent 19% District of and Bengal  In 1889, Bengal Iron and Steel Company (BISCO)
Settlement Madras, North in 1793 by incorporated in England.
Banares Cornwallis
 J.N. Tata started TISCO which was registered in 1907.
Ganga-doab, An amended  Oppression of Indigo planters has been vividly
Mahalwari N-W province, type of portrayed by famous Bengali writer Dinabandhu Mitra
Settlement 30% Part of Zamindari in his play Neel Darpan, in 1860.
Central India System
and Punjab  Cornwallis’ Permanent Settlement of 1793 declared
zamindars as proprietors of the soil and fixed demand
Some parts of Provision for their revenue in perpetuity.
Ryotwari Madras and by Read
 Ryotwari system was introduced by Munro and Read
Settlement 51% Mumbai and Munro
in 1792 in Baramahal district and 1820 in Madras,
Presidency
the state demand was fixed on the basis of 50% of
Points to Remember estimated produce of the fields.
 Company used the revenue surplus from Bengal to  In 1835, Wingate Goldsmith and Davidson
purchase goods from England. This was called established the Bombay Survey System which was
investments. based on the principle that assessment should not
 East India Company’s monopoly of her trading rights exceed the cultivator’s ability to pay.
in India was ended by Charter Act of 1813. It only  The Board of Commissioners (1808) preferred the
retained her monopoly over tea trade and trade with village zamindars due to more fiscal benefits than
China which also ended in 1833. from the Taluqdars.
 By Charter Act of 1813 free trade policy was  Holt Mackenzie in his Minute of 1819 propounded
implemented in India which was one sided free trade. the theory that taluqdars and zamindars were
 R.P. Dutt in his classic work “India Today” has made appointed by state and real owners of village being
a brilliant analysis of Indian colonial economy. zamindars who lived in them.
 Dadabhai Naoroji brought the drain of wealth into  Regulation VII of 1822 gave them legal sanction.
light in his book titled “Poverty and Un-British Rule The demand was fixed at 85% of the rental value for
in India.” a zamindar and 95% of the rental value where estates
 Dadabhai Naoroji described the drain of wealth as were held by cultivators in common tenancy
the “evil of all evils.” (Bhaichara village).
 The first railway line running from Bombay to Thane  R. Martin Birds, father of Indian land settlement by
was opened to traffic in 1853. Regulation IX of 1833. Average rents were fixed on
 The first telegraph line from Calcutta to Agra was the basis of soil and the state demand of 66% of
opened in 1853. rental value was fixed, for 30 years.
 First Railway line and Telegraph line and postage  Mahalwari System was implemented in areas of
stamps were started by Lord Dalhousie. Gangadoab, Northwest province, parts of Central India
 In 1855, George Auckland started the first modern and Punjab.
jute spinning factory in Rishra, Bengal.  Between 1901-1941 total population dependent on
 The Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) was formed agriculture increased from 63·7% to 70%.
in 1884 to cope with the problems of over production  Between 1901 and 1939 total agriculture output
and excess capacity. reduced to 14%.
2105 (MA–IR)—32
250 International Relations and Area Studies
 Colin Clark had estimated that between 1925-34 India
had the lowest per capita income in world.
 In 1939 there were only 7 engineering colleges in the
country.
 In 1916 British government appointed an Industrial
Commission.
 In 1922 Fiscal Commission recommended adequate
protection to Indian industries. Thus, Tariff Board
was constituted in 1923.
 In 1924 TISCO got Government contributions.
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
AWAKENING IN INDIA
Hindu Reform Movements and Main
Proponents
Brahmo Samaj and Raja Ram Mohan Roy
(1772-1833)
In August 1815, Roy founded the Atmiya Sabha. Later in
1928 he established the Brahmo Samaj at Calcutta in order
to purify Hinduism and preach monotheism. The Samaj
under him was based on the twin pillars of reason and the
ancient Hindu scriptures (only the Vedas and the
Upanishads) and incorporated the best teachings of the
other religions as well.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Born in 1772 in Radhanagar in Burdwan district in West
Bengal and died in Bristol in England. He is considered as
the first ‘modern man’ as he was the pioneer of socio-
religious and political reform movements in modern India.
He studied numerous languages - Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit,
English, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, etc. in order to study
the various religious scriptures in their original. He believed
in monotheism i.e., doctrine of the unity of God-head and
opposed idol-worship. In 1803 he published a Persian treatise
named ‘Tuhfat-ul-Muwahidin’ or ‘A Gift to Monotheists’
wherein he explains his concept of monotheism. He
established the Atmiya Sabha in Calcutta in 1815 in order
to propagate monotheism and fight against the evil practices
in Hinduism. Later in 1928 he established the Brahmo
Samaj in Calcutta to purify Hinduism and preach
monotheism.
He laid emphasis on human reason and rationality to
Christianity by publishing a book ‘Percepts of Jesus, the
Guide to Peace and Happiness’ in 1920 which embodied
the moral and spiritual percepts of Jesus without the
narratives of the miracles. He defended Hinduism and its
Vedanta philosophy, as found in the Vedas and the
Upanishads, from the ignorant attacks of Christian
missionaries. He led a lifelong crusade against sati and
finally in 1829 he succeeded in persuading Lord William
Bentinck in abolishing it. He championed women’s rights
like right of inheritance and property and attacked polygamy
and the degraded state of widows. He fought for the
introduction and spread of modern education through the
medium of English and made Bengali the vehicle of
intellectual intercourse in Bengal.
In his political ideas and reforms, he believed in the
unification of the divergent groups of Indian society in
order to bring about national consciousness in India. He
initiated public agitation on political questions like the
need for reforms in the British administration, trade and
economic policies, etc. He also pioneered Indian journalism
through the Mirat-ul-Akbar in order to educate the public
on current issues and to represent the public opinion before
the government. His journal was called ‘Samvad Kumudhi’.
Brahmo Samaj after Roy-Debendranath
Tagore (1817-1905)
Debendranath Tagore established the Tattvabodhini Sabha
(1839) at Calcutta to propagate Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s
ideas. He formally joined the Brahmo Samaj in 1843 and
reorganized it. Keshav Chandra Sen promoted the Samaj in
1857 and became the right hand man of Debendranath.
During this time problems emerged between the older and
the conservative section led by Debendranath and the newer
and progressive section led by Sen over the issues of social
reform particularly the caste system and over the relationship
between Hinduism and Brahmoism (while the latter stood
for the complete abolition of the caste system and
maintained that Brahmoism is different from Hinduism, the
former group wanted to retain caste system, though
criticizing its rigidity and asserted that Brahmoism is
Hinduism).
This led to the secession of Sen’s group from the parent
body (which had come to be known as Adi Brahmo Samaj)
in 1865 and formation of a new organization known as
Brahmo Samaj of India by it in 1866. Debendranath Tagore
spread the message of Brahmo Samaj in other parts of India
including Bombay and Madras by his tours and adopted a
much more radical and comprehensive scheme of social
reforms and infused Bhakti into Brahmoism. Further he
formed the Indian Reform Association in 1870 and
persuaded the British government to enact the Native
Marriage Act of 1872 (popularly known as the Civil
Marriage Act) which legalized Brahmo marriages and fixed
the minimum age for the groom and the bride at 18 and 14
respectively.
Second Schism in Brahmoism
The second schism in Brahmoism occurred in 1878 when a
group of Sen’s followers under Ananda Mohan Bose and
Shivanatha Shastri left him and formed the Sadharana
Brahmo Samaj. The cause for this split was the question of
management of the samaj and the violation of the Native

Marriage Act by Sen himself (he gave his daughter in
marriage to the ruler of Cooch Behar but neither of them
had attained the marriageable age under the Act.)
Manav Dharam Sabha
Durgaram Manchharam (1809-1878) was a leading figure
among the small group of educated Gujaratis who in the
1830s became strong critics of contemporary society. Other
participants included Dadoba Pandurang, Dinmuni Shanar,
Dalpatram Bhagubai and Damodar Das. They founded the
Manav Dharam Sabha at Surat in 1844 and held open
meetings every Sunday. As part of its programme, the Manav
Dharam Sabha challenged magicians and the reciters of
incantations to demonstrate their skills. They also criticized
caste but took no direct action against the institution.
The sabha had only a short career as an active
organization as it began to shatter in 1846 when Dadoba
Pandurang returned to Bombay and ceased to function in
1852 when Durgaram Manchharam left for Rajkot. Although
its life was severely limited, the sabha was directly linked
to later movements in Maharashtra and to the leaders of
later movements.
Paramahansa Mandli
The movement was closely linked to Manav Dharam Sabha
and to the leadership of Dadoba Pandurang. Dadoba
outlined his doctrine or principles in the Dharma Vivechan
(1848) and it denied the polytheism of popular Hinduism,
the caste system and the Brahmanical monopoly of
knowledge. It was radical socio-religious society that was
formed in 1849 and that met in secret. Ram Bal Krishna
Jayakar became President of the mandali. All members were
required to pledge that they would abandon caste restrictions
and each inmate had to take food and drink from prepared
by a member of a lower caste.
The group came to an agreement on two major
principles: firstly, they would not attack any religion and
secondly, they rejected any religion which claimed
infallibility. Branches of the organization were established
at Poona, Ahmednagar and Ratnagiri. Its insistence on
remaining a secret organization illustrated an unwillingness
to openly challenge Hindu orthodox.
Prarthana Samaj
The Brahmo ideas spread in Maharashtra where Paramhansa
Sabha was founded in 1849. In 1867 under the guidance of
Keshab, the Prarthana Samaj was established in Bombay by
Atmaram Pandurang. Apart from worship of one God, in
western India the main emphasis has been on social reform
works rather than faith. In the field of social reform the
focus was on disapproval of caste system, raising the age of
marriage for both boys and girls, widow remarriage and
women education. Prominent leaders of the Prarthana Samaj
were Mahadev Govind Ranade, R.G. Bhandarkar and N.G.
International Relations and Area Studies 251
Chandravarkar. In Punjab, the Dayal Singh Trust sought to
implement Brahma ideas by the opening of Dayal Singh
college at Lahore in 1910.
Arya Samaj and Swami Dayanand Saraswati
(1824-1883)
It was revivalist in form though not in content. It was
founded by Swami Dayananda. He rejected western ideas
and sought to revive the ancient religion of the Aryans. In
1875, Dayananda formally organised the first Arya Samaj
unit at Bombay. A few years later the headquarters of the
Arya Samaj was established at Lahore. He looked on the
Vedas as India’s ‘rock of the ages’, the true original seed of
hinduism. His motto was ‘go back to the Vedas’. He
condemned idol worship and preached unity of God head.
His views were published in his work ‘Satyartha
Prakash’. He accepted the doctrine of Karma but rejected
the theory of niyati (destiny). He pleaded for widow
remarriage and condemned child marriages. Anglo-vedic
school was established at Lahore in 1866. The orthodox
opinion in the Arya samaj which stands for the revival of
vedic ideal in modern life set up the gurukul pathsala at
Hardwar in 1902 which was exclusively for boys. The Samaj
started the Shuddhi movement to convert non-Hindus to
Hinduism. Lala Hans Raj, Pandit Guru Dutt and Lala Lajpat
Rai were prominent leaders of the other section who stood
for the spread of English education and established a number
of DAV schools and colleges for both boys and girls.
Dayanand’s political slogan was ‘India for the Indians’.
Ramakrishna Paramhansa (1836-1886) and
Ramakrishna Movement
Originally known as Godadhar Chattopadhay, he was born
in 1836 in Kamarpukur village in Hoogly district in West
Bengal. He was a priest at the Kali temple in Dakshineswar
near Calcutta and considered and emphasised that Krishna,
Hari, Ram, Christ, Allah are different names of the same
God. Unlike Arya samaj, Ram Krishna Mission recognises
the utility and value of single worship in developing
spiritual fervour and worship of the Eternal Omnipotent
God. Vivekanand emerged as the preacher of new- Hinduism.
He attended the Parliament of Religions at Chicago in
1893. The famous magazines of Ramkrishna Mission were
Prabudh Bharat and Udbodhan.
Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math
The former is a social service and charitable society formed
by Swami Vivekananda in 1897 at Belur, with the objective
of carrying on humanitarian relief and social work through
the establishment of schools, colleges, orphanages, hospitals,
etc. The latter is a religious order or trust founded by
Vivekananda in 1887 at Baranagar (Though Belur has
become the headquarters of both the Mission and the Math
since 1898) with the objective of bringing in to existence
252 International Relations and Area Studies
a band of dedicated monks who would propagate the
teachings of Ramakrishna Paramhansa (the universal
message of the Vedanta). Though legally two distinct
entities, with separate funds and finances, the Mission and
the Math are in practice a single body, with the members
of the Math forming the principal workers of the Mission
and the trustees of the Math forming the governing body of
the Mission.
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
Originally known as Narendranath Datta, he was born in
1863 in Calcutta. He first visited Ramakrishna in 1881 and
made frequent visits thereafter. He established a monastery
in Baranagar in 1887 after the death of his guru. He toured
India extensively, attended the World Parliament of
Religions in 1893 at Chicago and spoke at the Congress of
History of Religions at Paris in 1900. He published two
papers: the monthly Prabudha Bharata in English and the
fortnightly Udbodhana in Bengali. He popularized the
teachings of his guru, proclaimed the essential oneness of
all religions and held Vedanta as a fully rational system.
Theosophical Society
Madam H.P. Blavatsky laid the foundation of the movement
in the Unites States in 1875. Later Colonel M.S. Olcott
joined her. In 1882 they shifted their headquarters to India
at Adyar. The members of this society believe that a special
relationship can be established between a person’s soul and
God by contemplation, prayer, revolution. The society
believes in re-incarnation, Karma and draws from the
philosophy of the upanishads and Samkhya, yoga and
vedanta schools of thought. The theosophical movement
came to be allied with Hindu renaissance.
After the death of Olcott in 1907 Annie Besant was
elected as its President. She had joined the society in 1889.
The society under Besant concentrated on the revival of
Hinduism and its ancient ideas and inorder to provide Hindu
religious instruction/she founded the Central Hindu
University at Varanasi in 1898 which was later developed
into the Benaras Hindu University by Madan Mohan
Malaviya.
Young Bengal Movement
Its founder was Henry Vivian Derozio, who was born in
Calcutta in 1809 and who taught at the Hindu college
between 1826 and 1831. He died of cholera in 1831. His
followers were known as the Derozians and their movement
as the Young Bengal Movement. The movement attacked
old traditions and decadent customs, advocating women’s
rights and education and educating the public on the current
socio-economic and political questions through press and
public associations. They carried on public agitation on
public questions like freedom of the press, trial by jury and
protection of peasants, etc.
Muslim Reform Movements
Aligarh Movement
It was founded by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan for the social and
educational advancement of muslims in India. Other
prominent members of the movement were Altaf Hussain
Hali, Dr. Nazir Ahmed, Nawab Mushin-ul-Mulk, Chirag Ali,
etc. He established two madarasas at Muradapur and Gazipur
and in 1870 published Tahzib ul Akhalaq and Asbad-i-
Bhagvati. He advocated a rational approach towards religion,
rejected blind adherence to religious law and asked for a
reinterpretation of the Quran in the light of reason to suit
the new trends of the time. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was in the
judicial services of the company at the time of rebellion of
1857 and stood loyal to the government.
He tried to reconcile his co-religionists to modern
scientific thoughts and to the British rule and urged them
to accept services under the government. He condemned the
system of Piri and Muridi. He opened a modern school in
Aligarh in 1875 which developed into the Mohammadan
Anglo Oriental College at Aligarh in 1877. The school
became the nucleus of the formation of the Aligarh Muslim
University in 1920. Theodore Beck was his associate and
was the first Principal. Beck founded the union Indian
Patriotic Association, Aligarh. In 1866 he founded the
Mohhammadan Educational Conference as a general forum
for spreading liberal ideas among the muslims. Unfortunately
the movement in later stages became anti-congress and anti-
Hindu and pro-British due to misconceived fears of Hindu
domination.
Deoband Movement
The orthodox section among the Muslim Ulema organised
the Deoband movement which began after the foundation
of the Dar-ul-Ulum at Deoband in 1866 by Maulana Hussain
Ahmad and others with the aim of resuscitating classical
Islam and improving the spiritual and moral conditions of
the muslims. It was a revivalist movement where objectives
were to propagate among the Muslims, the pure teachings
of the Quran and the Hadis and to keep alive the spirit of
Jihad against the foreign rulers.
The ulema under the leadership of Mohammad Qasim
Wanotavi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi founded the school
of Deoband in the Saharanpur district of UP in 1866. The
school curriculum shut out English education. Deoband
school welcomed the formation of the Indian National
Congress in 1885. In 1888 Deoband ulema issued a religious
decree against Syed Ahmad Khan’s organisations.
Ahrar Movement
It was a movement founded in 1910 under the leadership of
Maulana Muhammad Ali, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasan Imam,
Maulana Zafar Ali Khar and Mazhar-ul-Haq in opposition
to the loyalist policies of the Aligarh movement.

Moved by modern ideas of self-government its members
advocated active participation in the nationalist movement.
Ahmadia Movement
Also known as the Qadiani movement, it was founded by
Mirza Gulam Ahmad at Qadiani in Punjab, towards the end
of the 19th century with the objective of reforming Islam
and defending it against the onslaught of Christian
missionaries and the Arya Samajists. It gave religious
recognition to modern industrial and technological progress
and it became the most closely knit and the best organized
Muslim group in India.
Parsi Reform Movements
In 1746 the Indian Parsis got divided into two groups, when
a group of them decided to accept the Iranian calendar and
came to be known as the ‘Kadami’ (ancient section) as
opposed to the ‘Shahanshahis’ (royalists), who retained the
calendar used in Gujarat. This major division of the
community lasted into the 20th century. A second division
was created by the movement of Parsis into Bombay where
many of them became wealthy as merchants, ship builders,
commercial brokers, etc. Besides the Parsi religion was
frequently targeted by the Christian missionaries.
In this background, Naoroji Furdunji edited in 1840s
the Fam-i-Famshid, a journal aimed at defending the cause
of Zoroastrianism. He also wrote a number of pamphlets and
published the book Tarika Farthest in 1850. All these
events led to the formation of a socio-religious movement
designed to codify the Zoroastrian religion and reshape
Parsi social life. In 1851 a small group of educated Parsis
formed the Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha (Parsi Reform
Society) with funds provided by K.N. Kama. Furdunji
Naoroji became its President and S.S. Bengali its secretary.
In 1850 Bengali started publishing a monthly journal
Jagat Mitra and the Jagat Premi in 1851. The sabha’s journal
Rast Goftar was the main voice of the movement. The
leaders criticized elaborate ceremonies at betrothals,
marriages and funerals and opposed infant marriage and the
use of astrology. But the activities of the sabha divided the
Parsis into two groups: those who advocated radical change
and those who wished only limited altercations in rituals
and custom s, organized under the Raherastnumi
Mazdayasnan in opposition to the radicals.
Sikh Reform Movements
Nirankaris
Baba Dayal Das (1783-1855) was the founder of this
movement of purification and return. In 1840s he called for
the return of Sikhism to its origin and emphasized the
worship of one God and nirankar (formless). Such an
approach meant a rejection of idolatry and also prohibition
International Relations and Area Studies 253
of eating meat, drinking liquor, lying, cheating, etc. It laid
emphasis on Guru Nanak and on Sikhism before the
establishment of Khalsa by Guru Gobind Sing at Anandpur
and this separated them from the Namdharis.
Namdharis
Founded by Baba Ram Singh (1816-1885) in 1857, who in
1841 became a disciple of Balak Singh of the Kuka
movement. The movement was founded on a set of rituals
modeled after Guru Gobind Singh’s founding of the Khalsa
with the requirement of wearing the five symbols but instead
of the sword the followers were supposed to carry a stick.
The movement required the followers to abandon the
worship of gods, idols, tombs, trees, snakes, etc. and abstain
from drinking, stealing, falsehood, slandering, backbiting,
etc. Further the consumption of beef was strictly forbidden
as protection of cattle was important.
Singh Sabhas
Shaken by Namdhari unrest, the speeches of Shraddha Ram
of Arya Samaj and by the Christian conversions a small
group of prominent Sikhs decided to form the Singh Sabha
of Amritsar which held its first meeting on 1st October,
1873 with Thakur Singh Sandwhawalia as its President.
Soon it was rivaled by a new organization, the Lahore
Singh Sabha which held its first meeting on 2nd November,
1879 led by Prof. Gurmukh Singh and Bhai Ditt Singh.
Akali Movement
The main aim of the Akali movement of 1920s was to purify
the management of the Sikh Gurudwaras or shrines by
removing the corrupt or selfish Mahants or priests. The
movement led to the enactment of the new Sikh Gurudwara
Act by the British in 1925 and removed corrupt priests
through the act and also through the Shiromani Gurudwara
Prabhandhak Committee (SPGC).
Other Reformers and Social Workers
In western India Prof D.K. Karve took up the cause of widow
remarriage and in Madras Veerasalingam Pantulu made
Herculean efforts in the same direction. Prof. Karve opened
a widow’s home in Poona in 1899. He crowned his work by
setting up the Indian Womens University at Bombay in
1916.
B.M. Malbari started a crusade against child marriage
and his efforts were crowned by the enactment of the age
of consent Act, 1891. In 1849 J.E.D. Bethune founded a
girl’s school in Calcutta. All India women’s conference was
organised in 1936. Radha Soami Satsang was founded by
Tulsi Ram. Deva Samaj was founded by Shiva Narain
Agnihotri.
Nadwah-ul-ulama was founded by Maulana Shibli
Numani in 1894 in Lucknow. Justice movement was started
254 International Relations and Area Studies
in 1915-16 by C.N. Mudaliar, T.M. Nair and P. Tyagaraja
Chetti in Madras. It was against the predominance of the
Brahmins in education, government services and politics.
Self respect movement was started in 1925 by E.V.
Ramaswamy Naicker popularly known as Periyar. It was
against the dominance of Brahmins.
Periyar waged movement for forcibly temple entry,
burning of Manusmriti and wedding without Brahmin priest.
He started his journal Kudi Arasu in Tamil in 1929 to
propagate his ideas. Ezhava movement was launched by Sri
Narayan Guru. He started the movement of untouchable
Ezhava against the Brahmin dominance in Kerala. He
rejected the caste system and developed the concept of one
caste, one religion and one God for mankind. His disciple
Ayappan made it into no religion, no caste and no God for
mankind.
In Kerala, the Nairs started movement against the
dominance of Nambudari Brahmins. C.V. Raman Pillai
organised the Malyali Memorial. He wrote a novel Martanda
Verma to show the military glory of the Nairs. Padmanabha
Pillai founded the Nair Service Society in 1914. In 1873,
Satya Sodhak movement was launched by Jyotiba Phule in
Maharashtra to save the lower castes from the Brahmins. He
wrote ‘Gulamgiri’ and ‘Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak’. His
theory of exploitation of lower castes was focused on cultural
and ethnic factor rather than on political and economic one.
The Mahars were organised by Gopal Baba Walangkar
in late 19th century against Brahmins in Maharashtra. Baba
Bhim Rao Ambedkar became their leader in the 20th
century. Under his leadership the Mahars started burning
Manusmriti and tried to break with the Hinduism. In 1932
Gandhiji founded the Harijan Sevak Sangh. Ambedkar
founded the Scheduled Castes Federation.
RESISTANCE TO BRITISH RULE
Early Uprisings against the British in India
NON-TRIBAL
These revolts were mainly politically driven with the stakes
of zamindars, Indian rulers and even their dependents.
Causes of these popular movements were the following:
1. Attempts of the British to force Indian rulers to accept
their suzerainty.
2. Forceful occupation of the estate of local rulers.
3. Financial burden imposed by the British through
Subsidiary Alliance System.
4. Doctrine of Lapse used by the British also resulted in
resentments.
5. Frequent interference of local British residents in
internal affairs of the State;
6. Resentment against British land revenue policy.
7. Seizure of Zamindari estate in case of failure of
payments.
Revolt of Kattabomman: The revolt was organized in
Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu in 1792-1799 by Veerpandya,
the ruler of Panchalakerich who was eventually killed in
1799.
Rebellion of Paiks: The rebellion took place in Orissa
in 1804-1806 for the first time under Khurda Raja and later
under Jagabandhu.
Revolt of Veluphanampi/Veluthambi: The revolt was
organized in Travancore in 1808-1809 by the Diwan of
Travancore as the British tried to remove him.
Revolt of Rao Bharmal: The ruler of Cutch revolted
in Cutch and Kathiawar in 1811-19.
Revolt of Ramosis: The revolt took place in Poona in
1822-1829 under the leadership of Chitur Singh and Omaji
when the Peshwa lands were captured by the British.
Kittur Rising: The revolt materialized under the
leadership of Channamma who was the widow of Rudra
Desai, the chief of Kittur and had no son and Rayappa in
1824-1829 in Karnataka.
Sambalpur Outbreak: The outbreak took place in
Orissa in 1827-1840 under Surendra Sai due to interference
in internal matters by the British.
Satora Disturbance: King Pratap Singh was removed
which instigated a revolt in 1840-1841 in Maharashtra under
Dhar Rao and Narsingh Dattatreya.
Bundela Revolt: The revolt was held in 1842 in
Bundelkhand under Madhukar Shah and Jawahir Singh
against the British revenue system.
Gadkari Rebellion: Organized in Kolhapur in
Maharashtra in 1844-1845 was revolt against the overtake
of the Kolhapur administration by the British.
Satvandi Revolt: It was in Maharashtra in 1839-1845
under Phond Savant and Anna Sahib in protest against
disposing the chief of the Savant region Kheen Savant.
Raju Rebellion: Occurred in Vishakhapatnam in 1827-
1833 under Birbhadra Raju who was removed by the British.
Palakonda Outbreak: In Andhra Pradesh in 1831-1832
with no clearcut leadership as all zamindars of the area
mobilized the peasantry.
Gumsur Outbreak: In Ganjam District in Andhra
Pradesh in 1835-1837 under the leadership of Dhananjaya
Bhauja who was a zamindar of Ganjam. He was in debt due
to non-payment of revenue and his land was confiscated.
Parlakimedi Outbreak: It was organized in Orissa in
1829-1835 under Jagannath Gajapati as the British acquired
the land of zamindars due to non-payment of revenue.
 International Relations and Area Studies 255

Popular Non-Tribal Movements Against British Rule

256 International Relations and Area Studies
Tribal Revolts
Tribal movements were basically directed to preserve the
tribal identity which was thought to be in danger due to
intrusion of external people affecting the social, political
and geo-economical position of the tribes. These movements
were mostly violent, isolated and frequent. There were about
seventy tribal movements from 1778 to 1947. These
movements can be broadly divided into two parts i.e.,
movements of the frontier tribes and movements of the non-
frontier tribes depending upon the geographical area of
their initiation. Both these types of revolts had different sets
of causes. Movement of frontier tribes was mostly revivalist
and tended to be political and secular. On the contrary, the
non-frontier tribes revolted usually against the ‘outsiders’
and the British administration.
Responsible Factors
The factors which were responsible for the outbreak of the
tribal movements are as follows:
1. Resentment of the tribes against the extension of the
British rule to their areas. They also resented the
introduction of general administration and laws which
were considered by them as intrusions into the
traditional political system of the tribal community.
2. Reaction against the penetration of tribal areas by
peoples from plains in form of money lenders, traders,
contractors, etc. and the protection given to these
out-siders by British government.
3. The tightening of British control over their forest
zones, creation of reserved forests and attempts to
monopolize forest-wealth through curbs on the use of
timber and grazing facilities.
4. The activities of Christian missionaries in their areas
were looked upon by them as anti-religious and hence
resented.
5. British attempts to suppress certain tribal traditions
and practices like infanticide, human sacrifices etc
hurt the tribal social beliefs.
6. The British colonialism devoid the tribal people of
their traditional economic set up and hence they
were forced to serve as menial labourers, coolies in
plantation, mines and factories.
Chaura Rising: Organized twice between 1768 and
1832 in Naanbhum and Bara Bhum areas in West Bengal.
Bhil Revolt: Was in Khandesh in the Western Ghats in
1818-1848.
Hos Rising: Three revolts in 1820, 1822 and 1832 in
Singhbhum and Chhota Nagpur areas.
Koli Rising: In 1824, 1828, 1839 and 1844-1848 in
the areas of the Sahayadri hills near Western Ghats of Gujarat
and Maharashtra.
Khasi Rising: In 1829-1832 in Khasi mountain range
in Assam and Meghalaya under Chief of Noumklow tribe,
Tirut Singh and Barmanik, the chief of Molim tribe.
Singpo Rising: Took place in 1830-1839 in Assam
where the Englishman Mr. White was murdered.
Kol Rising: Broke out under Buddho Bhagat in 1831-
1832 in Chhota Nagpur area.
Khoya Revolt: Was organized in Rampa in Andhra
Pradesh in 1840, 1845, 1858, 1861-1862, 1879-1880 and
1922-1924, the last one under the leadership of Alluri
Sitaramraju.
Khoni Rising: The first two revolts in 1846-48 and in
1855 were under Chakra Bisaji and in 1914 in Orissa’s
Khondmal region.
Santhal Revolt:
 Was held under Sidhu and Kanhu in 1855-1856 in
Rajmahal hills in Bihar.
 Began primarily as a reaction against their
exploitation by the outsiders (especially people from
the plains) and later developed into an anti-British
movement.
 Fought the British to have complete control of the
area between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal but were
crushed.
Naikdas Revolt: Was held in Panchmahal in Gujarat in
1858-1859 and 1868 under Roop Singh and Joria Bhagat
respectively.
Kacha Nags Revolt: Was held in 1882 in Assam under
Sambhudan.
Munda Revolt: Was held in Chhota Nagpur region in
Ranchi under Birsa Munda in 1899-1900.
Bhils Revolt: Under Govind Guru in Banswar and
Dungarpur area of South Rajasthan in 1913.
Oraon Revolt: Under Jatra Bhagat in 1914-1915 in
Chhota Nagpur area.
Thadoe Kuki Revolt: Under Jadonang and Rani
Gaidinliu in 1917-1919 in Manipur.
Chenchus Revolt: Under Hanumanthu in 1921-1922 in
Nallamala range of Andhra Pradesh.
Rampa Revolt: Under Rajan Anatayya in 1884 and
Alluri Sitaram Raju in 1922-1924 in Andhra Pradesh.
Peasant Uprisings
The economic policies of the British, such as new land
revenue system, colonial administrative and judicial systems
and the ruin of handicrafts resulting in the over-crowding
of land, transformed the agrarian structure and thus
impoverished the peasantry. The reactions of the peasants
were directed against the zamindars, money-lenders and
ultimately the British rule.
 International Relations and Area Studies 257

Tribal Movements Against British Rule

Revolts Area Leaders Course & Consequence
Chuars Manbhum & Chuar Leaders Defiance of authorities, suppressed by force
1768 and 1832 Barabhum
Pahariyas, 1778-85 Rajmahal Pahariya Sardars Resentment against British encroachment,
crushed
Bhils, 1818-48 Khandesh Sevaram British occupation, mediatary & conciliatory,
measures
Hos, 1820-32 Singhbhum Ho Leaders British occupation, military operations
Khond, 1846-1914 Orissa Chakra Bisayi Forceful suppression of rebellious leaders
Khasis, 1829-32 Meghalaya Tirut Singh & Forceful implementation of a linking road,
Barmanik Tirut captured
Kolis, 1824-48 Sahayadri, Gujarat Koli Leaders Repeated revolts, all leaders were captured
Singhpos, 1830-39 Assam Singhpo Leaders Against British encroachment, suppressed badly
Kols, 1831-32 Chhota Nagpur Buddho Bhagat Against land revenue, killed outsiders, ruthlessly
crushed
Koyas 1840-58, Rampa Region Alluri Sitaram Revenue policy & ban on forest products, Raju
1922-24 Raju noma Dara was killed
Santhals, 185S-56 Rajmahal Hills Sidhu & Kanhu Resentment against outsiders, money lenders,
leaders killed
Naikdas, 1858-68 Panchmahal Gujarat Roop Singh Peace treaty (1859), later on Roop Singh and
Joria Bhagat Joria killed
Kherwar, 1870-80 Rajmahal Hills Bhagirath Religio-tribal resentment, Bhagirath died in Jail
Bhuyan & Juang Orissa Ratna Nayak & Suppressed by local zamindars & British
1867-93 Shami Dhar
Kacha Nagas, 1882 Assam Sambhudan Uncertain attacks on British, suppressed ruthlessly
Mundas, 1899-1900 Chhota Nagpur Birsa Munda Forced-labour, outsiders, Birsa Munda died in
Jail
Bhills, 1913 Banswara, Rajasthan Govind Guru Religio-political, attempts to set up Bhill raj
failed
Oraons, 1914-15 Chhota Nagpur Jatra Bhagat Monotheistic movement, adopted Gandhian
styles
Chenchu, 1921-22 Nallamale Hills Hanumanthu Against forest regulation
Andhra Pradesh
Kukis, 1917-19 Manipur Rani Gaidinliu Against forced-labour, Guerrilla warfare,
suppressed

Peasant movements varied in nature. Prior to the Kerala by the Hindu zamindars (Jemmis) and the
commencement of mass movements of the freedom struggle, British government.
these peasant movements were localized based on religion,  Rifts started as early as 1836 though the main revolt
caste and social consciousness. Later on, some secular trends was in August 1921.
were observed in these movements which became national
Ramosi Revolt
level mass movements resulting in formation of platforms
Under Vasudeo Balwant Phadke in 1882-1889 in the
such as Kishan Sabha, Congress Socialist Party, etc.
Western Ghats.
Moplah Rebellion Pabna Movement
 In the Malabar region due to the oppression and In East Bengal’s Pabna district in 1872-1876 due to
exploitation of the Muslim Moplah peasants of north oppression of peasantry by the zamindars.
2105 (MA–IR)—33
258 International Relations and Area Studies

Bijolia Movement district in Bengal under Digamber Biswas and Vishnu

In Rajasthan in 1905, 1913, 1916, 1927 where the movement
arose due to the imposition of 86 different types of cesses
on the peasants.
Indigo Revolt (1859-1860)
 In this the peasants were forced to grow indigo in
their lands by the European factory owners which
exploded into a revolt in Govindpur village of Nandia
Biswas.
 Others who played an important role included Harish
Chandra Mukherjee (editor of the newspaper Hindu
Patriot), Dinbandhu Mitra and Michael Madhusudan
Dutta.
 The government appointed an Indigo Commission in
1860 and removed some of the abuses of the indigo
cultivation.

Peasants Movements Against British Rule

Revolts Area Leaders Course & Consequence
Rangpur, 1783 Rangpur, Dinajpur, Dhiraj Narayan Against enhanced revenue, parallel
Bengal govt. & attack on colonial symbols
Moplah, 1836-54 Malabar Coast —— Land Revenue based on Janami system
was resented, military operations
Indigo, 1859 Bengal Digambar Viswas, Vishnu Peaceful protest, ban on Indigo
Viswas plantation in 1860
Pabna, 1873-76 Bengal Ishanchandra Rai, Sambhu Legal protest against revenue
Pal enhancement
Deccan Riots, 1875 Puna, Satara, —— Social boycott of Mahajans, Act of 1879
Ahmednagar passed
Bijolia, 1905-13 Mewar Sitaram Dass, Bhop Singh No Tax Movement, protest against
Jagirdars
Champaran, 1917 Champaran, Bihar Mahatma Gandhi Successful protest against Tinkathia
system
Kheda, 1918 Gujarat Mahatma Gandhi Against revenue collection after
destruction of crops
Awadh, 1919-22 Pratap Garh, Rai Jhinguri Singh, Baba Protest against illegal rent & land
Barelly Ram Chandra disposal Act, social boycott of Jagirdars
Eka, 1920 Barabanki, Hardoi, Madari Passi Participation of small Zamindars,
Sitapur, Bahraich crushed
Mappila, 1921 Malabar Coast Yukub Hassan, Gopal Attack on police stations, govt. offices
Menon & Zamindars on communal line, crushed
Bardoli, 1928 Andhra Pradesh N.G. Ranga Against enchanced revenue, farmers
got relief
Andhra, 1923-38 Andhra Pradesh N.G. Ranga Against enchanced revenue, farmers
got relief
Malabar, 1934-40 Malabar coast R. Ram Chandra, Relief after Malabar Tenancy Act
T. Prakasham
Kisan Sabha, Bihar Swami Shahjanand Land Tenancy Act
1929-39
Tebhaga, 1946 Bengal Krishna Vinod Rai, Peaceful Movement centred on farming
Avani Lahiri
Punnapra Vayalar, Travancore Panam Thanu Pillai 800 rebel were killed for an independent
1946 Travancore State
Telengana, 1946-51 Andhra Pradesh Sandraiya Guerrilla warfare of farmers against
Nizam & Traders
2105 (MA–IR)—33-II

Points to Remember
 The Bengal famine of 1770 and the restrictions
imposed on visiting holy places angered the Sanyasis,
thus leading to revolt.
 Sanyasis were the followers of Sankaracharya.
 After prolonged military action, Warren Hastings
suppressed the Sanyasi rebellion.
 Sanyasi rebellion was the theme of Bankim’s
Anandmath.
 Santhals rebelled in 1855 under Sidhu and Kanhu.
 Santhal Rebellion of 1855-56 was known as ‘Hul’.
 The government pacified the Santhal by creating a
separate district of Santhal Parganas.
 The area between Bhagalpur (Bihar) & Rajmahal
(Jharkhand) was called Daman-e-koh.
 Rabindranath Tagore has respectfully portrayed the
description of this rebellion.
 The Kol of Chhota Nagpur revolted against the transfer
of land from Mundas to outsiders.
 Munda Rebellion affected Ranchi, Singhbhum,
Hazaribagh, Palamau and western part of Manbhum
of Jharkhand.
 Kolis of Gujarat revolted in 1829, 1839 and during
1844-48.
 Chuttur Singh led the Ramosis Rebellion (1822-29).
 After Santhal Rebellion, the region witnessed Kherwar
and Safahar Movement in 1870’s.
 The Wahabi Movement was a revivalist movement.
 Initially the Wahabis fought against the Sikh in
Panjab.
 Syed Ahmed of Rai Bareily was influenced by Shah
Waliullah.
 Khasi uprising was against the East India Company’s
plan to link up the Brahmaputra valley with Sylhet.
 The raising of Salt Duty from 50 paise to one rupee
in 1844 caused the Surat Salt Agitation.
 In 1828, the Ahoms proclaiming Gomdhar Konovar
as their King revolted.
 Karam Shah founded a semi-religious sect called Pagal
Panthi in North Bengal.
 His son, Tipu led the peasantry and captured Sherpur
and assumed royal power in 1825.
 Khond tribes revolted against the government ban on
their practice of human sacrifice- ‘Meriya’.
 The Faraezis were the followers of a Muslim sect
founded by Haji Shariatullah of Faridpur in eastern
Bengal.
 Bhil Uprising under Govind Guru was initially a
purification movement started in 1913.
 There were total 22 rebellions by the Moppillas from
1836 to 1854.
International Relations and Area Studies 259
 Chenchus of Andhra Pradesh rebelled in 1921-22
under the leadership of Hanumanthu.
 Rani Gaidinliu is known as John of Arch of Nagaland
as she led the Kuki Revolt in 1917-19.
 The Poligars of coastal Andhra Pradesh resented
against British land revenue policy in 1813-34 under
Jagannath Gajapati.
 Indigo Rebellion of 1859 (Bengal) under Digambar
Biswas and Bishnu Biswas was the most widespread
and popular movement of the time.
 Mundas of Chhota Nagpur rebelled in 1899-1900. It
was called as ‘Ulgullan’.
 The collective land holding system of the Mundas
was called ‘Khutakatti’.
 Mundas used the word ‘Diku’ for the outsiders of the
region.
 Birsa Munda led the rebellion, who was considered
as God.
 The Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act of 1908 relieved
the Mundas of the region.
 Deccan anti-Sahukar riots took place in 1874-75.
 It was supported by Poona Sarvajanik Sabha.
 Relief was provided through the Deccan Agriculturist
Relief Act of 1878.
 In 1918, Indra Narayan Dwivedi set up the U.P. Kisan
Sabha along with Gaurishankar Mishra.
 In Rai-Bareilly Jhinguri Singh and Baba Ramchandra
led the peasant movement.
 Champaran Satyagrah was caused due to ‘Tinkathia’
system of cultivation, ‘sharah vesi’ and ‘Tawan’.
 Rajkumar Shukla invited Gandhiji in 1917 to lead
Champaran Satyagrah.
 Sahajananda founded the Bihar Provincial Kisan
Sabha in 1929.
 In 1936, agitation started against Bakasht
(selfcultivated land) in Bihar.
 In 1923, the Andhra Provincial Ryots Association
was formed by N. G. Ranga.
 All India Kisan Sabha was formed in 1936, April
11th at Lucknow.
 The peasants of Bijolia, a jagir in Mewar organized
them under Bhoop Singh and later under Manik Lal
Verma.
 Bardoli Satyagrah was led by Sardar Patel, which was
directed against the poll tax imposed on every adult.
 Kunvarji Mehta and Kalyanji Mehta founded the
Patidar Yuva Mandal in 1958.
 Maxwell-Broomfield enquiry was constituted for the
Bardoli Satyagrah.
 Khera Satyagrah was led by Vittalbhai & Vallabbhai
Patel.
260 International Relations and Area Studies
 The leader of Eka movement was Madari Pasi.
 South Indian Federation of Peasants and agricultural
labourers were headed by N. G. Ranga and E.M.S
Nambudripad.
 Congress under Jawahar Lal Nehru’s presidentship at
1936 session adopted the agrarian programme.
 Tebhaga Movement was a protracted peasant struggle
involving the lower stratum of tenant.
 The revolt of the Varlis, tribal people in western
India was a struggle against exploitation of forest
contractors, money lenders, rich farmers etc.
 Telengana uprising during 1946-51 was launched in
the territory of the Nizam.
 Bhagwan Singh Longowalia, Jagir Singh Joga and
Teja Singh led the peasant movement in Patiala.
 The Moppila Rebellion of 1921 of Malabar was
influenced by the Khilafat movement.
 The search for arms in Tirurangadi Mosque instigated
the violence in Malabar.
 Martial law turned the movement violent and
communal.
All India Kisan Sabha
 Founded in April 1936 at Lucknow.
 Swami Sahajananda was the first President.
 N.G. Ranga was the first General Secretary.
 First session was addressed by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
 Other leaders were Ram Manohar Lohia, Sohan Singh,
Indulal Yagnik, Jaya Prakash Narayan, Acharya
Narendra Dev, Kamal Sarkar and Bankim Mukherjee,
etc.
 The All-India Kisan Sabha held its second session
along with the Faizpur Congress session in 1936. It
was presided by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
THE GREAT REVOLT OF 1857
The revolt of 1857 was though a regional manifestation yet
the causes and the events that instigated the revolt were
surely having a Pan-Indian characteristic. In fact, the revolt
of 1857 was the outburst of people’s feelings against, social,
economic and political exploitation and hence participants
from almost every field i.e., social, economical (represented
by peasants) and political (deposed rulers) participated in
the revolt.
Prior to this revolt also, the resentment of the Indians
were expressed in both violent mutinies as well as peaceful
protests. The mutiny at Vellore (1806), at Barrackpore
(1824), at Ferozpur (1842), mutiny of the 7th Bengal cavalry,
mutiny of 22nd N.I. in 1849, Revolt of the Santhals
(1855-56), Kol uprising (1831-32) etc. were among the high
degree of protests by the people that culminated in the
revolt of 1857.
Causes of Revolt
Following were the Causes of the Great
Revolt of 1857
Political Causes
The English Company’s policy of ‘effective control’ and
gradual extinction of the Indian Native States was facilitated
by the subsidiary alliance system that culminated with the
‘Doctrine of Lapse’ of Dalhousie. While the Punjab, Pegu,
Sikkim had been annexed by the ‘Right of Conquest’,
Satara, Nagpur, Jhansi, Udaipur, Sambhalpur, Baghat and
Jaitpur were annexed by Dalhousie’s doctrine of lapse policy.
The pretext of ‘good governance’ was adopted for the
annexation of Awadh.
Moreover, the announcement of the Lord Canning, that
the successors of Faqir-ud-Din would have to leave and
renounce regal title and ancestral Mughal Palace (Lal Quila)
had grievously hurted the Muslim sentiments who thought
that the English wanted to destroy the house of Timur.
The ‘absentee sovereignty ship’ of the British rule in
India also worked against the British that disbanded the
Pindaries, Thugs and irregular soldiers forming the bulk of
native armies that transformed as rebels in the revolt of
1857.
Administrative and Economic Causes
The annexation of Indian states deprived the native
aristocracy of power and position. The new administrative
set-up tended to reserve all high posts, civil and military to
the Europeans. The chances of promotion to the Indians
appointed to these services were few.
Moreover, the administrative machinery of the English
Company was inefficient and insufficient. The land revenue
policy was equally unpopular. Many Taluqdars, the
hereditary landlords, were deprived of their position and
gains. Large estates were confiscated and sold by public
auction. The Inam Commission, appointed in 1852 in
Bombay, alone confiscated as many as 20,000 estates. The
Taluqdars of Awadh were the hardest hit.
Peasants were forced to leave their agricultural land
due to rise in revenue, the handicrafts and industry workers
were forced to earn livelihood through beggary. The
economic policies worked against the traditional Indian
handicrafts and industry. The ruined Indian industry and
trade increased the pressure on agriculture and land which
lopsided development in turn resulted in the pauperization
of the country in general.
Social and Religious Causes
The English were infected with a spirit of racialism. They
described the Hindus as barbarian with hardly any trace of
culture or civilization, while Muslims were dubbed as bigots,
cruel and faithless.

The Religious Disability Act of 1850 modified Hindu
customs; a change of religion did not debar a son from
inheriting the property of his father. The rumour was that
the English were conspiring to convert the Indians to
Christianity. Sepoys were promised promotions if they
accepted the ‘true faith’.
Idolatry was renounced and Hindus were dubbed as
ignorant and superstitious. The activities of Christian priests
and efforts of Dalhousie and Betheme towards women
education made Indians feel that through education the
British were going to conquer their civilization and so these
education offices were styled on ‘Saitani Daftars’. Moreover,
the abolition of Sati, child marriage etc. were seen as an
intrusion into the age-old tradition of the land.
Military Causes
The ratio of Indians in the British army was much higher
than the Europeans. This disproportion took a more serious
turn because of the shortage of good officers in the army;
most of them were employed on administrative posts in the
newly annexed states and the frontiers.
Indian portion of the English army consisted mostly of
Brahmans and Rajputs. Moreover, most of them came from
Awadh and Bihar, hence the political and social
developments of the region equally affected them. The
extension of British dominion in India adversely affected
the service conditions of the army. They were required to
serve in areas far away from their homes without any extra
payment or Bhatta and it was this reason that led to the
refusal of Bengal regiment in 1844 to move to Sindh.
International Relations and Area Studies 261
In 1856, Canning passed the General Service Enlistment
Act which feared that all future recruits for the Bengal Army
would have to give an undertaking to serve anywhere as
desired by the government.
Also, the Post Office Act of 1854, withdrew the privilege
of free postage so long enjoyed by the Sepoys. Moreover,
the disaster of the British Army in Crimean War favoured
the idea of a revolt which was triggered with the introduction
of greased cartridge of the newly replaced Enfield rifle. The
greased cartridge contained the fat of pig and cow prepared
at wool rich arsenal. This was considered by the Sepoys as
a deliberate move to defame their religion.
Spread of the Revolt
On 29th March, 1857, the Brahmin sepoy, Mangal Pandey
of Barrackpore refused to use the greased cartridge and fired
at his adjutant. The 34 Native Infantry was disbanded and
sepoys guilty of rebellion were punished. In May 1857, 85
sepoys of 3rd cavalry at Meerut rebelled but were
imprisoned. Their fellow Sepoys broke out an open rebellion
on 10th May and shot their officer and headed towards
Delhi. General Hewitt, the commanding officer at Meerut
found himself helpless to stem the rising tide. On 12 May
1857, the rebels seized Delhi and overcame Lieutenant
Willoughby, the incharge of the Delhi. Bahadur Shah- II
was proclaimed the Emperor of India. Very soon the rebellion
spread throughout Northern and Central India at Lucknow,
Allahabad, Kanpur, Bareilly, Banaras, Jhansi, parts of Bihar
and other places. Unfortunately, a majority of Indian rulers
remained loyal to the British and the educated Indians and
merchants’ class kept themselves aloof from the rebels.
Revolt was confined to North India only.
Centres of the Revolt
Delhi: A rebellion was led by Bakht Khan. In September
1857, Delhi was recaptured by the English under John
Nicholson. The emperor was arrested and his two sons and
grandsons were publicly shot by Lieutenant Hudson himself.
Kanpur: Nana Saheb was the leader at Kanpur. General
Huge Wheeler surrendered on June 27. Nana Saheb was
joined by Tantia Tope. Sir Campbell occupied Kanpur on
December 6th. Tantia Tope escaped and joined Rani of
Jhansi.
Lucknow: Rebellion was led by Begum Hazrat Mahal
and Ahmaddullah. Henry Lawrence and other Europeans at
the British residency were killed by the rebels. The early
attempts of Havelock and Outram to recover Lucknow met
with no success. It was finally rescued by Colin Campbell
in March 1858.
Jhansi: Rani Lakshmi Bai led the revolt who was
defeated by Huge Rose and she fled to Gwalior and captured
it. She was supported by Tantia Tope. Gwalior was
recaptured by the English in June 1858 and the Rani of
262 International Relations and Area Studies
Jhansi died on 17th June 1858. Tantia Tope escaped
southward. In April, one of the Sindhia’s feudatories captured
him and handed to the English who hanged him.
Bareilly: Khan Bahadur Khan proclaimed himself the
Nawab Nazim of Bareilly, however, the rebellion was
crushed by Colin Campbell in May 1858 and Bareilly was
recaptured.
Arah: Kunwar Singh and his brother Amar Singh led
the rebellion. They were defeated by William Taylor and
Vincent Ayar. Kunwar Singh was killed on 8th May, 1858.
Faizabad: Maulavi Ahmeddullah led the rebellion but
was defeated by the English.
Allahabad & Banaras: The rebellion at Banaras and
adjoining areas was mercilessly suppressed by Colonel Neill
who put to death all rebels suspected and even disorderly
boys.
Impact of the Revolt
The revolt of 1857 made it clear that the techniques of
administering India must change in order to fully achieve
the colonial goal. Hence, there were major changes in the
policies of the rulers in almost every field—political,
economical, social, religious and military.
Following were the impact of the revolt of 1857 on
Indian polity and society:
1. By the Government of India Act 1858, the control of
Indian administration was transferred to the Crown
from the Company. Though the Crow n had
considerable influence over Company’s policies
through the Board of Control from 1784, the Act of
1858 ended the dualism of control and made the
Crown directly responsible to Indian affairs. A
Secretary of State of India was appointed who was to
be assisted by an advisory council of 5 members, out
of which 8 members were to be nominated by the
Crown. In India, the same sort of Governor- General
and the same military and civil services continued as
before. No new policy was inaugurated; rather a
continuation of the Company’s policies was reiterated.
2. The policy of extension of territorial possession ended
and it was promised “to respect the rights, dignity
and honour of Native Princes as their own”. As these
Native Princes acted as ‘break waters’, to preserve
them because of a cardinal principle of British policy.
General amnesty was granted to all the offenders,
except those involved in killing of English and
Europeans. Taluqdars of Awadh were confirmed in
their estates subject to the promise of loyalty and
future good behaviour.
3. The 1858 proclamation assured the free and impartial
admission to offices under Crown without any
discrimination of race or creed, provided the Indians
qualified for them by their education, ability and
integrity. This was manifested in the Indian Civil
Service Act of 1861, which provided for an annual
competitive examination to be held in London.
4. Indian-British army was thoroughly reorganised and
built on the policy of division and counterpoise. The
Army Amalgamation Scheme of 1861 transferred the
Company’s European troops to the service of the
Crown. ‘Linked-Battalion Scheme’ was started in the
army. All big posts in the army and artillery
departments were reserved for the Europeans. The
ratio of Indian and European soldiers in the army was
increased in the favour of the latter. The policy of
counterpoise of a native against native was followed.
5. It was increasingly realised that one basic cause for
the revolt of 1857 was the lack of contact between
the ruler and the ruled. It was believed that this
would at least acquaint the rulers with the sentiments
and feelings of the Indian and those provide an
opportunity for evidence of misunderstandings. The
Indian Councils Act of 1861 was a humble beginning
in that way.
6. The English attitude towards the religious and social
aspects of India changed. They now tried to follow
a policy of non-interference in the religious and social
sphere of Indians which had caused resentment among
them.
7. The unity of Hindus and Muslims during the revolt
was thought problematic to the smooth working of
British policies, hence the policy of ‘divide and rule’
was applied. Muslims were now considered as
‘friends’ of the English while the Hindus were
denounced.
8. Racial bitterness was aggravated. The entire structure
of the Indian government was remodeled on the
philosophy of white man’s burden and civilizing role
of English in India was applied.
9. The era of territorial aggrandizement gave place to
the era of economic exploitation.
Nature of Revolt
Scholars have held divergent views about the nature of the
revolt of 1857. British scholars like Kaye, Trevelyan,
Lawrence in addition to many eye witnesses like Munshi
Jiwan Lal, Durgadas Bandopadhyay, Syed Ahmad Khan etc.
have held that it was ‘a mutiny’. Other described it as a
‘racial struggle’. Still others doubt it as a clash of
civilization, while the nationalists call it as the first War of
Indian Independence. Following are the major views of
scholars.
John Lawrence and Seeley thought it to be a Sepoy’s
mutiny. John Seeley describes the revolt as a ‘wholly
unpatriotic and selfish Sepoy mutiny with non active
leadership and no popular support’. Though it is true that
it began as a military rising, yet it was not everywhere

confined to the army. Even the army as a whole did not join
it and a considerable section fought on the side of the
government. In fact, the rebels came from almost every
section of the population. In the trials of 1858-59, thousands
of civilians, along with the soldiers, were held guilty of the
rebellion and were punished.
The views of L.E.R. Rees that the revolt was ‘a war of
fanatic religionists against Christians’ is also erring. During
the heat of the rebellions, the ethical principles underlying
the various religions had little influence on the complaints.
Both sides quoted their religious scriptures to cover their
cases over the other party. Though the Christians fought the
war and won it, but not Christianity.
It was also not a ‘war of races’. True, all the whites in
India, whatever their nationality, were ranged on one side,
but not all the blacks. Leaving the non- combatants out of
account, there was a high proportion of Indian soldiers in
the Company’s army that took part in the suppression of the
rebellion. To be more correct, it was a war between the
black rebels on one side and the white ruler supported by
blacks on the other side.
T.R. Holmes held that it was ‘a conflict between
civilization and barbarism’. The explanation smacks of
narrow racialism. During the rebellion both the Europeans
and the Indians were guilty of excess. Infact, vendettas took
the better of men on both sides. No nation or individual
which indulges in such horrible atrocities can claim to be
civilized.
Sir James Outram and W. Tayler described the outbreak
as the result of Hindu-Muslim conspiracy. Outram held that
‘it was a Mohammedan conspiracy making capital of Hindu
grievances’.
Early national leaders like V.D. Savarkar in his book,
‘The Indian War of Independence’, to arouse national
consciousness, described it as ‘a planned war of national
independence’. Later on, national leaders further developed
them to cite it as a shining example of the perfect accord
and harmony between the Hindus and the Muslims.
Dr. R.C. Majumdar and Dr. S.N. Sen agree that the
uprising of 1857 was not the result of a careful planning nor
were there any masterminds behind it. The mere fact that
Nana Saheb went to Lucknow and Ambala in March-April
1857 and the struggle started in May of the same year
cannot be regarded as an evidence of planning. During the
trial of Bahadur Shah, efforts were made to prove that he
was a party to a pre-planned conspiracy. Infact, the course
of trial made it clear that the uprising was as much surprise
to Bahadur Shah as to the British.
Also, both of them agree that the Indian nationalism in
the middle of the 19th century was in an embroynic stage.
India, at that time was not a nation and the leaders of the
rebellion were no national leaders. Bahadur Shah was no
national king. Infact, self motivation and profit worked as
International Relations and Area Studies 263
an energizer to the rebel leaders. Different groups
participated in the revolt because of reasons. The Taluqdars
of Awadh fought for their feudal privileges. Attitudes of the
leaders were mutually jealous. The condition of the masses
was no better. The majority of the people remained apathetic
and neutral.
In his book ‘the Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857’,
R.C. Majumdar argued that the uprising of 1857 was not a
war of independence. He maintained that the revolt took
different aspects in different regions. Somewhere it was a
Sepoy mutiny joined later by disgruntled elements eager to
take advantage of anarchy, somewhere it was a Sepoy
mutiny followed by a general revolt in which, civilians,
disposed rulers, tenants and other took part. He also contends
that the Sepoys were mostly inspired by the desire of
material gains than any political or even religious
contradiction. However, he concedes that ultimately these
all gave birth to nationalism.
On the contrary, Dr. Sen believes it to be a war of
independence by arguing that revolutions are mostly the
work of a minority, with or without the active sympathy of
the masses. He contends that when a rebellion can claim the
sympathies of the substantial majority of the population, it
can claim a national character.
Dr. S.B. Chaudhari, in his book ‘Civil Rebellions in the
Indian Mutiny 1857-1859’ has confined his attention to the
detailed analysis of the civil rebellions which accompanied
the military insurrection of 1857. He maintains that the
revolt of 1857 can be bifurcated into mutiny and rebellion
and the outburst of 1857 was the coming together of two
series of disturbances.
Lala Lajpat Rai in ‘Young India’ has described the
revolt of 1857 as both political as well national. Subhash
Chandra Bose also conceded that it was not merely a Sepoy
mutiny but a national uprising.
Eric Stokes believes that in rural areas the revolt was
essentially elitist in character. The mass of the population,
appear to have played little part in the fighting or at most
timely followed the local leadership. According to them, it
was basically an unarmed rebellion.
The Sepoy Mutinies
1764 : A battalion of Munro’s army at the battlefield of
Buxar deserted to Mir Kasim.
1806 : Mutiny at Vellore in protest against interference
in the social and religious practices of the sepoys.
The sepoy unfurled the flag of the ruler of Mysore.
1824 : 47th Native infantry unit mutinied when ordered
to proceed to Burma without adequate overseas
allowance.
1825 : The Grenadeir Company in Assam mutinied.
264 International Relations and Area Studies
1838 : An Indian regiment at Sholapur mutinied for non
payment of full batta.
1844 : 34 N.I. and 64th regiment joined by some others
refused to proceed to Sindh without old pecuniary
benefits.
1849-50 : There was mutinious spirit in the company’s
army during occupation in the Punjab. The
regiment at Govindgarh mutinied in 1850.
Failure of the Revolt
The revolt of 1857 was regional in character and poorly
organized. India’s south of the Narmada remained unaffected.
Sindh and Rajasthan remained quiet and Nepal’s help
proved of great avail in suppressing the revolt.
This revolt was mainly feudal in character carrying
with it some nationalistic elements. The feudal elements of
Awadh, Rohilkhand and some other parts of northern India
led the rebellion, other feudal princes like the Rajas of
Patiala, Gwalior etc. helped in its suppression. These Indian
princess were amply rewarded after the suppression of the
rebellion.
The revolt was organised poorly. The leader of the
rebellion though undoubtely brave, lacked experience,
organizing ability and concerted operations. There was no
planning and almost all factions acted their own strategy.
Surprise attacks and guerilla tactics could not get them their
lost independence against the much organised European
based English army.
The military resources of the British Empire were far
superior to those of the rebels. Though a year earlier, the
British army was busy in Crimean War and fought on other
fronts in the World, but by 1857-58 most of the wars were
won by the British. The Indian soldiers had very few guns
and muskets and mostly fought with swords and spears. On
the other hand, the English army was equipped with the
latest weapons of war like the Enfield rifle. Also, the new
mode of communication like telegraph and railways played
a major part in favour of the English.
The rebels had no common ideal. Bahadur Shah-II was
declared the Emperor at Delhi, Nana Saheb was proclaimed
as Peshwa at Kanpur and Gwalior. Hindu- Muslim differences
lay dormant against the common enemy, but were not dead.
The peasants and the inferior castes, apart from the educated
class and traders, had no active sympathies with the rebels.
Points to Remember
 The revolt was basically anti-imperialist and both the
sepoys and the civilians wanted to throw out the
imperial rulers.
 In 1856 the government decided to replace the old
fashioned musket ‘Brown Bess’ by the ‘Enfield rifle’.
The training of the new weapon was to be imparted
at Dum Dum, Ambala and Sialkot.
 On March 29, 1857 the sepoys at Barrackpore refused
to use the greased cartridge and one Brahmin sepoy,
Mangal Pandey, attacked and fired at the adjutant.
 On 10th May, 1857, the sepoys of the 3rd cavalry at
Meerut also refused to use the greased cartridge and
broke out in open rebellion. They were immediately
joined by the 11th and 20th Native infantries.
 On May 12, 1857, Delhi was seized and Mughal
emperor Bahadur Shah-II was proclaimed the emperor
of India. The real command was in the hands of
Bakht Khan who had led the revolt at Bareilly and
brought the troops to Delhi.
 In Kanpur the revolt was led by Nana Saheb, who
proclaimed himself the Peshwa. He was assisted by
Tantia Tope. The Rebels defeated General Windham
outside Kanpur. Azimullah Khan also led at Kanpur.
 In Lucknow Begum Hazrat Mahal and Ahmadullah
led the revolt. Hazrat Mahal proclaimed Brijis Kadr
as the nawab of Awadh against the wishes of the
British. Henery Lawrence, the British resident was
killed.
 In Jhansi, Rani Laxmibai assumed the leadership of
the mutiny.
 In Bareilly Khan Bahadur proclaimed himself as the
Nawab and revolted there.
 In Arrah Kunwar Singh led the revolt.
 In Faizabad Maulvi Ahmadullah led the revolt.
 Delhi was suppressed by Colonel Nicholson and
Hudson.
 Kanpur was suppressed by Campbell.
 Lucknow was suppressed by Campbell.
 Jhansi was suppressed by Hugh Rose.
 Allahabad and Benaras were suppressed by Colonel
Neil.
 Arrah was supressed by William Taylor and Vincent
Eyre.
 Bahadur Shah was arrested and deported to Rangoon
where he died in 1862.
 Nana Saheb escaped to Nepal.
 The revolt was poorly organised, restricted in its
scope and there was no unity among its leaders.
 There was no impact of rebellion beyond Narmada.
Even in north Rajasthan, Punjab and Sind remained
quiet.
 The Indian princes such as Scindhia of Gwalior,
Nizam of Hyderabad, Gulab Singh of Kashmir, prince
of Rajasthan remained loyal to the British.
 The Indian intelligentsia class remained aloof.
 The control of the Indian administration was
transferred from the East India Company to the crown
by the Government of India Act, 1858.
 International Relations and Area Studies 265

 The Indian Civil Services Act was passed which
provided for an annual competitive examination to
be held in London for recruitment to the covenanted
civil services.
 The Army amalgamation scheme of 1861 transferred
the company’s european troops to the service of
crown.
 The general formula followed was that in Bengal
presidency, the proportion between the European and
Indian troops should be 1:2 while for Bombay and
Madras presidency it should be 1:3.
extended. It aimed at an all round uplift of the people-
social, cultural, economic and political. Swaraj or self-
government was the goal on the political front. Some
progressive elements within the Congress adopted western
revolutionary methods to liquidate western imperialism.
The final stage (1919-47) was the Gandhian stage of
freedom movement. It was dominated by the objective of
Purna Swaraj or complete independence to be achieved
under the leadership of M ahatma G andhi by the
characteristically Indian method of non-violent non-
cooperation.

CENTRES AND LEADERS OF 1857 There were Several Factors that Led to the
REVOLT Growth of Indian Nationalism.
CENTRES LEADER(S) SUPPRESSED 1. Impact of Foreign Rule: Traditional Indian
BY historiography explains rise and growth of Indian
Nationalism in terms of Western response to stimulus
DELHI Bahadur Shah II General
generated by British Raj through creation of new
Nicholson
institution, new opportunities, resources etc. In other
Nana Saheb Captured by words, Indian Nationalism grew partly as a result of
assisted by Tantia Havelock, colonial policies and partly as a reaction to colonial
KANPUR Tope and finally policies.
Azimullah Khan recovered by
The root of the Indian Nationalism lies in the clash
Sir Campbell
between the Indian interests and the British colonial
LUCKNOW Begum Hazrat Sir Campbell interest. The English in order to guard their interest
Mahal controlled tightly their Indian colony. British colonial
JHANSI Rani Laxmi Bai Huge Rose rulers followed modern methods— political, military,
BAREILLY Khan Bahadur and economic and intellectual— to establish and
Khan continue their strong hold over India and for further
economic exploitation of India’s resources. A dose of
William Taylor
modernization was an essential concomitant of the
BIHAR Kunwar Singh and Eyre O’
colonial scheme of administration and this
Neil
modernization-distorted though it was-generated
some development and one of these was growth of
INDIAN NATIONALISM Indian Nationalism. The Indian masses felt that the
The latter half of the 19th century witnessed the rise and industrialists of Lancashire and the groups in Britain
growth of Indian Nationalism and from then onwards an were sacrificing their needs and interest to guard
organised national movement started in India. The year their own. The economic backwardness, caused by
1885 marks the beginning of a new epoch in Indian history. the exploitation of the British was the major reason
In that year All Indian Political Organisation was set on foot for underdevelopment of India economically, socially,
under the name of the Indian National Congress. The Indian politically, culturally and intellectually. Now the
mind became increasingly conscious of its political position. Indians greatly understood this premise.
Indian masses, under the National Congress fought one of Almost every group and community in Indian society
the longest non-violent (to some extent violent also) struggle saw that their interests are unsafe under British rule.
to get their freedom on 15th August 1947. A retrospective Farmers were weary of the colonial authorities.
examination of the National movement suggests three broad Government took a large portion of their produces
stages in its development. under the pretext of land revenue. Government, police
In the first stage of its existence (1885-1905), the vision and administration all sided with the landlords and
of the Indian National Congress was dim, vague and landholders. They were supportive of those merchant
confused. The movement was confined to a handful of the groups who deceit the farmers and exploited them
educated middle class intelligentsia who drew inspiration and controlled their land. Cultivator’s voice against
from western liberal and radical thought. this exploitation w as muted in the name of
During the second stage (1905-1919), the Congress maintenance of law and order. Wearers and handicraft
comes of age and its aim and scope were considerably manufactures felt the government’s authority more
2105 (MA–IR)—34
266 International Relations and Area Studies
negatively. They were ruined by Government policies
of one way free trade and its support to British and
other European manufacturers.
Later with early 20th century when there was a rise
in Indian capitalism and industries, the working class
found the Government siding with the capitalist
especially foreign capitalists despite verbal assurance
of upliftment of labour class status. When ever, the
working class agitated under trade unions for their
causes, the Government used all its power to suppress
the movement. Moreover, the working class was now
becoming aware of the fact that the increasing problem
of unemployment could only be solved by an
independent Indian Government and so they
participated in the freedom struggle.
The educated middle class was also aware of the
economic and political backwardness of the country
and was using various modern means to understand
the problems of British rule. Those who supported
the British in the revolt of 1857 with the hope of
creation of a developed and modern state of India
despite foreign rule were now disheartened and
dissatisfied by seeing the evil effects of foreign rule.
They thought that the British capitalism would
develop India as it was doing so for England but they
found that the Government policies in India were
guided by the British capitalist class and were surely
devastating for India. The economic policies of
government in all fields-agriculture, heavy industries,
finance, tariffs, foreign capital investments, foreign
trade, banking etc-were all geared to the preservation
of the colonial economy. Inspite of the British
intention to the contrary, modern capitalist enterprise
made a beginning in India in the 1860’s.
This development alarmed the British textile
manufacturers who started clamoring for revision of
Indian tariff rates to suit their sectional interest. The
Pound-Rupee exchange ratios were also manipulated
to the disadvantage of Indian industry and foreign
trade. The entire development made it clear that
whenever British economic interests clashed with
Indian economic development, the latter had to be
sacrificed. The Indian capitalist class thus thought
that the independent development and growth of
imperialism has some inner contradiction and felt the
importance of a national Government which will
support the growth and development of Indian
industrial class.
Politically, the claim of British of introduction of
self-governance in India and civilizing the people for
self-government was also deceitful. Many English
officials and politicians had openly declared the
intention of British to remain in India. Further, the
British government used its force to suppress and
prohibit the freedom of speech, press and personal
liberty instead of given them freedom, which were
basic criteria for introduction of self governance.
English writers and scholars had already declared the
inability of Indians to govern themselves. Britain
took upon itself the providential mandate of
civilizing the uncivilized population of the world.
The ‘white men’s Burden’ carried by English-men
was a recurrent theme in the writing of British poets,
scholars administrators. Culturally, the British’s were
adopting negative and anti-Indian policies. They were
quite negative in their approaches when it came to
Indian education, literature, and modern ideas.
The only groups whose interest coincided with that
of the British were, the Indian land holders, the
zamindars and the princes, and therefore these groups
were supportive of British rule till its final extinction.
However, there were many among these groups also
who participated in freedom struggle against British
rule. The nationalist environment affected many and
kindled the fire of nationalism in them. Moreover,
the racial discrimination and the policy of racial
supremacy resulted in the rise of hatred in the hearts
of every self respected Indian, of whatever group he
belonged, against the British rule. The very foreign
nature of British rule also led to the rise of nationalism
among the Indians.
In short, it was the nature and characteristic of foreign
imperialism and its ill effects on the Indian masses
that resulted in the rise and growth of a powerful
anti- imperialistic movement in India. The movement
was a nationalist movement as it was a united struggle
for freedom against common enemy, British colonial
rulers.
2. Establishment of Peace and Administrative
Unification of India: The British sword imposed
political unity in India. Common subjection, common
institutions, common laws began to shape India in a
common mould. Despite imperial efforts to sow
communal, regional and linguistic dissension,
Pan-Indianism grew. The establishment of political
unity fostered the spirit of one-mindedness. After the
chaotic conditions of 18th century, the British rulers
established peace and orderly government in India.
British scholars take pride in the fact that Pax-
Britannica brought prolonged peace and order for the
first time in India. The British also established a
highly centralized administrative system in India.
Percival Griffiths refers to the impersonality of British
administration to be its most important characteristics
i.e., the fundamental characters of administration did
not change with the changes of top-administrators
like Secretaries of State and Viceroys.

Further, administrative unification had important
effects in many other fields. A highly trained
professional, Indian civil service managed the district
administration in all parts of India. A unified, judicial
set up, codified civil and criminal law rigorously
enforces throughout the length and breadth of the
country imparted a new dimension of political unity
to the hitherto cultural unity that had existed in India
for centuries. In the words of Edwyn Bevan, the
British Raj was like a steel- frame which held the
injured body of India together till the gradual process
of internal growth had joined the dislocated bones,
knit up the torn fibers, and enabled the patient to
regain inner coherence and unity.
3. Introduction of Modern Education: The introduction
of modern system of education afforded opportunities
for assimilation of modern western ideas, which in
turn gave a new direction to Indian political thinking.
The English system of education though conceived
by the rulers in the interest of efficient administration
opened to the easily educated Indian the floodgates
of liberal European thought. The liberal and radical
thought of European writers like Milton, Shelley,
Benthem, Mill, Spencer, Rousseau and Voltaire
inspired the Indian intelligentsia with the ideals of
liberty, nationality and self government while
Mazzini, Garibaldi and Irish leaders became their
political inspirations and made clear to them the
anachronism of British rule in India.
The newly-education class usually adopted the
profession of junior administrators, lawyers, doctors,
teachers etc. Some of them visited England to receive
higher education. While in England they saw with
their own eyes the working of political institutions in
a free country. On their return to India, these persons
found the atmosphere cringing and slavish with the
total denial of basic rights to citizens. These ‘Vilayat-
returned’ Indians with the ever-expanding English
educated class formed the middle class intelligentsia.
This English-educated intelligentsia, somewhat
conscious of political right, found that despite the
promises contained in the Charter Act of 1833 and
the Queen’s proclamation of 1858 the doors of higher
services closed to the Indians. Thus realization from
discontent and frustration among them and the
discontent proved infections.
The spread of and popularity of the English language
in all parts of India gave to the educated Indians a
common language a lingua franca- through the
medium of which they could communicate with one
another and transact their conferences and Congress.
In the absence of such a lingua franca it would have
been very difficult for the Indians to come on a
common platform or organise a movement of all-
India character.
International Relations and Area Studies 267
However, we should note that the Introduction of
Modern English language did not result in the rise of
Indian Nationalism. It was the result of the Indians.
The English education only made the Indians aware
of modern political ideas and systems and also made
them capable of giving shape to the Indian National
movement on democratic and modern lines. The
reality was that the officials and staffs in the English
schools usually tried to encourage pro-British attitude
among the students. The nationalist ideas were not
the result of English education.
There was a rise of nationalism and spread of modern
ideas in China, Indonesia and other countries of Asia
and Africa despite the fact that the number of modern
Western type schools and colleges was limited.
Initially the English language acted as lingua franca
among the Indians but later its impact was seen in
wider perspective educated groups. The English
language separated the Indians into two different
groups i.e., one English educated and the other
vernacular educated groups. Most of the political
leaders, understanding this fact tried to undo the
impact of English education. Dadabhai Naoroji, Sayed
Ahmed Khan, Ranade, Tilak, and Mahatma Gandhi,
all emphasized on imparting education through
vernaculars. In fact, as far as the rise and growth of
nationalism among the masses is concerned, it was
the result of spread of western ideas by vernacular
literatures, press and propaganda.
4. Emergence of a Modern Press: The emergence of
the modern press- both English and vernacular was
another offshoot of British rule in India. It was the
Europeans who set up printing presses in India and
published newspapers and other cheap Literature.
Gradually, the vernacular press came into existence
and developed on the Western pattern. In spite of the
numerous restrictions imposed on the press by the
colonial rulers from time to time Indian journalism
made rapid strides. The latter half of the 19th century
saw an unprecedented growth of Indian-owned
English and vernacular newspapers.
In 1857 there were about 169 newspapers published
in vernacular languages and their circulation reached
about 100,000. The Indian press has played a notable
role in mobilizing public opinion, organising political
movements, fighting out public controversy and
promoting nationalism. Government policies were
constantly criticized in the pages of the newspapers,
Indian opinion was popularized and the idea of self-
governance, democracy and Indian industrialization
was propagated among the masses through these
vernacular papers. Indian press was also an important
medium of constant exchange of ideas and opinion
among the nationalist in different parts of the country.
268 International Relations and Area Studies
Newspapers, journals, pamphlets, magazines, booklets
and other printed materials were used to propagate
nationalism. Bamkim Chandra Chatterjee (Bengal),
Rabinder Nath Tagore (Bengal), Laxminath Bej Barua
(Assam), Vishnu Sashtri Chiplankur (Maharashtra),
Subramanian Bharti (Tamil Nadu), Altaf Hussain Hali
(Urdu) and Bhartendu Harishchandra and Premchand
(Hindi) were some of the nationalist writers of the
age. Newspapers like the Indian Mirror, the Bengalee,
the Amrit Bazar Patrika, Bombay Chronicle, the
Hindu Patriot, the Maratha, Kesari, Andra Prakashika,
the Hindu, Induprakash, Kohinur, Times of India, etc.
in English and different Indian languages exposed
the excesses of British Indian administration apart
from popularizing among the people the ideas of
representative government, liberty, democratic
institutions, Home rule and Independence. It may not
be an exaggeration to state that the press became the
mirror of India’s nationalism and the primary medium
of popular public education.
5. Racialism: One unfortunate legacy of the rebellion
of 1857 was the feeling of racial bitterness between
the rulers and the ruled. The ‘punch’ cartooned
Indians as half-gorilla, half-Negroes. The Anglo-
Indian bureaucracy developed an attitude of
arrogance and contempt towards the Indians. They
somehow came to the conclusion that the only
argument that worked effectively with the Indians
was superior force. Thus, Europeans developed their
own social code of ethics and worked out the theory
of a superior race. The Indians were dubbed as
belonging to an inferior race and no longer worthy
of any trust the Indians were frequently referred to as
a nation of liars, perjurers and forgers. The Anglo-
Indians lobby produced books leaf lets and pamphlets
to justify the racial superiority of the European races
particularly the English. This narrow approach evoked
a reaction in the Indians mind and put the educated-
Indians on the defensive.
6. Impact of Contemporary European Movement:
Contemporary story currents of nationalist ideas,
which pervaded the whole of Europe and South
America, did stimulate Indian Nationalism. A number
of nation-states came into existence in South America
on the ruins of the Spanish and Portuguese empires.
In Europe, the national liberation movements of
Greece and Italy in general and of Ireland in particular
deeply stirred the emotions of Indians. Educated
Indians touring Europe were greatly impressed by the
nationalist movements. We find Surendranath Banerji
delivering lectures on Joseph Mazzini and the
“Young Italy’’ movement organised by him. Lala
Lajpat Rai very often referred to the campaigns of
Garibaldi and the activities of coronaries in his
speeches and writings. Thus, European nationalist
movements denied strength to the developing
nationalism in India.
7. Progressive Character of Socio-Religious Reforms:
In the 19th century educated Indians began to
examine afresh their religious beliefs and customs
and their social practices in the light of new
knowledge of western science and philosophy which
they had overturned. The result was various religious
and social reform movements in Hindu religion like
the Brahmo Samaj, the Prarthana Samaj, the Arya
Samaj, the Ramkrishna Mission, the Theosophical
society, etc. Similarly movements reformed Muslim,
Sikh and Parsi societies also.
In the religious sphere the reform movements
combated religious superstitions, attacked idolatry,
polytheism and hereditary priest hood. In the social
sphere, these movements attacked the caste system,
untouchability and other social and legal inequalities.
These movements were progressive in character for
they sought reorganization of society on democratic
lines and on the basis of ideas of individual equality,
social equality, reason, enlightenment and liberalism.
Most of the religious societies had also political
mission, all the source, whosoever, came under their
influence rapidly developed a sense of self-respect
and spirit of patriotism.
8. Lord Lytton’s Reactionary Policies: The
shortsighted acts and policies of Lord Lytton acted
like catalytic agents and accelerated the movement
against foreign rule. The maximum age limit for the
I. C. S. examination was reduced from 21 years to 19
years, this making it impossible for Indians to
compete for it. The grand Delhi Durbar of 1877,
when the country was in the severe grip of famine,
solicited the remark of a Calcutta journalist that ‘Nero
was fiddling while Rome was burning’. Lytton put
on the statute book two obnoxious measures the
Vernacular Press Act and Indian Arms Act (1878).
Lytton’s unpopular acts provoked a great storm of
opposition in the country and led to the organisation
of various political associations for carrying on anti-
government propaganda in the country.
9. The Ilbert Bill Controversy: The Ilbert Bill
controversy raised passion on both sides which did
not subside early. Ripon’s movement sought to
abolish ‘Judicial disqualification based as race
distinction’ and the Ilbert Bill sought to give the
Indian members of the covenanted civil services
colleagues enjoyed. The Bill raised a storm of
agitation among the members of the European
community and they all stood united against the
Bill. Ripon had to modify the Bill that almost
defeated the original purpose. The Ilbert Bill
controversy proved an eye opener to the Indian

intelligentsia. It became clear to them that justice
and fairplay could not be expected where the interests
of the European community were involved. Further,
it demonstrated to them the value of organised
agitation.
After 1870’s, it became clear that the Indian
Nationalism had grown and had earned such strength
and courage to become an important part in the Indian
politics. Now, it was impossible to ignore the Indian
Nationalism. In 1885, the Indian Nationalism was
expressed in the form of an all- Indian organisation
called the India National Congress. Before the
National Congress, also there was several political
organizations in India though on a lesser scale and
limited to certain regions.
Pre-Congress Political Associations
The Indian sub-continent witnessed the growth of political
ideas and political organizations hitherto unknown to the
Indian world. And it was political association which
heralded 19th century India into modern politics. After
1836, there was rise of many political associations in various
parts of India. All these associations were headed by ‘elites’
and were regional and local. What distinguished these new
political associations from earlier religions and caste
associations of the country were the secular interest that
bonded together the new classes. They worked for
administrative reforms and demanded participation of
Indians in the administration of India. Their method was,
however, polite and restricted to petitions to the Government
demanding reforms.
Bengal Presidency
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the pioneer of political
movement in India. He was greatly influenced by western
ideas. In 1821, the Raja celebrated in Calcutta the
establishment of a constitutional government in Spain. Ram
Mohan Roy was the first Indian to focus the attention of the
English men on the grievances of India and to ask for
remedial measures. He demanded liberty of the press,
appointment of Indians in civil courts and other higher
posts, codification of law, etc. It was generally believed that
some of the beneficent provisions in the Charter Act of
1833 were due to his lobbying in England.
The task of organizing political association was,
however, left to the associates of Ram Mohan Roy. The first
such association called ‘Bangabhasa Prakasika Sabha’ was
formed in 1836. The association discussed topics connected
with the policy and administration of the Government and
sought redress by sending petition and memorials to the
Governments. In July 1838, the “Zamindari Association’’,
more popularly known as the “Landholders Society’’, was
formed to safeguard the interests of the landlords. Although
limited in its objectives, the landholders Society marked
International Relations and Area Studies 269
the beginning of an organised political activities and use of
methods of constitutional agitation for the redressal of
grievances.
In April 1843, another political association under the
name of the Bengal British India Society was founded with
the object of “the collection and dissemination of
information relating to the actual condition of the people
of British Indian’’ on October 29, 1851, the two associations
(Land Holders Society and British India Society) were
merged into a new one referred the “British India
Association”. This association was dominated by members
of the landed aristocracy and its primary objective was
safeguarding their class interest. However, the Association
struck a liberal note and when the time came for the renewal
of the charter of the East India Company it sent a petition
to the Parliament praying for establishment of a separate
legislature of a popular character, separation of judicial and
executive functions, reduction in the salaries of higher
officers, abolition of salt duty, able abkari and stamp duties
etc. The prayers of the Association were partially met and
the Charter Act of 1853 provided for the addition of six
members to the governor-general’s council for legislative
purpose.
In September 1875, Babu Sisir Kumar Ghose founded
the Indian league with the objective of “stimulating the
sense of nationalism am ongst the people” and of
encouraging political education. Within a year of its
foundation, the Indian league was superseded by the Indian
Association, founded on 26 July 1876, by Anandamohan
Bose and Surendranath Banerjee. It was one of the most
important pre- Congress Associations of political nature. It
was founded in Calcutta. The young nationalists of Bengal
were disheartened from the zamindar centric and traditional
nature of the British India Association. They were in favour
of a strong political struggle including important social
issues. They got a good educated leader and orator in the
form of Surendranath Banerjee.
Surendranath was dismissed by his higher officials from
the Indian civil services in a very unrightful manner. He was
against the supremacy of English authorities and
Englishmen in Indian civil services and had raised voice
against them. Surendranath started his political career by
talking on various political issues in 1875 amongst the
students of Calcutta. The Indian Association hoped to attract
not only the middle classes but also the masses and therefore
kept its annual subscription of ` 5 as opposed to the
subscription of ` 50. p. a fixed by the British Indian
Association. Soon the Indian Association became the centre
of the leading representatives of the educated community of
Bengal.
The regulation of 1876 that reduced the maximum age
for appearing in the Indian Civil Service examination from
21 to 19 years triggered on the political activity in India.
The Indian Association took up this question and organized
270 International Relations and Area Studies
an all-India agitation against it, popularly known as the
Indian civil service agitation. Surendranath Banerjee on a
whirlwind tour of northern India in May 1877 visited
Banaras, Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Aligarh, Delhi,
Meerut, Amritsar and Lahore. At certain centers he visited,
new political organizations to act in concert with the Indian
Association of Calcutta were set up.
Bombay Presidency
On the lines of British India Association of Calcutta, on
26 August 1852, was founded the Bombay Association with
the object of ‘memorializing from time to time the
government authorities in India or in England for the
removal of existing evils, and for the prevention of proposed
measures which may be deemed injurious or for the
introduction of enactment which may tend to promote the
general interest of all connected with this country’.
The Bombay Association sent a petition to the British
Parliament urging the formation of new legislative council
to which Indians should also represented. It also condemned
the policy of exclusion of Indians from all higher services,
lavish expenditure on sinecure posts given to European.
However, this Association didn’t survive for long. The
reactionary policies of Lytton and the Ilbert Bill controversy
caused political commotion in Bombay. The credit for
organisation of the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885
goes to the popularly called brothers in law- Mehtas, Telang
and Tyabji, representing the three chief communities of
Bombay town. At Poona, the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was
established in 1867 with the object of serving as a bridge
between the Governments on the one hand and the people
on the other.
Madras Presidency
A branch of the British Indian Association of Calcutta was
setup at Madras under the name of the Madras Native
Association. However, the Madras Native Association right
from its inception was worked by some officials, possessed
very little vitality, had hardly any hold upon the public
mind and languished into obscurity after 1857.
The Madras Mahajan Sabha was formed in May, 1884
to co-ordinate the activities of local association and to
‘provide a focus for the non-official intelligence spread up
through the Presidency’. It w as founded by M.V .
Raghavachari, G. Subrahmanyam Aiyar, Anand Charlu and
others.
Various political organizations were also formed outside
India during pre-Congress period of colonial rule. In 1866,
East India Association was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in
London. It’s objective was to discuss the problem and
questions related to India and to influence the British leaders
towards the development of India. Later, Dadabhai also
opened its branch in various important Indian cities. Two
other Associations namely National Indian Association,
founded by Mary Carpenter in 1867 and Indian Society,
founded by Anandmohan Bose in 1872 were also formed in
London. These, however, were not so important as compared
to East India Association. Its leaders, like Dadabhai Naoroji
devoted all his life for Indian freedom struggle. He was also
known as the Grand Old Man of India. He was the first
economic thinker of India. He, in his writings proved that
the only cause of poverty in India was the economic
exploitation of India by British and Drain of Wealth.
Dadabhai Naoroji was elected to the presidentship of Indian
National Congress thrice.
The political Associations and activities in pre- Congress
period in India and abroad regarding the Indian freedom
struggle made it mandatory to form an All-India Association
that would lead the country against the foreign rulers. These
early Associations had, though, important contribution i.e.,
of arousing the political will and demands of the Indian
public, but their area and activities, all were limited. They
mainly questioned local issues and their members and leaders
were also limited to one or adjoining provinces. Despite
good leaders like Surendranath Banerjee, Dadabhai Naoroji,
Ananda Charlu and others there was a lack of national unity
in case of political association that was gained by the
formation of Indian National Congress.
INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
The credit for giving the idea concrete and final shape goes
to A. O. Hume, a retired English Civil Servant. He got in
touch with prominent Indian leaders and organised with
their cooperation the first session of the Indian National
Congress at Gokul Singh Tejpal Sanskrit School, Bombay
in Decemeber 1885. It was presided over by W.C. Banerjee
and attended by 72 delegates. The aims of the National
Congress were declared to be the promotion of friendly
relations between nationalist political workers from different
parts of the country. Hence, the sessions of the Indian
National Congress were rotated with the President being
from a different region. In 1890, Kadambini Ganguli, the
first woman graduate of Calcutta University, addressed the
Congress session. The Indian National Congress was not the
only channel through which the stream of nationalism
flowed. Provincial conferences, provincial and local
associations, and nationalist newspapers were the other
prominent organs of the growing nationalist movement.
The press, in particular, was a powerful factor in developing
nationalist opinion and the nationalist movement. Of course,
most of the newspapers of the period were not carried on as
business ventures but were consciously started as organs of
nationalist activity.
Phase of National Movement
A retrospective examination of the national movement
suggest three broad stages in its development:

1. 1885-1905: The Moderate phase of the period of
early nationalist Movement. In this phase the vision
of the Indian National Movement Congress was dim,
vague and confused. The movement was confined to
a handful of the educated middle class intelligentsia
who drew inspiration from western liberal and radical
thought.
2. 1905-1918: The Extremist phase or the period of
militant nationalists. During the second stage the
Congress came of age and its aim and scope were
considerably, extended. It aimed at an all round
development of the people-social, cultural, economic
and political ‘swaraj’ or government was the goal of
political front. Some progressive elements within the
congress adopted western revolutionary methods to
liquidate western Imperialism.
3. 1919-1947: The Gandhian phase or the Final stage:
It was dominated by the objective of ‘Poorna Swaraj’
or complete independence to be achieved under the
leadership of Mahatma Gandhi by the
characteristically Indian method of non-violence and
non-cooperation.
The Moderates
The National leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, Firoz Shah
Mehta, M.E. Wacha, W.C. Banerjee, S.N. Banerjee, who
dominated during this period were staunch believers in
liberalism and moderate politics and came to be known as
moderates. The moderates believed in the constitutional
agitation. They believed if public opinion was created and
organised and popular demands presented to the authorities
through petitions, meetings resolutions and speeches, the
authorities would concede these demands gradually and
step by step. The moderates believed that the British people
and Parliament wanted to be just to India but they did not
know the true state of affairs there.
Agitation against Economic Policies
The early nationalists complained of India’s growing poverty
and economic backwardness and the failure of modern
industry and agriculture to grow; and they put the blame on
British economic exploitation of India. They organised a
powerful agitation against nearly all important official
economic policies based on this colonial structure. They
took note of all the three forms of contemporary colonial
economic exploitation, namely, through trade, industry and
finance. They clearly grasped that the essence of British
economic imperialism lay in the subordination of the Indian
economy to the British economy.
They vehemently opposed the British attempt to
develop in India the basic characteristics of a colonial
economy namely, the transformation of India into a supplier
of raw materials, a market for British manufacturers, and a
field of investment for foreign capital. Dadabhai Naoroji
International Relations and Area Studies 271
declared as early as 1881 that the British rule was “an
everlasting, increasing and everday increasing foreign
invasion” that was “utterly, though gradually, destroying
the country”. They popularised the idea of swadeshi or the
use of Indian goods, and the boycott of British goods as a
means of promoting Indian industries. Students in Poona
and in other towns of Maharashtra publicly burnt foreign
clothes in 1896 as part of the larger swadeshi campaign.
Constitutional Reforms
Their immediate demands were extremely moderate. They
hoped to win freedom through gradual steps. They were
also extremely cautious, lest the Government suppress their
activities. From 1885 to 1892 they demanded the expansion
and reform of the Legislative councils.
The British Government was forced by their agitation
to pass the Indian Councils Act of 1892. By this Act the
number of members of the imperial Legislative Council as
well as the provincial councils was increased. Some of these
members could be elected indirectly by Indians, but the
officials’ majority remained. The nationalists were totally
dissatisfied with the Act of 1892 and declared it to be a
hoax.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the nationalist
leaders advanced further and put forward the claim for
swarajya of self-government within the British Empire on
the model of self-governing colonies like Australia and
Canada. This demand was made from the Congress platform
by Gokhale in 1905 and by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906.
Administrative and other Reforms
The most important administrative reform they desired was
Indianisation of the higher grades of the administrative
services. They put forward this demand on economic,
political and moral grounds. Economically, the European
monopoly of higher services was harmful on two grounds:-
(1) Europeans were paid at very high rates and this made
Indian administration very costly - Indians of similar
qualifications could be employed on lower salaries; and
(2) Europeans sent out of India a large part of their salaries
and their pensions were paid in England. This added to the
drain of wealth from India. Politically, the nationalists hoped
that the Indianisation of these services would make the
administration more responsive to Indian needs.
Defence of Civil Rights
Politically conscious India had been powerfully attracted
not only to democracy but also to modern civil rights,
namely, the freedom of speech, the Press, thought and
association. They put up a strong defence of these civil
rights whenever the Government tried to curtail them. It was
during this period and as a result of nationalist political
work that democratic ideas began to take root among the
Indian people in general and the intelligentsia in particular.
272 International Relations and Area Studies
In fact, the struggle for democratic freedoms became an
integral part of the nationalist struggle for freedom.
In 1897 the Bombay Government arrested B.G. Tilak
and several other leaders and newspaper editors, and tried
them, spreading disaffection against the Government. They
were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. At the same
time two Poona leaders, the Nathu brothers, were deported
without trial. The entire country protested against this attack
on the liberties of the people. Tilak, hitherto known largely
in Maharashtra, became overnight an all-India leader.
Methods of Political Work
The political methods of the Moderates can be summed up
briefly as constitutional agitation within the four walls of
the law, and slow, orderly political progress. Their political
work had, therefore, a two pronged direction.
 Firstly, to build up a strong public opinion in India
to arouse the political consciousness and national
spirit of the people, and to educate and unite on the
political questions.
 Secondly, the early nationalists wanted to persuade
the British Government and British public opinion to
introduce reforms along directions laid down by the
nationalists.
Demand of the Moderates
 Expansion and power to legislative council.
 Greater opportunities for Indians in ICS exam.
 Reimposition of custom duties on cotton goods.
 Grant of self government to India within the British
Empire as in the colonies of Australia and Canada.
 Freedom of speech and expression.
Weakness
The basic weakness of the Moderates lay in their narrow
social base. The leaders lacked political faith in the masses
as they declared that the time was not ripe for throwing out
a challenge to the foreign rulers.
Government’s Attitude
Regarding the attitude of the British Goverment towards the
Moderates, it became hostile soon after the inception of
INC. Dufferin, the then Governor General, had tried to divert
the national movement by suggesting to Hume that the
Congress should devote itself to social causes rather than
political affairs. But now Congress leaders refused to do so.
British officials now began to criticise Congress and other
nationalist leaders as “disloyal Babus, seditious Brahmins
and violent villains”. Dufferin remarked on Congress as
“Microscopic minority”. Curzon said, “The Congress is
tottering to its fall and one of my great ambitions, while in
India, is to assist it to a peaceful demise”. Besides the
British officials relied upon the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’
to weaken the nationalist movement. They encourged Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan and Raja Shiv Prasad of Benaras and
other pro-British Indians to start an anti-Congress movement.
Achivements
The politics of the Moderates was described as “halting and
half hearted” their methods were described as those of
mendicancy or beggary through prayers and petition. They
failed to get anything substantial from the British through
constitutional methods. But it is only the single side of the
fact. Moderates succeeded in creating a wide political
awakening and in arousing among the Indians the feeling
that they belong to one nation. They exposed the true
character of the British imperialism in India. In spite of their
many failures they laid strong foundation for the national
movement.
The Extremists
Causes of Growth of Extremism
A section of the Congress gradually lost faith in its moderate
programme in the early 20th century and moved towards
militant nationalism. It marked the growth of a radical wing
in the Congress. The political events of the year 1892 to
1905 also disappointed the nationalists and made them
think of more radical politics. The Indian Councils Act of
1892 was a complete disappointment. On the other hand,
even the existing political rights of the people were attacked.
The Nathu brothers were deported in 1897 without
being tried’; even the charges against them were not made
public. In the same year, Lokmanya Tilak and other
newspaper editors were sentenced to long terms of
imprisonment for arousing the people against the foreign
government. The people found that, instead of giving them
wider political rights, the rulers were taking away even their
few existing rights.
In 1898, a law was passed making it an offence to
excite ‘feelings of disaffection’ towards the foreign
government. In 1899, the number of Indian members in the
Calcutta Corporation was reduced. In 1904, the Indian
Official Secrets Act was passed restricting the freedom of
the Press. The Indian Universities Act of 1904 was seen by
the nationalists as an attempt to bring Indian Universities
under tighter official control and to check the growth of
higher education. The anti-congress attitude of Lord Curzon
convinced more and more people that it was useless to
expect any political and economic advance as long as
Britain ruled India. Even the moderate leader Gokhale
complained that “the bureaucracy was growing frankly
selfish and openly hostile to national aspirations”.
Agenda and Methods of Extremists
Four prominent Congress leaders Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh and Lala Lajpat Rai
 International Relations and Area Studies 273

were chief advocators of militant nationalism. They rejected He refused to apologize to the Government and was
prayer and petition method of moderates. The new sentecnced to 18 month’s rigorous imprisonment.
leadership sought to create a passionate love for liberty,
accompanied by a spirit of sacrifice and readyness to suffer Congress Sessions and Presidents
for the cause of country. They advocated boycott of foreign Year Name of the President Venue
goods, use of swadesi goods, national education and passive
1885 W.C. Bannerjee Bombay
resistance. They had deep faith in mass and they planned
to achieve swaraj through mass action. 1886 Dadabhai Naoroji Calcutta
The leaders of this wing gave up the soft approach of 1887 Badruddin Tyabji Madras
appeals and petitions. Instead, they made radical 1888 George Yule Allahabad
(fundamental) demands and adopted strong ways of political 1889 Sir William Wedderburn Bombay
agitation. They had no faith in good intentions of the
British government. The extremist aimed at achiveing 1890 Ferozshah Mehta Calcutta
‘swaraj’ that meant complete independence from British 1891 P. Ananda Charlu Nagpur
rule. They considered that the demand of the moderate 1892 W.C. Bannerjee Allahabad
leaders for Swaraj was for colonial self government. Tilak
1893 Dadabhai Naoroji Lahore
remarked, ‘Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it’.
Aurobindo Ghosh said “political freedom is the life breath 1894 Alfred Webb Madras
of a nation”. 1895 S.N. Bannerjee Poona
Radical Nationalists Politics 1896 Rahimtull M. Sayani Calcutta

Larger numbers of educated Indians were employed on 1897 C. Sankaran Nair Amravati
extremely low salaries under alien rule. Many of them even 1898 Anand Mohan Bose Madras
faced unemployment, so they were attracted towards militant 1899 R.C. Dutt Lucknow
nationalism. They were fully aware of contemporary
1900 N. G. Chandavarkar Lahore
international events. The rise of modern Japan after 1868
showed that a backward Asian country could develop itself 1901 D. E. Wacha Calcutta
without western control. The defeat of the Italian army by 1902 Hasan Imam S. N. Banerjee Ahmedabad
the Ethiopians in 1896 and of Russia by Japan in 1905 1903 Lal Mohan Ghose Madras
exploded the myth of European superiority. Educated
Indians were w atching carefully the revolutionary 1904 Sir Henry Cotton Bombay
movements of Russia, Egypt, Turkey, China and Ireland. 1905 G.K. Gokhale Benaras
Thus there developed a school of militant nationalism 1906 Dadabhai Naoroji Calcutta
side by side with the moderate politics. This school was 1907 Dr. Rash Bihari Ghosh (Susp.) Surat
represented by leaders like Rajanarain Bose and Ashwini
1908 Dr. Rash Bihari Ghosh Madras
Kumar Dutt in Bengal and Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar in
Maharashtra. The most outstanding representative of this 1909 Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Lahore
school was Bal Gangadhar Tilak. 1910 Sir William Webberburn Allahabad
Tilak helped in founding during 1880s ‘the new English 1911 Pandit B.N. Dhar Calcutta
School’ which later became the Fergusson College, and 1912 R.N. Modholkar Bankipore
newspapers ‘the Maratha’ (in English) and ‘the Kesari’ (in
Marathi). From 1889, he edited the Kesari and preached 1913 Nawab Syed Md. Bahadur Karachi
nationalism in its columns and taught people to become 1914 Bhupendranath Basu Madras
courageous, self-reliant and selfless fighters in the cause of 1915 Sir Satender Prasad Sinha Bombay
India’s independence.
1916 Ambika Charan Majumdar Lucknow
In 1893, he started using the traditional religious
1917 Mrs. Annie Besant Calcutta
Ganpati festival to propagate nationalist ideas through songs
and speeches. In 1895 he started the Shivaji festival to 1918 Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Delhi
simulate nationalism among young Maharashtrians by 1919 Motilal Nehru Amritsar
holding up the example of Shivaji for emulation. 1920 Lala Lajpat Rai (suspended) Calcutta
He set a real example of boldness and sacrifice when C. Vijayraghavachariar (annual) Nagpur
the authorities arrested him in 1897 on the charge of
spreading hatred and disaffection against the Government. 1921 C.R. Das Gaya
2105 (MA–IR)—35
274 International Relations and Area Studies
1923 Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad (Suspended) Aurobindo Ghosh’s Bande Mataram and Ajit Singh’s Bharat
Maulana Mohammad Ali Cocanda (Annual) Mata.
1924 Mahatma Gandhi Belgaum
Rise of Extremism
1925 Mrs. Sarojini Naidu Cawnpore
A section of Congress lost faith in moderate programme and
1926 S. Sarojini Lyengar Guwahati moved towards militant nationalism. The leaders of this
1927 Dr. M. A. Ansari Madras group gave up the soft approach of appeals and petitions.
1928 Pandit Motilal Nehru Calcutta Instead they made radical demands and adopted strong
ways of political agitation. Ashwini Kumar Datt said that
1929 Jawaharlal Nehru Lahore the Amravati session was a three day tamasha. Lala Lajpat
1930 (No session) but Independence Day Pledge Rai regarded the congress as a factuous annual festival of
was adopted on 26th Jan, 1930. British educated elites. The extremists aimed at achieving
1931 Vallabhabhai Patel Karachi Swaraj that meant complete independence from British rule.
They advocated boycott of foreign goods, use of Swadeshi
1932 R. Amritlal (session was banned)
goods, national education and passive resistance. They had
1933 Mrs. J. M. Sen Gupta Calcutta deep faith in the masses and they planned to achieve Swaraj
(session was banned) through mass action.
1934-35 Rajendra Prasad Bombay
Swadeshi Movement (1905)
1936 Jawaharlal Nehru Lucknow
The movement had its origin in the anti-partition movement
1937 Jawaharlal Nehru Faizpur of Bengal. The leaders of Bengal felt that mere
1938 S.C. Bose Haripura demonstrations, public meetings and resolutions were not
1939 S.C. Bose (Re elected for 1939) Tripuri enough and something more was needed; the answer was
felt as Swadeshi and Boycott. An important aspect of the
1940 Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Ramgarh
Swadeshi movement was emphasis placed on self-reliance.
1941-45 (No session, like due to arrests and Lal, Bal and Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh played an important
jailing owing to war situtation.) role. The INC took the Swadeshi call first at the Benaras
1946 Acharya J.B. Kripalani Meerut Session, 1905 presided over by G.K. Gokhale. A resolution
to boycott British goods was adopted on 7th August, 1905
1947 B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya Jaipur
at a meeting of the INC at Calcutta and bonfires of foreign
goods at various places were organised.
NATIONALIST MOVEMENT, 1905-1918:
GROWTH OF MILITANT NATIONALISM Muslim League, 1906
Set up in 1906 under the leadership of Aga Khan, Nawab
Partition of Bengal, 1905 Salimullah of Dhaka and Nawab Mohsin- ul-Mulk. It was a
By Lord Curzon on 16th October, 1905, through a royal loyalist, communal and conservative political organization
proclamation reducing the old province of Bengal in size which supported the partition of Bengal, opposed the
by creating East Bengal and Assam out of rest of Bengal. Swadeshi movement, and demanded special safeguards of
The government said that it was done to stimulate growth its community and a separate electorate for Muslims.
in the eastern region when actually the objective was to set
up a communal gulf between the Hindus and the Muslims. Calcutta Session of INC, 1906
A mighty upsurge swept the country against the partition. Swaraj was adopted in December 1906 at the Calcutta
National movement found real expression in the movement session by the INC under Dadabhai Naoroji as the goal of
against the partition of Bengal in 1905. Indian people.
Rabindranath Tagore composed the national song ‘Amar
Sonar Bangla’ for the occasion which was later adopted as Surat Session of INC, 1907
the national anthem of Bangladesh in 1971 after liberation The INC split into two groups - the extremists and the
from Pakistan. The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was moderates at the Surat session in 1907. The Extremists were
observed on 16th October, 1905 where Hindus and Muslims led by Bal, Pal, Lal while the moderates by G.K. Gokhale.
tied rakhis to each other to show solidarity. The newspapers A controversy arose over the elected president, Rash Bihari
played a significant role in the movement. The main Ghosh, as extremists did not accept him as they wanted Lala
newspapers were K.K. Mitra’s Sanjeevani, S.N. Banerjee’s Lajpat Rai to be chosen. The moderates wanted to modify
Bengali, Motilal Ghosh’s Amrit Bazaar Patrika, B.B. the congress resolutions on Swadeshi and boycott passed in
Upadhyaya’s Yugantar, Bipin Chandra Pal’s New India, the 1906 session. The extremists wanted to intensify them.
2105 (MA–IR)—35-II

The moderates wanted to insert a clause in the congress
constitution that Swaraj was to be achieved only through
constitutional means and by reforms in Administration. The
extremists were in favour of direct agitation through the
Swadeshi and boycott movements. The government after
this launched a massive attack on the extremists by
suppressing their newspapers and arresting their leaders.
Indian Council Act/Morley-Minto Act, 1909
The Act introduced at the time of Morley who was the
Secretary of State and Minto who was the Indian Viceroy.
Legislative Councils both at the centre and the Provinces
were expanded. With regard to the Central Government, an
Indian member was taken in the Executive Council of the
Governor General. The size of the Provincial Legislative
Councils was enlarged by including elected non-official
members so that the official majority was gone. Their
function was also increased and now they could move
resolutions on budget and some matters of public
importance.
An element of election was also introduced in the
Central Legislative Council, but the official majority was
maintained. The most notable and retrograde change
introduced was that muslim s were given separate
representation. Thus comm unal representation was
introduced which aimed at dividing the nationalist ranks
and at rallying the Moderates and the Muslims to the
Government’s side.
Ghadar Party, 1913
Formed by Lala Hardayal, Taraknath Das and Sohan Singh
Bhakna the name was taken from the weekly Ghadar which
had been started on 1 November, 1913 to commemorate the
1857 revolt. It was headquartered at San Francisco. The
outbreak of the first World War provided the Ghadarites
with an opportunity to free India from a government which
was indifferent to their cause. And therefore they returned
to India in thousands for a coordinated revolt in
collaboration with the Bengal revolutionaries. Their plan
was foiled at the last moment due to treachery.
Komagata Maru Incident, 1914
Komagata Maru was the name of the ship which carried a
shipload of Sikh and Muslim immigrants from Punjab to
Vancouver, Canada. But the Canadian immigration
authorities turned them back after months of uncertainty.
The ship finally anchored at Calcutta on 29 September,
1914 but the inmates refused to board the Punjab bound
train and there was a clash with the police in which 22
persons were killed. This incident fired up the revolutionary
activities which sought to avenge the death of the innocents.
Home Rule Movement, 1916
After Tilak’s return having served a sentence of six years in
Mandalay, Burma, he tried to secure his readmission along
International Relations and Area Studies 275
with other extremists in the INC. With the need being felt
for popular pressure to attain concession, disillusionment
with the Morley-Minto Reforms and wartime miseries, Tilak
and Annie Besant readied to assume leadership. The
movement was started by B.G. Tilak in Poona in April 1916
and Annie Besant and S. Subramania Iyer at Adyar near
Madras in September 1916.
Tilak’s league was to work in Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Central Province and Berar and Annie Besant’s in the rest
of India. The objective of the movement was self-
government for India in the British empire. Tilak linked up
the question of Swaraj with the demand for the formation
of linguistic states and education in the vernacular
languages. He gave the slogan ‘Swaraj is my birthright and
I shall have it’. The Maratha and Kesari of Tilak and Annie
Besant’s New India, Commonwealth and Young India
became the organs of the Home Rule movement. The Muslim
League also supported it.
Lucknow Pact, 1916
Was signed following the war between Britain and Turkey
leading to anti-British feelings among Muslims. Both INC
and the Muslim League concluded it, the Congress
accepting the separate electorates and both jointly
demanding a representative government and dominion status
for the country.
August Declaration, 1917
After the Lucknow Pact, a British policy was announced
which aimed at ‘increasing the association of Indians in
every branch of the administration for progressive realization
of responsible government in India as an integral part of the
British empire’. This came to be called the August
Declaration. It was attributed to the Hindu-Muslim unity
exhibited in the Lucknow Pact. The Montague Chelmsford
reforms or the Act of 1919 was based on this declaration.
STRUGGLE FOR SWARAJ - I,
1919 - 1927
Government of India Act/Montague
Chelmsford Reforms, 1919
Dyarchy system was introduced in the provinces. It was
considered to be a substantial step towards transfer of power
to the Indians. The provincial subjects of the administration
were to be divided into two categories: Transferred and
Reserved. The transferred subjects were to be administered
by the Governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the
Legislative Council. The Governor and the Executive
Council were to administer the reserved subjects without
any responsibility to the legislature. Devolution Rules:
Subjects of administration were divided into two categories
- Central and Provincial. Subjects of all India importance
(like railways and finance) were brought under the category
276 International Relations and Area Studies
of Central while matters relating to the administration of the
provinces were classified as Provincial.
The Provincial Legislature was to consist of one House
only - Legislative Council. The number of Indians in the
Governor General’s Executive Council was raised to three
in a council of eight. The Indian members were entrusted
with departments such as Law, Education, Labour, Health
and Industries. The Centre was now to have a bicameral
legislature for the first time. It actually happened after the
1935 Act. Communal representation was extended to Sikhs,
Christians and Anglo-Indians, etc. Secretary of State was to
be henceforth paid salary out of the British revenue.
Rowlatt Act, 1919
In 1917 a Rowlatt committee was formed under Justice
Rowlatt. This committee was formed to curb revolutionary
activities. The Rowlatt Bill sought to curtail the liberty of
the people. It provided for speedy trial of offences by a
special court of 3 High court judges. There was to be no
appeal. The provincial government had powers to search a
place and arrest a suspected person without warrant. This
gave unbridled powers to the government to arrest and
imprison suspects without trial for two years maximum.
This law enabled the Government to suspend the right of
Habeas Corpus, which had the foundation of civil liberties
in Britain. It caused a wave of anger in all sections spreading
a country-wide agitation by Gandhiji and marked the
foundation of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Gandhiji organised the Satyagraha on 14th February,
1919. The government gave consent to the Act in March,
1919. On 8th April, 1919 Gandhiji was arrested. Earlier
Gandhiji’s first great experiment in Satyagraha had come in
1917 in Champaran (Bihar) where the peasants were forced
by their European planters to grow indigo on at least 3/20
of their land and sell it at prices fixed by the planters. Also
in 1918 he had supported the cause of the textile workers
of Ahmedabad. It was here that he used the weapon of
hunger strike and won for the workers a 35% increase in
wages and in 1918 the Kheda peasant struggle of Gujarat
(demanding suspension of revenue collection due to failure
of crop) involved Gandhiji and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
During March and April 1919, the country witnessed a
remarkable political awakening in India. There were hartals,
processions and demonstrations everywhere.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 1919
People were agitated over the arrest of Dr. Kitchlu and Dr.
Satyapal on April 10, 1919 and assembled in the Jallianwala
Bagh in Amritsar. General O’ Dyer fired at the people as a
result of which hundreds of people were killed and
thousands injured. Rabindranath Tagore returned his
Knighthood in protest and Sir Shankaran Nair resigned from
Viceroy’s Executive Council after this. The Hunter
Commission was appointed to enquire into the matter. On
13 March, 1940, Sardar Udham Singh killed O’ Dyer when
the latter was addressing a meeting in Caxton Hall, London.
Khilafat Movement, 1920
The main object of the Khilafat movement was to force the
British government change its attitude towards Turkey and
restore the Khalifa to his former position. Muslims were
agitated by the treatment done with Turkey by the British
in the Treaty that followed the First World War. Two
brothers, Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali started this
movement along with Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan
and Hasrai Mohani. It was jointly led by the Khilafat leaders
and the Congress.
Gandhiji viewed the Khilafat agitation as a golden
opportunity for bringing the Hindus and Muslims together.
On 31 August, 1920, the Khilafat Committee launched a
non-cooperation movement. Gandhiji now pressed the
Congress to adopt a similar plan of action. Although it was
initially opposed by C.R. Das, but was later unopposed.
Very soon the Khilafat movement lost its relevance because
Mustafa Kamal Pasha abolished Khilafat and made Turkey
a secular state.
Non-Cooperation Movement, 1920
It was the first mass-based political movement under
Gandhiji. Congress passed the resolution in its Calcutta
session in September 1920 with three main demands before
the government (i) redressal of the Punjab grievances
(ii) Khilafat wrongs (iii) establishment of Swaraj.
 The movement envisaged:
 Surrender of titles and honorary offices.
 Resignation from nominated offices and posts in the
local bodies.
 Refusal to attend government darbars and boycott of
British courts by the lawyers.
 Refusal of general public to offer themselves for
military and other government jobs and boycott of
foreign goods, etc.
C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru gave up their legal practice
and Subash Chandra Bose resigned from the Civil Service.
Tilak passed away on August 1, 1920, Tilak Swaraj funds
was started to fund the Non-Cooperation Movement. The
Prince of Wales visited India during this period but he was
greeted with empty streets and downed shutters when he
came on 17 November, 1921.
Chauri-Chaura Incident, 1922
The Congress Session at Allahabad in December 1921
decided to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Gandhiji was appointed as its leader. But before it could be
launched a mob of people at Chauri Chaura (near Gorakhpur)
clashed with the police and burnt 22 policemen on 5th
February, 1922. This compelled Gandhiji to withdraw the
Non Cooperation Movement on 12th February, 1922.

Swaraj Party, 1923
The sudden calling off of the non-cooperation movement
disappointed many congress leaders. Motilal Nehru, C.R.
Das and N.C. Kelkar (called Pro-changers) demanded that
the Nationalists should end the boycott of the legislative
councils, enter them and expose them. But the No-changers
like Rajendra Prasad and Rajagopalachari adhered to the
Gandhian programme of Boycott of legislatures. The Pro-
Changers formed the Swaraj party on January 1, 1923,
contested the elections and embarrassed the government by
opposing its measures.
The party got a majority in the 1923 elections in Bengal
and the Central Province. The Swarajists were split by
communalism. The ‘responsivist’ group including Madan
Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai and N.G. Kelkar offered
cooperation to the government to safeguard Hindu interests.
The Swarajists finally walked out of legislature in 1930 as
a result of the Lahore congress resolution and the beginning
of the civil disobedience movement. The two sections were
reunited in 1930 after the Lahore session.
Emergence of Gandhi
The last phase of the national movement began in 1919
when the era of popular mass movements was initiated.
During this period a new leader, Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi took command. The new leader made good one of
the basic weaknesses of the previous leadership. Gandhiji
was greatly influenced by the works of Leo Tolstoy’s Civil
Disobedience and Ruskin’s ‘Unto to the Last’. Tolstoy’s
ideal of non-possession was developed by Gandhiji in his
concept of ‘trusteeship’. He was also influenced by the life
and teachings of Swami Vivekananda. His political Guru
Gokhale and Dadabhai Naoroji also influenced him. Besides
he had an experience of struggle in South Africa between
(1884-1914). He came to India in 1915. His non-violent
satyagraha involved peaceful violation of specific laws. He
resorted to mass courting arrest and occasional hartals and
spectacular marches. He had readiness for negotiations and
compromise. His struggle against foreign rule is popularly
known as ‘struggle-truce-struggle’.
1. Champaran Satyagraha (1917): Gandhi’s first great
experim ent in satyagraha came in 1917 in
Champaran, a district in Bihar. The peasantry on the
indigo plantations in the district was excessively
oppressed by the European planters. They were
compelled to grow indigo on at least 3/20th of their
land and to sell it at prices fixed by the planters. This
system was popularly known as ‘Tin-Kathia system’.
Several peasants of Champaran invited Gandhi to
come and help them. Accompanied by Babu Rajendra
Prasad, Mazhar-ul-Huq, J.B. Kripalani, Narhari Parekh
and Mahadev Desai, Gandhji reached Champaran in
1917 and through his method and efforts, the
disabilities from which the peasantry was suffering
International Relations and Area Studies 277
were reduced and Gandhiji won his first battle of
civil disobedience in India.
2. Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918): Gandhiji did his
second experiment at Ahmedabad in 1918 when he
had to intervene in a dispute between the workers
and the mill-owners. He advised the workers to go on
strike and to demand a 35 per cent increase in wages.
But he insisted that the workers should not use
violence against the employers during the strike. He
undertook a fast unto death to strengthen the workers’
resolve to continue the strike. This put pressure on
the mill- owners who relented on the fourth day and
agreed to give the workers a 35 per cent increase in
wages.
3. Kheda Satyagraha (1918): The farmers of Kheda
district in Gujarat were in distress because of the
failure of crops. The government refused to remit
land revenue and insisted on its full collection. As
part of the experiment, Mahatma Gandhi advised the
peasants to withhold payment of revenue till their
demand for its remission was met. The struggle was
withdrawn when it was learnt that the government
had issued instructions that revenue should be
recovered only from those peasants who could afford
to pay. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became the follower
of Gandhiji during the Kheda movement.
STRUGGLE FOR SWARAJ - II,
1927-1947
Simon Commission, 1927
In 1927, the British government appointed a Commission
to look into the working of the Government of India Act,
1919. Constituted under John Simon to review the political
situation in India and to introduce further reforms and
extention of parliamentary democracy. Indian leaders
opposed the Commission as there were no Indian in it and
the Congress turned the boycott into a movement. Simon
and his colleagues landed in Bombay on 3 February, 1928
and were greeted with hartals and black flag demonstrations.
The government used brutal repression and police attacks
to break the popular opposition. At Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai
was severely beaten in lathi charge and he succumbed to his
injuries on 17 November, 1928.
Butler Committee, 1927
Alongwith the Simon Commission the British Government
also announced the setting up of a three- member committee
consisting of Harcourt Butler, W.S. Holdsworth and S.C.
Peel to inquire into the relationship between the Indian
states and paramount power and to suggest ways and means
for a more satisfactory adjustment of the existing economic
relations between Britain and British India. Officially called
the Indian States Committee, it visited 16 Indian states and
submitted its report in 1929.
278 International Relations and Area Studies
The Nehru Report, 1928
After boycotting the Simon Commission, all political parties
constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Motilal
Nehru to evolve and determine the principles of a
constitution for India. It remains memorable as the first
major Indian effort to draft a constitutional framework for
India, complete with lists of central and provincial subjects
and fundamental rights. It suggested dominion status for the
country. The committee comprised of Tej Bahadur Sapru,
Ali Imam, M.S. Aney, Mangal Singh, Shoaib Querishi, G.R.
Pradhan and Subash Chandra Bose.
The report had a different chapter on minority rights
apart from the Fundamental Rights. However when the report
was placed before the All Parties Convention in Calcutta,
there was a violent clash between Jinnah (representing the
Muslim League) and M.R. Jayakar (who put forth the Hindu
Mahasabha viewpoint) on the former’s demand of one-third
of the total seats in the central legislatures for Muslims.
Consequently, Jinnah’s proposed amendments were
overwhelmingly outvoted and the Report proved to be a
non-starter and became a mere historical document.
The Fourteen Points, 1929
At a meeting of the Muslim League in Delhi on March 28,
1929, Jinnah announced the Fourteen Points. Rejecting the
Nehru Report he maintained that no scheme for the future
government of India would be acceptable to Muslims until
and unless the fourteen points were given effect to.
Lahore Session, 1929
On December 19, 1929, under the Presidentship of
Jawaharlal Nehru, the INC at its Lahore session declared
Poorna Swaraj as its ultimate goal. On 31 December, 1929
the newly adopted tricolour flag was unfurled and 26
January, 1930 was fixed as the First Independence Day,
which was to be celebrated every year.
Dandi March, 1930 and the Civil
Disobedience Movement (1930-1931)
Gandhi submitted the Eleven Point Ultimatum to the British
but after no response from the latter he launched the Civil
Disobedience Movement with the Dandi March also called
the Salt Satyagraha. Along with 78 followers, Gandhiji
started his march from Sabarmati Ashram on March 12,
1930 from the small village Dandi to break the salt law. He
reached the sea shore on 6 April, 1930, picked up a handful
of salt and inaugurated the Civil Disobedience Movement.
The salt satyagraha movement was taken up by C.
Rajagopalachari in Tamil Nadu and the Vaikon Satyagraha
by K. Kalappan in Malabar. The salt satyagraha sparked off
other forms of defiance. In the north east, the Pathans under
Khan Abdul Gafar Khan, popularly known as Frontier
Gandhi, organized the society of ‘Khudai Khidmatgars’
which was also known as Red Shirts. This movement even
sparked off patriotism among the Indian soldiers in the
British army. The Gharwal soldiers refused to fire on the
people at Peshawar. In Bengal, the Chittagong army raid
was carried out in April 1930. In Bihar there was a protest
against Chowkidari tax in Saran, Bhagalpur and Monghyr.
First Round Table Conference, 1930
It was the first conference arranged between the British and
the Indians as equals. It was held on 12 November, 1930 in
London to discuss the Simon Commission recommendations.
The conference was boycotted by the INC, but the Muslim
League, Hindu Mahasabha, Liberals and other groups were
present.
The first round table conference was attended by Tej
Bahadur Sapru, B.R. Ambedkar, Md. Shafi, M.A. Jinnah,
Fazlul Haq, Dr. Shafaat Ahmad Khan, Sir Mirza Ismail, Sir
Akbar Hydari, Maharaja of Bikaner, Raja Rajendra Nath
and others. The conference was postponed to 2 January,
1931 in the absence of any major political party.
Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 1931
The moderate statesmen Sapru, Jaikar and Srinivas Shastri
initiated efforts to break the ice between Gandhiji and the
government. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed on 5 March,
1931. In this the INC called off the Civil Disobedience
Movement and agreed to join the second Round Table
Conference. The government on its part released political
prisoners and conceded the right to make salt for
consumption for villages along the coast. The Karachi
session of 1931 endorsed the Pact and is also memorable for
its resolution on Fundamental Rights and the National
Economic Programme.
Second Round Table Conference, 1931
Gandhiji represented the INC and went to London to meet
the British PM Ramsay Macdonald. In the conference
Gandhi demanded immediate establishment of a full
responsible government at the Centre as well as in the
provinces with complete control over defense, external
affairs and finance. However, the session was soon
deadlocked on the minorities issue and this time separate
electorates were demanded not only by the Muslims but
also by the depressed classes, Indian Christians and Anglo-
Indians.
MacDonald ended the session with an address
announcing the creation of two new Muslim majority
provinces, North West Frontier Province and Sindh, set up
a committee on franchise, finance and states and held out
the humiliating and dangerous prospect of a unilateral
British Communal Award. In second round table conference
the people who took part were Ambedkar, Sapru, Jayakar,
Sarojini Naidu, Malviya, etc. On Gandhiji’s arrival in
Bombay, the Congress Working Committee decided to
resume the Civil Disobedience Movement. In 1932, INC

was declared an illegal organization and all its leaders
arrested. Gandhiji was sent to the Yeravada jail in Poona.
The Civil Disobedience Movement was withdrawn in 1934,
as after that Gandhiji decided to make Harijan work the
central plank of his new rural constructive program.
The Communal Award, 1932
Announced by Ramsay MacDonald it showcased the Divide
and Rule policy of the British by envisaging representation
of Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, women
and backward classes. Gandhiji who was in Yeravada jail in
Poona at the time started a fast unto death against it.
Poona Pact, 1932
After the announcement of the communal award and
the subsequent fast of Gandhiji, mass meetings took place
everywhere. Political leaders like Madan Mohan Malviya,
B.R. Ambedkar and M.C. Rajah became active. Eventually
the Poona Pact was reached and Gandhiji broke his fast on
the sixth day, 25 September, 1932. In this the idea of
separate electorate for the depressed classes was abandoned,
but seats reserved to them in the provincial legislatures
were increased. Seats reserved for depressed classes increased
from 71 to 147 in provincial legislative council and in
central legislative council 18% of the seats increased.
Thus the Poona Pact agreed upon a joint electorate for
the upper and the lower classes. Harijan upliftment now
became the principal concern of Gandhiji. An All India
Anti- Untouchability League was started in September 1932
and the weekly ‘Harijan’ in 1933. On May 8, 1933 Gandhiji
decided to begin a 21 day fast for the purification of himself
and his associates for the Harijan cause. He started the
Individual Civil Disobedience on 1 August, 1933.
Revolutionary Movements
Chapekar brothers (Damodar and Balkrishna) murdered the
unpopular Mr. Rand and Lt. Amherst in 1897 at Pune.
Unsuccessful attempts of murder of Lt. Governor of East
Bengal by Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Bhupendra Nath
Dutt in 1906 in Bengal. Murder of Kennedy brothers and
two English women by Khudiram Bose and Praful Chaki in
1908 at Muzaffarpur (Bihar). The main target, unpopular
judge, Kinsford escaped unhurt. Attempt of murder of Lord
Hardinge by throwing crude bomb in 1912 by Rash Bihari
Bose and Sachindra Nath Sanyal. Lord Hardinge escaped
unhurt.
Madan Lal Dhingra shot dead Curzon Wyllie, an officer
of India Office in London in 1909. Assistant Superintendent
of Police, Saunders was shot dead by Bhagat Singh, Chandra
Shekhar Azad and Rajguru in 1928. They were convicted
in the Lahore Conspiracy case. Bhagat Singh and
Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in the Central Legislative
Assembly in April 1929 during session. Unsuccessful
attempts of blowing up the train baggage of Lord Irwin were
International Relations and Area Studies 279
made by some members of Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association in December 1929. Two schoolgirls, Shanti and
Suniti Chaudhuri shot dead the Magistrate of Tipperra, Mr.
Steven in December 1932 in Bengal. Attempt of blowing up
train and occupation of Fort William under the leadership
of Jatin Mukherjee of Bengal (Known also as Bagha Jatin).
The attempt failed due to the death of Jatin Mukherjee in
Police encounter in Balasore in Orissa in September 1915.
An organised attempt of revolt by Rash Bihari Bose,
Sachindra Nath Sanyal and other revolutionaries on the
lines of revolt of Ferozpur, Lahore and Rawalpindi on 21st
February 1915, was failed due to treachery on the part of
some revolutionaries. After the failure, Rash Bihari Bose
escaped to Japan and Sachindra Sanyal was given life
imprisonment and deportation for life. Formation of ‘Indian
Independence Committee’ by Virendra Nath Chattopadhya,
Bhupendra Nath Dutt, Hardayal and others in 1915 with the
assistance of Germ an foreign Ministry under the
“Zimmerman Plan’’.
An Internal Government of free India was established in
1915 by Raja Mahendra Pratap, Barkatullah, Obaidullah
Sindhi (A Deoband Mullah) and others in Kabul. Surya Sen
declared independence at Chittagong in 1930 and formed
“Indian Republican Army.’’ The Komagata Maru was a
Japanese steamer, commissioned by Gurjit Singh, to transport
Indian immigrants to Canada. Martyrdom of Jatin Das who
died in jail on the 64th day of a hunger strike in 1929 for
improvement in the status of political prisoners. Execution
of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru by the British on
March 23, 1931 in Lahore conspiracy case. Surya Sen was
arrested in 1933 and was tried and hanged.
The Left Movement
Shripad Amrit Dange published a pamphlet entitled ‘Gandhi
and Lenin’ in Bombay and also published the first socialist
weekly ‘The Socialist’ from Bombay. Muzaffer Ahmad
started publishing ‘Navyug’ in Bengal and founded ‘Langal’
with the assistance of Qazi Nazrul Islam. Ghulam Husain
started publishing ‘Inquilab’ in Punjab. M. Sringarvellu
founded the ‘Labour Kishan Gazette’ in Madras. Peshawar
Case (1922-23) was the conspiracy against communists
coming to India from abroad. Under Kanpur Conspiracy
Case (1924-25) S.A. Dange, Muzaffer Ahmed, Nalini Gupta
and Shaukat Usmani were convicted.
Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929-33) was the longest
conspiracy trial. Seventeen people were convicted. Three
British Communists-Phillip Spratt, Ben Bradely and Laster
Huchinson were convicted in Meerut conspiracy case.
Jawahar Lal Nehru, M. A. Ansari and M.C. Chagla were the
Defense Counsel in favour of convicts. Three main socialists
in the working committee of Jawahar Lal Nehru were-
Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Achutya
Patwardhan. The Newspaper ‘Kranti’ was published by S.S.
Mirajkar.
280 International Relations and Area Studies
The Working Class Movement
S.S. Bengalee proposed a Bill in favour of the workers in
Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1878. His initiative
however failed. Sasipada Banerjee established a working
men’s club in Bengal in 1870 and published a monthly
journal ‘Bharat Sramjeevi’ in 1874. First Factory Act was
passed in 1881 and was mainly related with the child
workers, working hours and defining a factory. Second
Factory Act was passed in 1891. It was related mainly with
working hours of female workers. N. M. Lokhandey formed
the ‘Bombay Millhands Association’ in 1884. He also
published a journal named ‘Din Bandhu.’
The strike of the Signalers of the Great Indian peninsular
Railway in 1899 was the first organised worker’s strike. B.P.
Wadia, a close associate of Annie Besant formed the ‘Madras
Labour Union’ in 1918. It was the first trade union of India.
In 1920, the All India Trade Union Congress (A.I.T.U.C.)
was organised at Bombay by N. M. Joshi and others. The
first session (1920) was presided over by the then Congress
president, Lala Lajpat Rai. In 1926, Trade Union Act was
passed. The Act made provisions for voluntary registration
and gave certain rights and privileges to registered trade
unions in return for certain obligations. In 1926, ‘Bombay
Cotton Textile Workers Union’ was formed which was the
first registered Trade union under the Trade Union Act of
1926. Its President was N. M. Joshi.
The Moderates under the leadership of N. M. Joshi
walked out of the A.I.T.U.C. and formed the All India Trade
Union Federation (A.I.T.U.F.) in 1929. The Royal
Commission on labour was set up in 1929 under the
chairmanship of John Henry Whitely. Trade Disputes
Amendment Act was passed in 1938. In 1931, another
division in A.I.T.U.C. was made. The communists formed
the ‘Red Trade Union Congress’. Through the Meerut
Conspiracy Trials (1929-31) the trade union movement was
suppressed. M. N. Roy formed a pro-Government Trade
Union called ‘Indian Federation of Labour’. Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel formed the Indian National Trade Union
Congress in 1944.
Third Round Table Conference, 1932
The session was held without Congress representation as
they were all imprisoned and was attended by an even
smaller number of representatives who agreed on almost all
the issues. The British Government on the basis of the
discussions of the three sessions drafted its proposals for the
reform of the Indian Constitution which was embodied in
the White Paper published in March 1933.
The White Paper was examined and approved by a
joint committee of the British Parliament in October 1934
and a bill, based on the report of the committee was
introduced and passed in the British Parliament as the
Government of India Act of 1935.
The Government of India Act, 1935
(Details Covered Earlier)
The Congress rejected the Act and demanded the convening
of a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult
franchise to frame a Constitution for an Independent India.
The INC fought the elections in 1937 when the Constitution
was introduced and formed ministries in seven out of eleven
provinces. Later Congress formed coalition governments in
two others. Only Punjab was under the Unionist Party and
Bengal under the Krishak Praja-Muslim League coalition.
World War II and the National Movement
The Congress ministries coming to power did wonders to
the morale of the people. They continued to function till
the Second World War in 1939. When the war broke out,
Lord Linlithgow declared India to be at war without the
prior assent of the central legislatures. The Congress agreed
to support Britain only in return of independence being
granted. The Viceroy could promise that only after the war.
In October- November 1939, the Congress ministries
resigned in protest. The Muslim League observed this as the
Deliverance Day (22 December, 1939) as a mark of relief
that the Congress had atlast ceased to function.
INC was willing to help the forces of democracy in
their struggle against fascist powers but asked how it was
possible for an enslaved nation to help others in their fight
for democracy. They declared that India must be declared
free or at least effective power should be put in Indian
hands before it could actively participate in the war. The
Viceroy refused to accept preconditions set by the Congress
i.e., a Constituent Assembly for the establishment of genuine
responsible government at the centre. Eventually, the British
government was eager for the INC to support their war
efforts. Subsequently it tried to pacify the Congress and the
Indian leaders by a series of offers through the Cripps
Mission and the August Offer.
August Offer, 1940
The August Offer of 8 August, 1940 offered:
1. Dominoin Status in the unspecified future.
2. A post-war body to enact the Constitution.
3. To expand the Governor General’s Executive Council
to give full weightage to minority opinion.
It was rejected by the INC because there was no
suggestion of the national government and because the
demand for the dominion status was already discarded in
favour of Poorna Swaraj. It was accepted by the Muslim
League.
The Cripps Mission, 1942
In December 1941 Japan entered the World War II and
advanced towards Indian borders. By March 7, 1942,
Rangoon fell and Japan occupied the entire South East

Asia. The British government with a view to get the
cooperation from Indians sent Sir Stanford Cripps, leader of
the House of Commons to settle terms with the Indian
leaders. He offered a draft which contained the following
proposal:
 Dominion status to be granted after the war.
 Setting up a Constitution making body for India after
the war whose members would be elected by the
Provincial assemblies and nominated by the rulers in
case of the Princely States.
The British government undertook to accept and
implement the Constitution so framed subject to two
conditions:
 Any province not willing to accept the new
Constitution could form a separate union and a
separate Constitution.
 The new Constitution-making body and the British
government would negotiate a treaty to sort out
matters arising out of transfer of powers to Indian
hands.
The proposals were rejected by the Congress as it did
not want to rely upon future promises. Gandhiji termed it
as a ‘post-dated cheque in a crashing bank’.
The Revolt of 1942 and the Quit India
Movement
Also called the Vardha Proposal and the Leaderless Revolt
as all the Congress leaders were in jail. The resolution for
the movement was passed on 8 August, 1942 at Bombay.
Gandhiji gave the slogan ‘Do or Die’. On 9 August the
Congress was banned and its important leaders arrested.
Gandhiji was kept at the Aga Khan Palace, Pune.
The arrests provoked indignation among the masses
and there being no program of action, the movement became
spontaneous and violent as violence spread throughout the
country. Several government offices were destroyed,
telegraph wires cut and communication paralysed. The trend
of underground revolutionary activities also started during
this phase. J.P. Narayan, R.M. Lohia and Aruna Asaf Ali
started consolidating underground networks.
The most daring act of the underground movement was
the establishment of the Congress Radio with Usha Mehta
as its announcer. Parallel governments were set up at various
places such as the one in Ballia in eastern U.P. under the
leadership of Chittu Pande. Others were in Satara, Talcher,
parts of Eastern U.P. and Bihar. The Muslim League kept
aloof and the Hindu Mahasabha condemned the movement.
The Communist Party of India also didn’t support the
movement. The movement was however crushed.
INA, 1942
The idea of the Indian National Army (INA) to liberate India
was originally conceived by Rashbehari Bose who had fled
International Relations and Area Studies 281
to Japan in 1915 and had become a Japanese citizen, with
the help of Mohan Singh, and Indian officer of the British
Indian Army in Malaya. Subash Chandra Bose secretly
escaped from India in January, 1941 and reached Berlin. In
July 1943 he joined the INA at Singapore. There Rashbehari
Bose handed over the leadership to him. The soldiers were
mostly raised from the Indian soldiers of the British army
who had been taken prisoner by the Japanese after they
conquered South-east Asia. Two INA headquarters were
Rangoon and Singapore.
INA had three fighting brigades named after Gandhi,
Azad and Nehru. The Rani of Jhansi Brigade was an
exclusive women force. The INA launched an attack on
India and penetrated into Indian territory. It annexed
Andaman and Nicobar islands with Japanese help and named
them ‘Shaheed’ and ‘Swaraj’. S.C. Bose gave the call ‘Dilli
Chalo’. But it couldn’t match the British army and
surrendered. INA trials were held at Red Fort, Delhi.
P.K.Sehgal, Shah Nawaz (Commander of the INA battalion
that had reached the Indo-Burma front) and Gurbaksh Singh
Dhillon were put on trial. The Congress took up their
defence with Bhulabhai Desai, Tejbahadur Sapru, Jawaharlal
Nehru, K.N. Katju and Asif Ali defending them. Muslim
League also joined in for the country-wide protest. INA Day
was celebrated on 12 November, 1945.
Hindus-Muslims over the Years
The British rule had acted on the tested and tried Roman
maxim of ‘Divide and Rule’ in India. In the early 19th
Century, British historian, James Mill, described the ancient
period of Indian history as the Hindu period and the
medieval period as the Muslim period. Both the Hindus and
the Muslims participated equally in the revolt of 1857. The
British adopted the policy of favouring the Hindus and
suppressing the Muslims after the revolt of 1857. In August
1888, Syed Ahmed Khan set up the “United Indian Patriotic
Association’’ with the avowed objective of countering the
Congress propaganda and policy in England.
A few years later he formed the “Muhammaden Anglo
Oriental Defence Association’’ of Upper India to keep the
Muslims aloof from political agitation and to strengthen the
British rule in India. The Aligarh College was founded by
Syed Ahmed. The three Principles of the M.A.O. College,
Aligarh, W.A.J. Archbold, Theodore Beck and Theodore
Morrison gave the pro-British and anti-Hindu bias to the
Aligarh movement. Inspired by W. A. J. Archbold, Aga
Khan waited in a deputation on Lord Minto at Simla on
10th October 1906. The Deputation demanded reservation
of seats for the Muslims and the Morley-Minto reforms of
1909, accepted the Muslim demand for separate communal
electorate.
The All-India Muslim League was formerly inaugurated
on 30th December 1906 by Aga Khan, Nawab Mohsin-ul-
Mulk and others. The militantly nationalist Ahrar movement
2105 (MA–IR)—36
282 International Relations and Area Studies
was founded by Maulana Mohammed Ali, Hakim Ajmal
Khan, Hasan Imam, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, and Mazhar-
ul-Haq. In 1916, both the Muslim League and the Congress
held their sessions at Lucknow. An agreement was signed
between them. It is known as the ‘Lucknow Pact’. During
the Khilafat movement, a staunch Arya Samajist, Swami
Shradhanand gave a speech from the pulpit of the Jama
Masjid at Delhi, while Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlu was given the
keys of the Golden Temple at Amritsar.
The Hindu organisation started ‘Suddhi Movement’
while the Muslims started ‘Tanjim’ and ‘Tablig’, the
objectives of these being communal. According to the Simon
Commission’s Report, nearly 112 major communal riots
occurred between 1922 and 1927. Anti-cow slaughter
movement was started during the 1890’s. Punjab Hindu
Sabha was founded in 1909 by U.N. Mukherjee and Lal
Chand and others. Lal Chand clearly described Congress as
‘Self-inflicted misfortune of Hindus’ and said that “a Hindu
is a Hindu first and an Indian after”. Its Headquarter was at
Haridwar. The first session of the All-India Hindu Mahasabha
was held in April 1915 under the Presidentship of the
Maharaja of Kasim Bazaar.
V.D. Savarkar became the President of Hindu
Mahasabha in 1938 and was re-elected again and again. It
was he who give the slogan of ‘Hindu Nation’. After the
death of Savarkar, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee became the
President of Hindu Mahasabha. When the Nehru Report
could not be approved unanimously at the Calcutta
Convention, then M. A. Jinnah, declaring the Nehru Report
representing Hindu interests, placed his demands called the
‘Fourteen Points’. In the elections held in 1937, the Muslim
League won only 109 out of 482 seats allotted to Muslims,
under separate electorates securing only 4.8 per cent of the
total Muslim votes.
Growth of Communalism
Muslim League
The unity between the Congress and the Muslim League
was brought about by the signing of the “Lucknow Pact
(1916)” and both put forward common political demands
before the government. The pact accepted separate
electorates and the system of weightage and reservation of
seats for the miniorities in the legislature. From 1920 to
1923 the activities of the League remained suspended.
However, the appointment of the Simon Comission and the
Round Table Conference that followed again brought the
League into activity. By 1934, Jinnah became undisputed
leader of the League. The League observed a “Day of
Deliverance” when the Congress ministries resigned in 1939.
The League observed on March 23, 1943 the ‘Pakistan
Day’.
In March 1944, Mr. C. Rajgopalachari evolved a
formula for Congress-League cooperation. It was a tacit
acceptance of the League’s demand for Pakistan. The terms
of the “C. R. formula” was to be binding only in case of
transfer of full powers by England. Jinnah rejected the
formula on the grounds of common centre and also wanted
only the Muslims to vote in the plebiscite instead of entire
population. The “Desai Liaqat Pact (1945)” proposed for
the formation of an interim government at the centre
consisting of (i) equal number of persons nominated by
the Congress and League in the central legislature
(ii) representatives of minorities. However, it could not
brought a settlement between the League and the Congress.
Hindu Mahasabha
The punjab Hindu Sabha was founded in 1909. Its leader
U.N. Mukherjee and Lal Chand laid down the foundations
of Hindu first and a Hindustani later. The leading Hindus
of Allahabad set up “All India Hindu Mahasabha” in 1915
under the presidentship of the Maharaja of Kasim Bazar.
The Mahasabha revived in 1923 and openly began to cater
to anti-Muslim sentiments. Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Mohan
Malviya and N.C. Kelkar joined Hindu Mahasabha and
urged for Hindu communal solidarity.
Under the leadership of V.D. Savarkar, who became the
president in 1938 and was re-elected again, the Mahasabha
developed a political programme. Sarvarkar popularised the
concept a Hindu Rashtra. After the death of Savarkar, Dr.
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee became the leader of the Hindu
Mahasabha and imparted a more nationalist outlook. The
“Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSSS)” was founded by
Dr. Hedgewar in 1925 and became the chief ideology and
propagator of extreme communalism. M.S. Golwalkar
codified the RSS doctrine in his booklet called ‘we’.
Naval Mutiny, 1945
A revolt took place in HMS Talwar on February 18, 1945
in Bombay due to racial discrimination, unpalatable food
and abuse after arrest of B.C. Dutta who had written ‘British
Quit India’ on the wall. Next day, HMS Hindustan in Karachi
also revolted. Soon the revolt spread to other places also.
In Bombay the mutineers hoisted the tricolor on their ship
masts together with a portrait of S.C. Bose and shouted Jai
Hind in the barracks. Their demand included release of all
political prisoners including those belonging to the INA.
The mutiny was suppressed after persuasion by the Indian
leaders.
Rajagopalachari Formula, 1945
He proposed that plebiscite should be held in contiguous
districts of North West and East where Muslims were in
absolute majority. If the majority decides in favour of
forming a separate sovereign state, such decision could be
accepted. Jinnah objected to the proposal as he wanted only
Muslims of North West and East of India to vote in the
plebiscite.

Partition, 1947
The Cabinet Mission reached Delhi on 24th March 1946.
Its members were—Lord Pethick Lawrence, Stafford Cripps
(President of the Board of Trade) and Mr. A.V. Alexendar
(the first Lord of the Admiralty). In the elections to the
Constituent Assembly that took place in July 1946, the
Congress captured 205 seats out of 214 seats and the League
got 73 out of 78 Muslim seats. The Constituent Assembly
was constituted in November 1946 through indirect election
of its members by Provincial Legislatures under Cabinet
Mission. The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was
held on December 9, 1946 which was boycotted by Muslim
League.
Mr. Atlee made his declaration on 20th February, 1947
in which he said that “His majesty’s Government wish to
make it clear that it is their definite intention to take
necessary steps to effect the transference of power, to
responsible hands by June, 1948”. On 3rd June 1947, the
Mountbatten plan was announced. It was essentially, plan
for the partition of India. The Congress and the Muslim
League both accepted the plan of 3rd June. The Indian
Independence Bill was introduced in the British Parliament
on 4th July 1947. It was passed as the Indian Independence
Act on 18th July 1947. On 15 August, 1947, the Partition
of India took place.
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Clive established dual government in Bengal which
continued from 1765 to 1772. As per the dual government,
two diwans were appointed by the Company: Mohammad
Raza Khan for Bengal and Raja Shitab Ray for Bihar.
Regulating Act, 1773
A Bill regarding the Regulating Act was placed in British
Parliament by Lord North. The Regulating Act 1773 was
the first important Parliamentary Act regarding the
Company’s affairs and entailed:
 The subjugation of the company’s actions to the
supervision of the British Government.
 End of Dual Government.
 Governor General in Council was to superintendent
and control Presidencies of Madras and Bombay and
was to be the Governor-General of the British
territories of India.
 Governor General was under direct control of Court
of Directors.
 Establishment of a Supreme Court in Calcutta for
justice of Europeans, their employees and citizens of
Calcutta. The Supreme Court was constituted in 1774
with Sir Elijah Empey as Chief Justice and Chambers,
Lemiaster and Hyde as puisine judges.
 Servants of the Company were forbidden to engage
in private trade, accept presents or bribes, etc.
International Relations and Area Studies 283
Pitts India Act, 1784
The commercial and political activities of the Company
were now separated. Pitts India Act of 1784 established a
Board of Control of six members (including two Cabinet
Ministers) to control civil, military and revenue affairs of
the Company in India. Provincial Governor in Councils
strength reduced from four to three and the Presidencies of
Madras and Bombay were subordinated to the Governor-
General and Council of Bengal in all matters of diplomacy,
revenue and war.
A secret committee of three Directors was to look into
political and military affairs (The Governor- General and
the Council were forbidden to declare war and make treaties
without the sanction of the secret committee). To investigate
into matters impending against Company officials a Court
was set up at London. This act gave the British government
a measure of control over the Company’s affairs; making
the Company a subordinate department of the State.
The Act of 1786
Governor-General was given powers to override his council.
Governor-G eneral was made commander in chief.
Declaratory Act of 1788 gave full power and supremacy to
the Board of Control; as step towards transfer of power of
Company to the Crown.
Charter Act of 1793
Company’s commercial privileges were extended for another
20 years. Power specially given to Cornwallis to override
council was extended to all future Governor-Generals. A
Regular code of all regulations prepared for administration
of British territory of Bengal, and bound the court to
regulate their decisions by rules and regulations contained
therein. Therefore it laid the foundation of the government
by written laws, interpreted by courts. All laws were be
translated into Indian languages. Expenses and salaries of
the Board of Control to be charged on Indian revenue.
Charter Act of 1813
The Company was deprived of its monopoly trade with
India but still enjoyed its monopoly of trade with China
and trade in tea. Constitutional position of British territories
in India was thus explicitly defined for first time. First
constitutional measure for propagation of Christianity in
India adopted as officials were appointed for propagations
of Christianity in India. A sum of ` 1 lakh earmarked
annually for the education of Indians.
Charter Act of 1833
Company lost its monopoly of tea and China trade, and was
also asked to close its commercial business. All restrictions
of European immigration into India and acquisition of land
and property in India by the Company was removed,
legalizing European colonization of India. Governor-General
284 International Relations and Area Studies
of Bengal became Governor-General of India and took all
Governor-Generals of Madras, Bombay etc. under his control.
All powers — administrative and financial were centralized
in the hands of the Governor-General-in-Council.
President of Board of Control became the Minister for
Indian Affairs. A law commission was constituted for
codification of laws. A law member (without the power to
vote) was added to the Executive Council of the Governor
General and Macaulay was the first law member of Governor
General’s Council. This increased the Council’s strength to
four and with it began the first Indian Legislature. All
vacancies in India were to be filled by competitive
examinations. Thus throwing open to all the services
irrespective of religion, place of birth, descent and colour.
By Act of 1833 slavery was abolished.
Charter Act of 1853
The Act renewed the powers of the company and allowed
it to retain the possession of Indian territories in trust for the
British crown but not for any specified period. The number
of members of the Court of Directors was reduced from 24
to 18 of which were to be nominated by the Crown. The law
member was made full member of the Governor General’s
Executive Council. Legislative functions were for the first
time treated separate from Executive functions.
Questions could be asked and the policy of the
Executive Council could be discussed, though the Executive
Council could veto a bill of the Legislative Council. Act
appointed a Law commission in England to examine reports
and draft of Indian Law Commission. Recruitment to the
Civil Services was based on open annual competition
examination (excluding Indians).
Government of India Act, 1858
Authority transferred from Company to the Crown. The
system of Dual Government ended and the Court of Directors
and Board of Control was abolished. India was to be
governed in name of sovereign through a Secretary of State
for India assisted by the Indian Council of 15 members. The
Governor-General received title of Viceroy, who became
direct representative of the Secretary of State and the Crown.
Secretary of State for India was established as a Corporate
Body. Thus a highly centralized administrative structure
was created. Appointment to the coveted Civil Services to
be made by open competition under the rules laid down by
Secretary of State with help of Civil Service Commission.
Indian Council Act, 1861
A fifth member, who was a jurist to be added to the Viceroy’s
Executive Council 6-12 additional members to be added to
the Executive Council for legislation purpose. This implied
that Viceroy’s Executive council which was so long
composed of officials would now include certain additional
non-official members. Some of the non-official seats were
offered to natives of higher ranks. Thus a minute element
of popular participation was introduced in the legislative
process. The additional members though had little powers.
The Executive Council was now to be called Central
Legislative Council. Viceroy could issue ordinances in case
of emergency.
Indian Council Act, 1892
Two improvements in both the Central and the Provincial
Legislative councils were suggested. Though the majority
of the official members were retained, the non-official
members were to be nominated by the Bengal Chamber of
Commerce and Provincial Legislative Councils. (The non-
official members of the Provincial Councils were to be
nominated by certain local bodies such as universities,
district boards and municipalities.) Indian leaders like G.K.
Gokhale, Ashutosh Mukherjee, S.N. Banerjee found their
way in the Legislative Council. The councils were to have
the power to discuss the annual statement of revenue and
expenditure and of addressing questions to the Executive.
They could also put questions with certain limitations to
the Government on matters of public interest after giving
six days notice.
Indian Council Act/Morley-Minto Act, 1909
The act introduced at the time of Morley who was the
Secretary of State and Minto who was the Indian Viceroy.
Legislative Councils both at the centre and the Provinces
were expanded. With regard to the Central Government, an
Indian member was taken in the Executive Council of the
Governor General. The size of the Provincial legislative
Councils was enlarged by including elected non-official
members so that the official majority was gone. Their
functions was also increased and now they could move
resolutions on budget and some matters of public
importance.
An element of election was also introduced in the
Central Legislative Council, but the official majority was
maintained. The most notable and retrograde change
introduced was that muslim s were given separate
representation. Thus comm unal representation w as
introduced.
Government of India Act/Montague-
Chelmsford Reforms, 1919
Dyarchy system was introduced in the provinces. It was
considered to be a substantial step towards transfer of power
to the Indians. The provincial subjects of the administration
were to be divided into two categories: Transferred and
Reserved. The transferred subjects were to be administered
by the Governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the
Legislative Council. The Governor and the Executive
Council were to administer the reserved subjects without
any responsibility to the legislature.

Devolution Rules: Subjects of administration were
divided into two categories - Central and Provincial.
Subjects of all India importance (like railways and finance)
were brought under the category of Central while matters
relating to the administration of the provinces were
classified as Provincial. The Provincial Legislature was to
consist of one House only - Legislative Council. The number
of Indians in the Governor General’s Executive Council was
raised to three in a council of eight. The Indian members
were entrusted with departments such as Law, Education,
Labour, Health and Industries. The Centre was now to have
a bicameral legislature for the first time. It actually happened
after the 1935 Act. Communal representation was extended
to Sikhs, Christians and Anglo-Indians, etc. Secretary of
State was to be henceforth paid salary out of the British
revenue.
Government of India Act, 1935
Provided for the establishment of the All India Federation
consisting of the British Provinces and the Princely States.
The joining of the Princely States was voluntary and as a
result the federation did not come into existence. Dyarchy
was introduced at the Centre (e.g. Department of Foreign
Affairs and Defence were reserved for the Governor General).
The other federal subjects were to be administered by the
Governor General with the assistance and advice of a council
of Ministers to be chosen by him (but to include
representatives of Princely states and minorities, and to be
responsible to the Central Legislature). Residuary powers
were to be with the Governor General only.
The Federal Legislature i.e., the Central Legislature was
to have two chambers (bicameral): the Council of State and
the Federal Assembly. The Council of State was to be a
permanent body with one-third of its membership being
vacated and renewed triennially. The Federal Assembly’s
duration was fixed for five years. It made a three-fold
division of power: Federal (Central) Legislative List,
Provincial Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative
List. Residuary legislative powers were subject to the
discretion of the Governor General. Even if a bill was passed
by the Federal Legislature, the Governor General could veto
it, while even Acts assented by the Governor General could
be disallowed by the King-in-Council.
Provincial autonomy replaced Dyarchy in Provinces
i.e., the distinction between Reserved and Transferred
subjects was abolished and full responsible government was
established, subject to certain safeguards. They were granted
separate legal identity. The Governor was the head of the
Provincial Executive and was expected to be guided by the
advice of the popular ministries. However the Act gave
arbitrary powers to the Governors to act in their ‘discretions’
in certain matters. The Act also provided for a Federal Court
(which was established in 1935), which original and
appellate powers to interpret the Constitution. A Federal
Bank (the Reserve Bank of India) was also established. The
International Relations and Area Studies 285
Indian council of Secretary of State was abolished. Principle
of separate electorate was extended to include Anglo-
Indians, Indian-Christians and Europeans. Burma (now
Myanmar) and Aden were separated from India and two new
provinces, Orissa and Sind were created.
BRITISH EDUCATION POLICY AND
GROWTH OF MODERN EDUCATION
First Phase (1758-1812)
The British East India Company showed very little interest
in the education of its subjects during this period, the few
exceptions being:
 The Calcutta Madrasa set up by Warren Hastings in
1781 for the study and teaching of Muslim law and
Persian and Arabic subjects.
 Jonathan Duncan started a Sanskrit College at
Varanasi where he was resident for study of Hindu
law and Philosophy.
 Both were designed to provide a regular supply of
qualified Indians to help in the administration of law
in the courts of the Company.
 The Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded by
William Jones in Calcutta in 1784.
Second Phase (1813-1853)
Due to the strong pressure exerted on the Company by the
Christian missionaries and many humanitarians, including
some Indians to encourage and promote modern education
in India, the Charter Act of 1813 required the Company to
spend Rs. 1 lakh annually for encouraging learned Indians
and promoting the knowledge of modern sciences in India.
A ten member committee on Public Instruction was set up
in 1823 when Horace Haymon as the first President for the
development of education.
Two controversies about the nature of education arose
during this phase:
1. Whether to lay emphasis on the promotion of modern
western education or on the expansion of traditional
Indian learning and
2. Whether to adopt Indian languages or English as the
medium of instruction in modern schools and colleges
to spread western education.
Macaulay wrote the famous Minute on Educational
policy dated 2 February 1835 which outlined that western
education through English as a medium instruction was a
great notary of western education. Lord William Bentinck
in the Resolution of 7th March, 1835 accepted Macaulay
viewpoint which led to the promotion of European science
and literature. Thus settling the controversy, in 1844, Lord
Hardinge decided to give government employment to
Indians educated in English schools. This ensured the spread
of English education. It made good progress in the three
286 International Relations and Area Studies
residencies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras where the
num ber of schools and colleges increased. Other
developments include a great upsurge in the activities of
the missionaries who pioneered modern education,
establishment of medical, engineering and law colleges
which marked a beginning in professional education and
according official sanction to the education of girls - Lord
Dalhousie offered open support of the government in this
case.
However, the government policy of opening a few
English schools and colleges instead of a large number of
elementary schools led to the neglect of the education of
the masses. To cover up this defect in policy the British
took recourse in the so-called ‘downward filtration theory’
which meant that education and modern ideas were meant
to filter or radiate downwards from the upper classes. This
policy continued till the very end of the British rule
although it was officially abandoned in 1854.
James Thomson Plan (1843-53)
In Northwest provinces, he tried to develop a comprehensive
system of village education through the vernaculars. A
Department of Education was set up for inspection and
improvement of indigenous schools, with aim to train
personnel for employment in the revenue, public works
department and the judiciary.
Third Phase (1854-1900)
Sir Charles Wood Dispatch, 1854
The Education Dispatch of 1854 was also called the Wood’s
Dispatch (after Sir Charles wood, the then President of the
Board of Control, who became the first Secretary of State of
India).
Considered the Magna Carta of English education in
India it entailed:
 Promotion of Western Education, art, science,
philosophy and literature of Europe.
 English language to be medium for higher education
while vernaculars to be used for primary education.
 Three Education Departments were set up in
provinces of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Northwest
Provinces and Punjab in 1855; organization of Indian
Education Services in 1897 to cover the senior most
posts.
 Establishment of Universities in Calcutta, Bombay
and Madras in 1857, in Punjab in 1882 and Allahabad
in 1887.
 First Chancellor of Calcutta University was Lord
Canning and the first Vice Chancellor William Colvite.
The Hunter Commission (1882-1883)
Lord Ripon appointed Hunter Commission under Sir W.W.
Hunter to review the progress which recommended:
 Local bodies (district boards and municipalities)
should be entrusted with the management of primary
education.
 It also said that the government should maintain
only a few schools and colleges, others to be left to
private hands.
Fourth Phase (1901-1920)
Lord Curzon appointed a Universities Commission under
Sir Thomas Raleigh (Law member of the Viceroy’s
Executive Council) in 1902, and based on his
recommendations the Indian Universities Act of 1904 was
passed. It enabled the Universities to assume teaching
functions (hitherto they were mainly examining bodies),
periodic inspection of institutions, speedier transaction of
business, strict conditions for affiliation, etc.
However it was criticized by nationalists and in 1910
a separate Department of Education was established at the
Centre. The Sadler Commission was appointed in 1917 by
Lord Chelmsford to review the working of Calcutta
University with two Indian members: Ashutosh Mukherjee
and Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed. The main recommendations were:
 Secondary education by a Board of Secondary
Education and duration of the degree course to be
three years.
 7 new universities were opened: Benaras, Mysore,
Patna, Aligarh, Osmania, Lucknow and Dhaka.
Kashi Vidyapeeth and Jamia Milia Islamia were
established. University courses were divided into Pass course
and Honors course.
Fifth Phase (1921-1947)
Education came under Indian control officially as it became
a Provincial subject administered by Provincial legislatures.
There was an increase in the number of universities (20 in
1947); improvement in the quality of higher education (on
the recom mendation of the Sadler Comm ission);
establishment of an Inter-University Board (1924) and the
beginning of inter-collegiate and inter-university activities.
Considerable achievements in women’s education and the
education of backward classes.
Hartog Committee, 1929
The committee made a number of recommendations
including:
 The policy of consolidation and improvement of
primary education.
 A selective system of admission to universities and
diversification of courses leading to industrial and
commercial careers.
 The universities should be improved.

The Wardha Scheme of Basic Education, 1937
Worked out by Zakir Hussain Committee after Mahatma
Gandhi published a series of articles in the Harijan. Scheme
centered on manual productive work/vocational courses
which would cover remuneration of the teachers. It envisaged
a seven years course through the mother tongue of the
students.
Sergeant Plan of Education, 1944
Envisaged establishment of elementary schools and high
school and introduction of universal and free compulsory
education. School course of six years was to be provided for
children between ages eleven and seventeen.
INDIAN PRESS UNDER
THE BRITISH RULE
The Portuguese were the first Europeans who brought a
printing press to India. In 1684 the East India Company set
up a printing press in Bombay. The first paper was started
in India by James Augustus Hickey and was called the
Bengal Gazette (1780), also known as the Calcutta General
Advertiser. However all their printing material was seized
and they were asked to leave India in 1782. The other
papers of the time included the Calcutta Gazette, 1784;
Bengal Journals, 1785; Oriental Magazine of Calcutta/
Calcutta Amusement, 1785; Calcutta Chronicle, 1786;
Madras Couriers, 1788; Bombay Herald, 1789. These papers
didn’t criticize the government and therefore the British
adopted a soft policy towards them.
Censorship of Press Act, 1799
Imposed by Lord Wellesley due to threat of French invasion
in India. It placed restrictions such that newspapers had to
mention the name of the printer, editor and proprietor in
every issue and the publisher had to submit all material for
pre-censorship to the Secretary to government. In 1802, the
Act was extended to all magazines, pamphlets, journals,
books, etc. Lord Hastings relaxed some of the restrictions in
1818 and the pre-censorship provision was abolished.
Licencing Regulating Act, 1823
Imposed by John Adams, the acting Governor General, it
provided that every printer and publisher had to obtain a
licence for starting a press or for using it and a penalty of
Rs. 400 for each publication without permission, with a
rigorous punishment on default. Magistrates were authorized
to seal the press and the Governor General could revoke the
licence too. Raja Ram Mohan Roy had to stop his paper
Mirat-ul-Akhbaar.
Licencing Act of 1857
Also called the XV Act of 1857. Three clauses of the 1823
Act were restored that had been abolished by Metcalfe.
Later in 1870 the Indian Penal Code was amended and it
International Relations and Area Studies 287
was written that any violation of Press Regulations would
be dealt under Section 124 of the IPC.
Vernacular Press Act of 1878
Also called the ‘Gagging Act’ as it was only for local/
vernacular papers and not English papers. Passed by Lord
Lytton.
Its provisions included:
 District Magistrate with the previous permission of
local government to ask printer and publisher of any
vernacular paper to enter into an undertaking not to
publish anything likely to excite dissatisfaction
against the government.
 Publisher was now required to deposit security.
 No appeal against this action.
 No exemption for any vernacular paper.
Ishwar Chand Vidyasagar’s ‘Som Prakash’ stopped by
this act. Later Cranbrook, Secretary of State was hostile to
the idea of pre-censorship and in 1878 it was done away
with and a Press Commissioner was appointed and the entire
Act repealed by Lord Rippon in 1882.
Newspapers Incitement to Offences Act, 1908
It was passed due to the dissatisfaction caused by the
unpopular acts of Lord Curzon and the resultant growth of
Extremism in India.
It provided:
 Magistrates were empowered to confiscate printing
presses and the property connected to these if
anything objectionable was printed.
 Local government was empowered to take away with
any declaration made by the printer and publisher of
an offending paper.
 The newspaper’s editor could appeal to the High
Court against any action of the government but
within 15 days.
Indian Press Act, 1910
It revived the Lytton’s Press Act of 1878. A new provision
was added wherein the security deposit was increased from
` 500 to ` 2000.
Press Committee, 1921
Under the chairmanship of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (law
member in Viceroy’s Executive Council). It recommended
the abolition of the Act of 1908 and 1910.
The Indian Press Emergency Act, 1931
The main feature of the Act was that if any publication
directly or indirectly admired any offence of any person,
real or fictious, the government could seize the press.
Press Inquiry Committee, 1947
The committee abolished the Emergency Act of 1931.
288 International Relations and Area Studies

Important Newspapers Before 1947

Year Newspaper/Magazine Founder Place Language
1780 Bangal Gazette James Augustus Hickey Calcutta English
1784 Calcutta Gazette Company’s Business Newspaper Calcutta English
1785 Bengal Journal Thomas Jones Calcutta English
1785 Madras Courier Richer Johnson Madras English
1790 Bombay Courier Luke Ashburner Bombay English
1795 Bengal Harkaru William Hunter Calcutta English
1795 Madras Gazette R. William Madras/Bombay English
1795 Indian Herald Humphreys Madras English
1795 Indian World - Calcutta English
1796 The Telegraph Hot Mckenly - English
1798 Calcutta Morning Post Archibald Calcutta Englsih
1801 Missionery Herald T. Armstrong Calcutta English
1812 The Samachar Press Fardoonejee Marzban - Gujarati
1818 Digdarshan J.C. Marshman Calcutta Bengali
1818 Friend Of India J.C. Marshman Serampore English
1821 John Bull In The East Syndicate of European Officials Calcutta English
1838 The Times Of India Times of India Press Bombay/Delhi English
1841 New India Annie Besant Madras English
1849 Lahore Chronicle Munshi Mohammad Azim Lahore English
1860 National Reformer Joseph Banker, Konoclasi London English
1862 Bangalee S.N. Banarjee Calcutta Bengali
1863 Gujarat Mitra Pravikant Reshamwala Surat Gujarati
1865 Pioneer S.N. Ghosh Lucknow English
1867 Mail T.A. Subramaniam Madras English
1868 Amirt Bazaar Patrika Tulsi Kant Ghosh Calcutta English
1874 Behar Herald - Bankipore English
1875 Statesman K. Rangachari Calcutta English
1877 Hindi Pradeep Balkrishana Bhatta - Hindi
1877 Oudh Panch Mohammad Sajjad Hussain Lucknow Urdu
1878 Statesman Ribert Knight Calcutta English
1878 Hindi V. Raghavachari Madras English
1879 Bengali S.N. Bennerjee Calcutta English
1881 Bangvasi Jogindra Nath Bose Calcutta English
1881 Maratha Agarkar Bombay English
1881 Kesari Kelkar Bombay Marathi
1890 India Dadabhai Naoroji Bombay English
1899 Hindustan Standard Sacchidanand Sinha Delhi English
1900 Indian Review G.A. Nateshan Madras English
1903 Indian Opinion Mahatma Gandhi S. Africa English
1905 Indian Sociologists Shyamji Krishan Verma London English
1906 Yugantar Barindra Ghosh, Bhupendra Dutta Calcutta Bengali
1907 Modern Review Ramanand Chatterjee Calcutta English
1909 Bandematram Hardyal, Shyamji Verma Paris English
1910 Pratap Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Kanpur Hindi
 International Relations and Area Studies 289

Year Newspaper/Magazine Founder Place Language

1912 Al Hilal Abdul Kalam Azad Calcutta Urdu
1913 Bombay Chronicle Feroz Shah Mehta Bombay English
1913 Gadar Lala Hardayal San Francisco English
1914 Commonweal Annie Besant Bombay English
1914 New India Annie Besant Bombay English
1918 Servants Of India Sri Niwas Shastri Madras English
1919 Independant Moti Lal Nehru Allahabad English
1919 Navjivan Mahatma Gandhi Ahmedabad Gujarati
1919 Young India Mahatma Gandhi Ahmedabad English
1922 Hindustan Times K.M. Pannickar Bombay English
1933 Harijan Mahatma Gandhi Pune Hindi
1934 Nava-Bharat Ramgopal Maheshwari Nagpur Hindi
1934 The India Pen Sophia Wadia Bombay English
1935 Sahyadri J. S. Tilak Pune Marathi
1936 Swaraj N. B. Parulekar Pune Gujarati
1936 Awaz - New Delhi Urdu
1937 Hindustan Standard Sudhanshu Kumar Basu Calcutta English
1937 Biswin Sadi - Delhi Urdu
1937 The Star Of India Pothan Joseph - English
1937 Khatoon Mashriq Tofiq Ansari Delhi Urdu
1937 Inquilab Khalid Ansari Bombay Urdu
1938 Deccan Chronicle - Secunderabad English
1938 National Herald M. Chalapathi Rau Lucknow English
1941 Kalki K. Rajendran Madras Tamil

Hindi News Papers During British Regime

Year Newspaper/Magazine Founder Place
1826 Udant Martand Jugal Kishore Shukla Calcutta
1829 Bang Doot Raja Rammohan Ray Calcutta
1849 Malwa Akhbar - Indore
1854 Samachar Sudhavarshan Shyam Sunder Sena Calcutta
1866 Gyan Pradyini Navin Chandra Rai Lahore
1867 Kavivachan Sudha Bhartendu Harischandra Varanasi
1872 Dipti Prakash - Calcutta
1873 Hindi Kesari Madhav Rao Sapre Nagpur
1877 Hindi Pradeep Pt. Balkrishna Bhatt Varanasi
1878 Bharat Mitra Chhotelal, Durga Prasad Mishra Calcutta
1879 Sarsudha Nidhi Durga Prasad Mishra Calcutta
1885 Dainik Hindothana Raja Rampal Singh Kala Kankar
1907 Abhyudaya Madan Mohan Malviya Allahabad
1908 Karmyogi Pt. Suderlal Allahabad
1913 Pratap Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Kanpur
1914 Hindi Kesari Ganga Prasad Gupta Kashi
1919 Bhavishya Pt. Sunder Lal Allahabad
1920 Aaj Shiv Prasad Gupta Varanasi
1930 Lokmat Seth Govind Das Jabalpur
2105 (MA–IR)—37
290 International Relations and Area Studies
GOVERNOR-GENERALS OF INDIA
Governors of Calcutta - Fort William
Roger Drake (1756-58)
 During his governorship, Calcutta was captured by
Siraj-ul-Daula in the third Carnatic War.
 The Black Hole tragedy on 20th June, 1756 in which
123 Englishmen died and which was one of the causes
of the Battle of Plassey of 1757 took place.
 Calcutta was recaptured by Clive.
Robert Clive (1758-60)
 Battle of Bedara in 1759, Dutch were defeated by the
East India Company.
 During this Governorship Clive did not do anything
significant apart from collecting wealth from the
victorious wars.
Henry Vansittart (1760-65)
 Mir Jafar was replaced by Mir Qasim as the Nawab
of Bengal in 1760.
 However, Mir Jafar was again reinstated.
 The Battle of Buxar was fought in 1764.
 Death of Mir Jafar and succession of his son Najmud-
daula.
 The Treaty of Allahabad was concluded on 20
February, 1765 according to which the administration
was left in the hands of a deputy Subedar who was
to be a British nominee.
Robert Clive (1765-67) Second Term
 The Company got Diwani rights in Bengal, Bihar
and Orissa.
 Started Dual Government in Bengal in 1765.
 He forbade the servants of the company from
indulging in private trade and made payment of
internal duties obligatory.
 Established Society of Trade in 1765 with monopoly
of trade in salt, betelnut and tobacco. This was
abolished in 1767.
Harry Verclst, 1767-69 and John Cartier (1769-72)
Had uneventful tenures as Governors of Calcutta with
nothing much of grave historical significance occurring
during their time.
Warren Hastings (1772-73)
 Put an end to the Dual System of government in
1772 which was started by Clive.
 He signed the treaty of Benaras in 1773 with Nawab
Shujaud-daula of Awadh. Nawab was returned
Allahabad and Kara in lieu of 50 lakhs rupees.
 Quinquennial settlement of land revenue in 1772
farming out lands to the highest bidder which was
later reversed.
Governor-Generals of Bengal
Warren Hastings (1773-85)
 Quinquennial settlement of land revenue in 1772
farming out lands to the highest bidder, later on he
reversed to Annual Settlement (1777) on the basis of
open auction to the highest bidder.
 Treasury was transferred from Murshidabad to
Calcutta, misuse of Dastak was checked.
 Dismissed Deputy Diwans - Muhammad Reza Khan
(Bengal) and Raja Shitab Rai (Bihar).
 Appointed Munni Begum as regent of minor Nawab
Mubarak-ud-Daula of Bengal.
 Signed treaty of Faizabad (1775) with Asaf-ud-Daula
of Awadh.
 The Rohilla War was fought in 1774 and Rohilkhand
was captured by the Nawab of Awadh with the help
of the British.
 The First Maratha War (1775-82) was concluded with
the Treaty of Salbai.
 The Second Mysore War (1780-84) was concluded
with the Treaty of Mangalore.
 Stopped annual allowance of ` 20 lakh to Shah Alam
II on charges of seeking protection from the Marathas.
 Took away Allahabad and Kara from Mughal Emperor
and sold it to Nawab of Awadh for ` 50 Lakh.
 Codified Hindu and Muslim laws.
 Trial of Nand Kumar and his judicial murder in 1775.
 Foundation of Asiatic Society of Bengal with the
help of Sir William Jones in 1784.
 Associated with the Chait Singh (Banaras Raj) affair
(1778) wherein the Raja of Benaras was executed
without any crime.
 After his return to England in 1785, impeachment
proceedings were initiated against him in the House
of Lords but after a long trial of 7 years he was
eventually acquitted.
 Associated with the Begums of Oudh Affair (1782)
wherein the Begums were thrown out of the palace to
place a puppet king.
 In 1776 Manu’s Law was translated into English as
the Code of Gentoo Laws.
 Fatawa-i-Alamgiri was also translated.
 Three important Acts introduced during his time that
defined the early constitutional development in India:
1. The Regulating Act of 1773
2. The Act of 1781 and
3. The Pitts India Act of 1784
2105 (MA–IR)—37-II

Lord Cornwallis (1786-93)
 Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790-92) was concluded
with the Treaty of Seringapatnam (1792).
 Set up courts at different levels and separation of
revenue administration from judicial administration
in order to reform the judiciary.
 Introduction of the civil Services in India.
 Introduced Cornwallis Code based on the principle
of separation of powers in 1793.
 Superintendent of Police was made the head of district
police and became the incharge of an area of 1000
sq. km.
 Besides the English magistrates were given police
powers. And the Zamindars were divested of all police
powers.
 Introduction of the Permanent Settlement in Bihar
and Bengal (1793) which was also called as the
Zamindari System.
 A ten-year settlement was concluded with the
Zamindars in 1790 which was made permanent in
1793.
 Raised salaries of the officials. Collectors were to get
1% of the revenue collection in addition to their
salary of ` 1500.
 This administrative system remained in force till 1858.
Sir John Shore (1793-98)
 He was the main person instrumental in designing
the Permanent Settlement under Lord Cornwallis and
was the President of the Board of Revenue under
Cornwallis.
 First Charter Act of 1793 was passed.
 Played an important role in the introduction of the
Kharda which took place between the Nizam and the
Marathas which resulted in the defeat of the Nizam.
 Famous for his policy of non-intervention.
 Ahmad Shah Abdali’s grandson named Zaman Shah
attacked India in this period.
Lord Wellesley (1798-1805)
 Described himself as Bengal Tiger.
 Created Madras Presidency after the annexation of
the Kingdoms of Tanjore and Carnatic.
 Introduced the system of Subsidiary Alliance in 1798.
 Signed Treaty of Bassein (1802) with the Peshawa
and fought Second Anglo-Maratha War during
1803-05.
 The Fourth Mysore War (1799) concluded with the
death of Tipu Sultan and Mysore as a state was
finished.
 Lord Lake captured Delhi and Agra in 1803 and the
Mughal Emperor was put under Company’s
protection.
International Relations and Area Studies 291
Sir George Burlow (1805-07)
 Followed a policy of non-intervention.
 Sepoy Mutiny at Vellore in 1806 when William
Bentinck was Governor of Madras Presidency.
 Third to restore peace between Scindhia and Holkar.
 Holkar accepted Subsidiary Alliance by Treaty of
Rajpurghat in 1805.
 End of Second Anglo-Maratha War.
Lord Minto I (1807-13)
 Signed Treaty of Amritsar in 1809 between Ranjit
Singh and English.
 Sent in 1808 Mission of Malcolm to Persia and that
of Elphinstone to Kabul.
 The Charter Act of 1813 was introduced.
Lord Hastings (1813-23)
 Adopted the policy of intervention and war.
 Success in the Gorkha war of the Anglo-Nepalese
War (1813 1823). Signed Treaty of Sugauli after
defeating the Gorkha leader Amar Singh.
 Hastings was awarded the title of ‘Marquis of Hastings’
in 1816.
 Abolished Peshwaship and annexed all his territories
and created the Bombay Presidency after the Third
Anglo-Maratha War (1817-1818).
 Pindari War fought (1817-1818).
 Appointed Darogas in districts after forcing zamindars
to surrender their police force.
 The Company signed separate treaty with Raja of
Sikkim in 1817 by which the Company handed over
the territory between Hechi and Tista rivers.
 Introduction of Ryotwari Settlement in Madras
Presidency by Governor, Thomas Munro (1820).
 Mahalwari (village community) system of land
revenue was made in North-West Province by James
Thomson.
Lord Amherst (1823-28)
 Received by Emperor Akbar II on terms of equality
in 1827.
 Signed Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826 with lower Burma
or Pegu by which British merchants were allowed to
settle on southern coast of Burma and Rangoon.
 The First Burmese War was fought (1824-26).
 Acquisition of territories in Malay Peninsula.
 Capture of Bharatpur (1826).
Lord William Bentinck (1828-33)
 He was the last Governor General of Bengal.
 Known as the Benevolent Governor-General.
292 International Relations and Area Studies
 Introduced a number of social reforms. Banned the
practice of Sati in 1829 (pioneering efforts made in
this connection by Raja Ram Mohan Roy), suppressed
Thugi in 1830 (Military operation led by William
Sleeman).
 Annexed Mysore (1830), Kachar (1832), Jaintia (1832)
and Coorg (1834).
 The raja of Mysore was deposed (1831)
 Concluded a treaty of perpetual friendship.
 The Regulation of 1833 on land revenue settlement
by Mertins Bird (called father of land-revenue
settlement in the North). Use of field maps and filed
registers were prescribed for the first time.
Governor Generals of India
Lord William Bentinck (1833-35)
 The Charter Act of 1833.
 Defined the aims and objectives of the educational
policy of the British Government, appointed Lord
Macaulay, the President of the Committee of Public
Instruction which recommended English as the
medium of instruction and introduction of English
language literature, Social and Natural Sciences in
the curriculum in 1835.
 Raja Ram Mohan Roy visited England and died in
Bristol in 1833.
 Created Province of Agra in 1834.
 English was to be court language at higher courts but
Persian continued in lower courts.
 Abolished Provincial Courts of appeal and appointed
commissioners instead.
Sir Metcalfe (1835)
 Abolished restriction on press.
 Called “Liberator of press.”
Lord Auckland (1835-42)
 First Afghan War (1836-42) gave a great blow to the
prestige of British in India and Auckland was
immediately called back during the war.
 Tripartiate Treaty was signed between the Company,
Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja by which Ranjit Singh
accepted Company’s mediation in disputes of the
Amirs of Sind.
 Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in 1839.
 Shah Shuja conceded his sovereign right to the
Company over Sind on condition of receiving the
arrears of the tribute, the amount of which was to be
determined by the Company.
 Mandavi State was annexed in 1839.
Lord Ellenborough (1842-44)
 Termination of the first Afghan War in 1842.
 Annexation of Sindh (1843) by Sir Charles Napier.
 War with Gwalior in 1843.
Lord Hardinge I (1844-48)
 Fought the First Sikh War (1845-46) which ended
with the Treaty of Lahore, 1846.
 Prohibited female infanticide.
 Suppressed the practice of human sacrifice among
the Gond tribe of Central India.
 Preference to English educated in employment.
Lord Dalhousie (1848-56)
 Second Sikh War (1848-49) and annexed Punjab.
 Second Burmese War (1852) and annexation of Lower
Burma (Pegu).
 The Indian States annexed by the application of
Doctrine of Lapse and Law of Escheat were Satara
(1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Baghat (1850),
Udaipur, Jhansi (1853) and Nagpur (1854).
 Boosted up the development of railways-laid the first
railway line in 1853 from Bombay to Thane and
second from Calcutta to Raniganj.
 Gave a great impetus to post and telegraph. Telegraph
lines were laid, (First line from Calcutta to Agra).
 Organised a separate Public Works Department in
every Province by divesting the Military Board of
this power.
 Shimla was made summer capital and army
headquarter.
 Hindu Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856.
 Annexed Awadh in 1856 on excuse of
maladministration when Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
refused to abdicate. Every house in Oudh had a son
in the British army, thus sowed the seeds for the
revolt of 1857.
 Annexed Berar in 1853 from Nizam on account of
arrears for auxiliary.
 Darjeeling and its outlying districts annexed.
 Stopped and abolished pensions and titles of various
states. For e.g. stopped annual payment of Nana Sahib,
adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II after his death.
 Planned to stop pensions and remove legal titles of
the Mughal Emperor after death of Bahadur Shah II,
but this was rejected by the Court of Directors.
 The Woods Dispatch of 1854 according to which the
British took the responsibility for mass education.
 The Santhal uprising (1855-57)

Lord Canning (1856-58)
 Foundation of the universities at Calcutta, Bombay
and Madras in 1857.
 Revolt of 1857.
Viceroys of India
Lord Canning (1858-1862)
 Queen Victoria’s Proclamation and passing of the
Indian Act of 1858.
 Doctrine of Lapse started by Lord Dalhousie was
officially withdrawn in 1859.
 The Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal
Procedure and the Indian High Court Act, passed in
1858, and 1861 respectively.
 India Council’s Act of 1861.
 Indigo Revolt in Bengal in 1859-60.
 Rajput states of Baghat and Udaipur were returned to
their respective rulers.
 Bahadur Shah was sent to Rangoon (Burma).
 Penal Code of 1860 declared slave trade in India
illegal.
 White Mutiny by the European troops of the east
India Company in 1859.
Lord Elgin I (1862)
 Suppressed the Wahabi movement.
 His sudden death in 1862; administration carried on
by Napier and Dennsion from 1862 to 1864.
Lord John Lawrence (1864-69)
 Followed a policy of rigid non-interference in
Afghanistan called Policy of Masterly Inactivity.
 Telegraphic Communication opened with Europe
(1869-70).
 Set up High Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras
(1865).
 War with Bhutan in 1865.
Lord Mayo (1869-72)
 Started the process of decentralization of finance in
India in 1870.
 First time in India Census was held in 1871.
 Established two colleges for the education and
political training of the Indian princes—the Royal
College in Kathiawar and Mayo College Ajmer in
Rajasthan.
 Organisation of Statistical Survey in India.
 Establishment of Department of Agriculture and
Commerce.
International Relations and Area Studies 293
 Beginning of system of state Railway.
 The only Viceroy to be murdered in office by an
Afghan convict in the Andaman in 1872.
Lord Northbrook (1872-76)
 Visit of Prince of Wales Edward VII.
 Trial of Gaekawad of Baroda in 1875.
 Kuka Movement in Punjab in 1872.
 Bihar famine in 1874.
 He resigned over the Afghan issue.
Lord Lytton (1876-80)
 Passing of the Royal Title Act of 1876 and the
assumption of the title Empress of India (Kaiser-I-
Hind) by Queen Victoria.
 Holding of Delhi Durbar in 1877.
 Passing of Vernacular Press Act of 1878.
 Passing of Arms Act of 1878 which empowered a
magistrate to call upon the printer and publisher of
any vernacular newspaper to enter into an undertaking
not to publish any news which would create antipathy
against the government.
 Lowering of the maximum age from 21 yrs. to 19 yrs.
for the Civil Services Examination—an attempt to
prevent Indians from entering Civil Services.
 Appointment of the first Famine Commission under
Sir Richard Strachey.
 Second Afghan War (1878-80).
 Policy of Masterly Inactivity towards Afghanistan
was replaced by Forward Policy.
Lord Rippon (1880-84)
 Passing of First Factory Act in 1881 for welfare of
child labour.
 Repeal of Vernacular Press Act in 1882.
 Foundation of local Self-Government (1882); passing
of local self Government Acts in various provinces
during the period 1883-85.
 Holding of first decennial and regular census in 1881
which put the total population at 254 millions.
 Appointment of an Education Commission under Sir
William Hunter in 1882.
 Division of finances of the Centre (1882).
 The Famines Court (1883).
 The Ilbert Bill controversy, 1883-84 relating to
passing of a bill, framed by the law member of the
Viceroy’s Council Sir C.P. Ilbert which abolished
judicial disqualification based on race.
 He usually said “Judge me by my works and not by
my words.”
294 International Relations and Area Studies
Lord Dufferin (1884-88)
 Foundation of the INC in 1885.
 Commented on the Congress being a microscopic
minority.
 Third Burmese War and finally annexed Burma (1885-
86).
 Delimitation of Afghan northern boundary.
Lord Landsdowne (1888-94)
 Passed the Age of Consent Act in 1891 which forbade
marriage of girl below 12.
 Second factory Act of 1891.
 Division of the Civil services into Imperial, Provincial
and the Subordinate.
 Indian Councils Act of 1892.
 Demarcation of Afghan boundary (Durand Line) by
Durand Commission.
Lord Elgin II (1894-98)
 Famine in part of Rajasthan - Lyall Commission
appointed to look into the cause of famines.
 Chapekar brothers of Una assassinated two British
officers in 1897, one of them was a senior Plague
Commissioner, Rand.
Lord Curzon (1899-1905)
 Creation of new province called the North West
Frontier Province.
 Appointment of Sir Thomas Raleigh Commission in
1902 to suggest reforms regarding universities, and
the passing of Indian Universities Act of 1904 as the
basis of its recommendations.
 Creation of a new Departemnt of Commerce and
Industry.
 Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904.
 Establishment of an Agricultural Research Institute
of Pusa in Delhi.
 Passing of Calcutta Corporation Act in 1899 which
provided for reduction of elected members.
 Partition of Bengal in 1905.
 Beginning of Swadeshi Movement in order to protest
against the partition of Bengal.
 Appointment of Police Commission under the
presidentship of Sir Andrew Frazer to inquire into
police administration.
 Colonel Young Husband’s expedition to Tibet in
1904.
 Set up Irrigation Commission of 1901 and the works
on Jhelum canal was completed.
 Pusa Agricultural Institute was established in 1903.
 Adopted MacDonell Commission on Famine in 1900.
 Appointed Moncrief Commission on irrigation in
1902.
 Official Secrets Act was passed in 1904 which
extended the scope of sedition.
 Passed Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act and
put India on gold standard.
 He built a greater mileage of railway line than any
other viceroy and was responsible for setting up
Railway Board.
 Resigned from his office, because of his controversy
with Kitchner (August 1905).
 Ronatdshay wrote his biography, The Life of Lord
Curzon.
 Rabindranath Tagore said, “He was untouched by
hand, i.e., the human element was missing.”
 It is said about him that “Like James-II of England,
Curzon knew the art of making enemies.
Lord Minto II (1905-10)
 Swadeshi Movement was launched.
 Surat Session and split in the Congress (1907).
 Minto-Morley Reforms or the Indian Council Act of
1909.
 Foundation of Muslim League by Aga Khan, the
Nawab of Dacca in 1906.
 Partition of Bengal came into force in October 1905.
 Khudi Ram Bose was hanged on April 30, 1908.
 Newspapers Act, 1908.
 Formal adoption of divide and rule policy in 1909
by British-Reservation of seats for Muslim in 1909
reforms.
 Tilak w as sentenced to six years rigorous
imprisonment and sent to Mandalay jail.
Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916)
 Anulment of partition of Bengal and creation of a
Governorship for Bengal like Bombay and Madras in
1911. (Lieutenant Governorship of Bihar and Orissa
and Chief Commissionership for Assam).
 Announcement of transfer of imperial capital from
Calcutta to Delhi (1911).
 A seperate state of Bihar and Orissa was created in
1911.
 Coronation Durbar of King George V and Queen
Mary at Delhi (December 1911).
 Ghadar Movement started in 1915 in San Francisco.
 Bomb thrown on his carriage at Chandni Chowk in
Delhi in 1912 while he was entering the capital by
Rash Bihari Bose.
 Hindu Maha Sabha in 1915 by Madan Mohan
Malviya and some Punjabi leaders.

 Defence of India Act, 1915.
 G. K. Gokhale and Feroz Shah Mehta died in 1915.
 Return of Gandhi to India, 1915.
Lord Chelmsford (1916-21)
 Foundation of two Home Rule Leagues - one by
Tilak in April 1916 and another by Annie Besant in
September 1916.
 Lucknow Session and the reunion of the Congress
(1916), Annie Besant played important role in it.
 Lucknow Pact between Congress and Muslim League
in 1916, Tilak played important role.
 Setting up of Sabarmati Ashram by Gandhi in 1916.
Lord Irwin (1926-31)
 Champaran Satyagrah - 1st time Gandhi experimented
his new technique in India (1917), Satyagraha at
Ahmedabad (1918) and Kheda Satyagraha (1918).
 August Declaration (1917) by Montague, the
Secretary of State.
 Resignation of some veteran leaders led by S.N.
Banerjee from Congress and founded Indian Liberal
Federation (1918).
 Government of India Act of 1919.
 Rowlatt Act (March 1919) and Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre (13 April 1919).
 Death of Tilak on 1st April, 1920.
 Launching of Khilafat Movement (1919-20).
 Launching of Non-co-operation movement (1920-22).
 Nagpur Session of the Congress (December 1920)
changes in constitution of Congress.
 Foundation of women university at Poona (1916).
 Foundation of Benaras Hindu University at Benaras
in 1916.
 Aligarh Muslim University was founded.
 Communist activities began.
 Moplah uprising in 1921.
 Prince of Wales visited India. Sir Sinha was the first
Indian to become a Governor and second Indian to
become a member of British Parliament, the first being
Dadabhai Naoroji.
Lord Reading (1921-26)
 Chauri Chaura incident (February 5, 1922) and the
withdrawal of Non-cooperation movement by Gandhi.
 Foundation of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS)
by Hedgewar at Nagpur in 1925.
 Foundation of Swaraj Party by C.R. Das (Deshbandhu)
and Motilal Nehru in December 1922.
 Repeal of Press Act of 1910 and Rowlatt Act of 1919.
 Foundation of Communist Party of India, 1925.
 Inter University Board was passed.
International Relations and Area Studies 295
 Holding of simultaneous examination for the ICS in
England and India with effect from 1923.
 Royal Commission on agriculture was established.
 Railway Budget seperated from General budget in
1925.
 Skeen Committee on Army reforms was appointed in
1925. It submitted its Report in 1926.
 Lee Commission on public service in 1924, Report
submitted in 1924.
 Young Hilton Committee on currency (1926).
 Beginning of Indian mission of officer cadre of Indian
army.
 Popularly Known as Christian Viceroy.
 Appointment of Simon Commission (Nov. 1927) and
its boycott by Congress.
 Appointment of the Indian States Commission under
Harcourt Butler (1927) to recommend measures for
the establishment of better relation between Indian
states and the central Government and covering of all
India States People’s Conferencing in December 1927
by states people in response.
 Meeting of first All India Youth Congress in 1928.
 Convening of All Parties Conference and its
appointment of a committee under Motilal Nehru to
prepare a constitution for India; committee submitted
its report known as Nehru Report in August 1928,
rejected by Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha.
 Deepavali Declaration (1929) that India would be
granted Dominion status in due course.
 Lahore Session of the Congress (Dec 1929) and Poorna
Swaraj Resolution; fixing 26th January as the first
Independence Day.
 Civil Disobedience Movement was launched with
Dandi March of Gandhi in 12 March 1930.
 1930, First Round Table Conference, Congress
boycotted.
 March 1931, Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
 Murder of superintendent of police, Saunders.
 Bomb thrown in Central Legislative Assembly, Delhi.
 In 1929 Jatin Das died after 64 days fast.
 Imperial Council of Agricultural Research was
founded.
 Royal Commission on Indian Labour was appointed
(1929), Report (1931).
 Simon Commission submitted its report in May 1930.
 Sarda Act was passed in 1929, Marriages of girls
below 14 years and boys below 18 years of age was
prohibited.
 Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted tricolour of Indian
Independence (Dec 31, 1929).
296 International Relations and Area Studies
Lord Wellingdon (1931-36)
 Participation of Gandhi in the Second Round Table
Conference (Sept. 1931) and failure of conference,
Gandhi imprisoned, suspension of movement in May
1934.
 Third Round Table Conference in London (1932)
without the representation of Congress.
 Announcement of Communal Award by Ramsay
MacDonald, British P.M. (1932), Gandhi fast unto
death in the Yervada prison and Poona pact between
Gandhi and Ambedkar (September 1932).
 Government of India Act of 1935.
 Foundation of Congress Socialist Party by Acharya
Narendra Dev and Jai Prakash Narayan (1934).
 Foundation of All India Kisan Sabha (1936).
 Individual Civil Disobedience Movement in January
1933.
 Civil Disobedience Movement withdrawn in 1934
from Patna.
 Indian Military Academy was set up at Dehradun in
1932.
 White Paper on political reforms in India was
published (1933).
 Burma and Aden were separated from British Empire
(1935).
 Orissa, Bihar and Sind were made new states (1935).
 Lee Moody Pact (October 1933) by Bombay textile
group.
 Muslim Conference was founded in Kashmir (1931)
and renamed National Conference in 1938. Important
leaders were Sheikh Abdullah and P.N. Bajaj.
Lord Linlithgow (1936-43)
 Congress Ministries in majority of the provinces
(1937).
 Celebration of Congress Ministries’ resignation (after
outbreak of World War-II) as Deliverence Day (22
Dec 1939) by Muslim League.
 Resignation of Subhash Chandra Bose from the
presidentship of the Congress as well as from its
membership in 1939, formation of Forward Bloc by
Bose and his followers (1939).
 At its Haripura Session (Feb 1939) the Congress
declared Poorna Swaraj ideal to cover native states
and British India.
 Muslim League at its Lahore Session (1940) passed
Pakistan Resolution.
 August Offer by Linlithgow (1940), its rejection by
the Congress and the starting of individual satyagraha
by Gandhi.
 Cripps Mission came to India (1942) offering
Dominion status and its rejection by Congress.
 Passing of Quit India Resolution also called August
Revolution, by Congress (8 Aug 1942) in the Bombay
session.
Lord Wavell (1943-47)
 C.R. Formula evolved by C. Rajagopalachari in 1949
and Gandhi-Jinnah talks based on it, failure of the
talk.
 Wavell Plan and Simla Conference (1945).
 INA Trials and Naval Mutiny (1946).
 Cabinet Mission (Three members: Lawrence, Cripps
and Alexander) and acceptence of the plan by both
Congress and Muslim League.
 RIN Mutiny (1946).
 Launch of Direct Action Day by the League on 16
August 1946.
 General Election in 1945-46.
 Interim Government formed (September 2, 1946).
Lord Mountbatten, March 1947-August, 1947
(British India) and August 1947-48
(Independent India)
 First Governor General of free India.
 On 3 June 1947 plan to partition was announced.
 On 7 June 1947, Jinnah left for Karachi.
 On August 15, 1947 India was declared independent,
but on the communal principle of divide.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
1707 : Death of Aurangzeb at the age of 89.
1708 : Shahu becomes the Chhatrapati of the Marathas
(ruled, 1708-49).
1717 : Farrukhsiyar grants a firman to the English
Company exempting their trade in Bengal.
1739 : Nadir Shah’s invasion of Delhi.
1744-48 : First Anglo-French Carnatic War.
1748 : Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle and restoration of
Madras to the English Company.
1749 : Death of Shahu and accession of Raja Ram as
Chhatrapati.
1751 : Clive’s capture of Arcot and its successful
defence against Chanda Sahib.
1757-63 : Third Anglo-French Carnatic War.
1757 : Battle of Plassey.
1760 : The English wins the battle of Wandiwash.
1761 : The Third Battle of Panipat.
1764 : Battle of Buxar.
1765 : Clive’s Second Governorship of Bengal.
1767-69 : The First Anglo-Mysore War.

1773 : The Regulating Act passed by the British
Parliament.
1774 : The Supreme Court established at Calcutta.
1775-82 : The First Anglo-Maratha War.
1780-84 : The Second Anglo-Mysore War.
1784 : Pitt’s India Act passed.
1790-92 : The Third Anglo-Mysore War.
1793 : Permanent Settlement of Bengal announced.
1799 : The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.
1801 : Wellesley annexes Carnatic.
1803-05 : The Second Anglo-Maratha War.
1806 : Vellore Mutiny.
1809 : Treaty of Amritsar between Ranjit Singh and
the Company.
1814-16 : The Anglo-Nepal War.
1824-26 : The First Anglo-Burmese War.
1829 : Sati practice declared illegal.
1833 : The Charter Act of 1833 passed; Abolition of
the Company’s trading rights in India.
1834 : Lord Bentinck annexes Coorg (Southern Malabar
Coast).
1835 : English adopted as the official language.
1839 : Death of Ranjit Singh.
1843 : British annexation of Sind announced.
1853 : First Railway line beween Bombay and Thana
opened.
1855 : The Santhal Insurrection.
1856 : The annexation of Oudh.
1857 : Establishment of universities at Bombay,
Calcutta and Madras; Revolt of 1857.
1858 : Queen Victoria’s Pro-clamation.
1865 : Telegraphic communication with Europe
opened.
1872 : The Kuka Revolt in Punjab.
1875 : The Prince of Wales visits India.
1876 : The Royal Titles Act made Queen Victoria
Kaiser-i-Hind.
1876-77 : The Delhi Durbar organised by Lytton.
1878 : Vernacular Press Act passed.
1881 : First Factory Act passed.
1883 : The Ilbert Bill Controversy.
1885 : Foundation of Indian National Congress.
1893 : Organisation of the Mohammedan Anglo-
Oriental Defence Association of Upper India,
Tilak celebrates the Ganapati festival.
1895 : Tilak organises the Shivaji festival.
International Relations and Area Studies 297
1897 : Murder of Rand and Ayerst at Poona.
1904 : Indian Universities Act passed; Young Husband
Mission to Lhasa.
1905 : Foundation of the ‘Servants of India society’.
1906 : Partition of Bengal comes into force, Minto
receives the Aga Khan Muslim Deputation at
Simla; Muslim League formed at Dacca (30th
December).
1907 : Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh departed to
Mandalay.
1908 : Execution of Khudi Ram Bose; Tilak sentenced
to six years transportation.
1909 : Morley-Minto reforms of 1909; Murder of
Curzon Wyllie in London by Dhingra; S. P.
Sinha appointed as Law member of Viceroy’s
Executive Council.
1911 : Coronation Durbar at Delhi.
1912 : Delhi becomes new capital of India; Bomb
thrown at Lord Hardinge at Delhi.
1913 : Gandhi starts his Satyagraha in South Africa
against Asiatic Law Amendment Act; Ghadar
Party formed at San Francisco.
1915 : Formation of Home Rule League by Annie
Besant.
1916 : Foundation of Banaras Hindu University; Tilak
organises Home Rule League at Poona.
1917 : Gandhi launches the Champaran Satyagraha.
1918 : All India Depressed Clasess League formed.
1919 : Call for All-India hartal against Rowlatt Bills;
Jallianwala Bagh tragedy.
1920 : All India Trade Union Congress formed;
Foundation of Aligarh Muslim University; Non-
Cooperation Movement launched.
1921 : M.N. Roy organised Communist Party at
Tashkent.
1922 : Chauri-Chaura incident; Calling off of the Non-
Cooperation Movement.
1924 : Formation of the Communist Party of India at
Kanpur.
1927 : Appointment of Simon Commission.
1928 : Nehru Report recommends principles for the
new Constitution of India.
1929 : Meerut Conspiracy Case against the
Communists; Sarda Act passed; Lord Irwin’s
announcement of Dominion status granting as
the goal of British; Adoption of complete
Independence as goal by Congress.
1930 : Gandhiji’s Dandi March, Rebellion in Burma,
Round Table Conference (1st session), January
26, Indepedence pledge.
2105 (MA–IR)—38
298 International Relations and Area Studies
1931 : Gandhi-Irwin Pact signed, Round Table
conference (2nd session), publication of the
Royal Labour Commission’s Report.
1932 : Announcement of Communal Award; Poona pact
signed; Round Table Conference (3rd session),
Second Civil Disobedience Movement.
1934 : Civil Disobedience Movement called off.
1935 : Indo-British Trade agreement signed.
1937 : Congress Ministries formed in provinces.
1939 : Subhash Bose resigned from the Presidentship
of Congress; Congress Ministries resign in
provinces, M uslim League celebrates
Deliverance Day.
1940 : Muslim League adopts the Pakistan resolution;
launched Individual Satyagraha; August Offer
of the Viceroy.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Consider the following statement and select the
correct answer:
(i) Khilafat Movement was mainly aimed to build
political unity amongst Muslims and use their
influence to protect the caliphate.
(ii) The Khilafat campaign was actively supported by
other political parties such as the Muslim League
and the Hindu Mahasabha.
(iii) It was a major part of the Non-cooperation
movement.
Codes:
A. (i) only
B. (ii) and (iii) only
C. (i) and (iii) only
D. All of the above
2. Consider the following statements in the context of
the provisions of the Cripps Mission:
1. It refused to provide dominion status to India and
rather offered a plan for formation of constituent
assembly.
2. It prescribed holding of fresh elections to all the
provincial legislature.
3. Representatives of the Indian states were to
constitute an electoral college which would, in
turn, elect the constitution-making body.
4. It prescribed that if a province expressed its
unwillingness to accept the constitution, it could
refuse accession to the Indian union and instead
formulate its own constitution.
Which of the above statements are correct the related
context?
A. 1, 2 and 4 B. 2, 3 and 4
C. 1, 2 and 3 D. Only 3
1942 : Cripps Mission visits India; Quit India
Movement.
1943 : Bose announces the formation of Provisional
Government of Free India.
1946 : Naval Mutiny at Bombay; Cabinet Mission,
elections for the Constituent Assembly, Jawahar
Lal Nehru heads the interim Government, Indian
Constituent Assembly meets at New Delhi.
1947 : Atlee’s announcement of British decision to
transfer power before June 1948; 3rd June plan
of Mountbatten; Indian Independence Act
passed.
1948 : Death of Mahatma Gandhi.
1949 : Adoption of the new Indian Constitution.
1951 : First general elections.
3. The Permanent Settlement system which had created
the first group of landlord in India was launched by
the Britishers. The salient features of the system were:
(i) It was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa in 1793.
(ii) It had recognized the landlords as the proprietor
of the land with the right of hereditary succession.
(iii) Landlords had no right to transfer, sell or mortgage
the land in their possession.
Which of above statements is/are correct?
A. Only (i) B. (i) and (ii)
C. (i) and (iii) D. All of the above
4. Which of the following statements is/are true in the
context of Rowlatt Act of 1919?
1. It was called the Anarchical and Revolutionary
Crimes Act (1919).
2. This act effectively authorized the government to
imprison for a maximum period of six months,
without trial, any person suspected of terrorism
living in the British Raj.
3. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was justified by
British government on the pretext of the Rowlatt
Act.
Codes:
A. 1 and 2 B. 1 and 3
C. 1, 2 and 3 D. Only 3
5. The Portugese were the first to reach India in 1498
with an objective of capturing the spice trade of the
east. Which among the following were the first to
revolt against the Portugese in Indian Ocean region?
A. Mozambique B. Maldives
C. Sri Lanka D. Malacca

6. The programme of Non-Cooperation movement had
two main aspects - constructive and destructive.
Which of the following are included in constructive
aspects?
(i) Nationalization of education.
(ii) Promotion of indigenous goods.
(iii) Enrolment of volunteer corps.
(iv) Surrender of titles and honours.
Codes:
A. (i), (ii), (iii) only B. (ii), (iii), (iv) only
C. (i) and (ii) only D. All the above
7. With the advent of Britishers the modern education
was introduced in India. Consider the following
statements related to modern education phases in
India:
(i) Wood’s Dispatch was considered as the Magna
Carta of English Education in India. It laid stress
on mass education, fem ale education and
improvem ent of vernaculars and favoured
secularism in Education.
(ii) The professional education was launched during
1813-1853 by the establishment of medical,
engineering and law colleges.
(iii) Hartog Committee 1929 recommended universal
and compulsory education for all children in the
age group 6-11.
(iv) Wardha scheme of Basic Education (1937), worked
out by the Zakir Hussain Committee,
recommended medium of instruction should be
English for expansion of modern education.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. (i) and (ii) B. (i), (ii) and (iii)
C. (ii), (iii) and (iv) D. All the above
8. Which of the following Governor-Generals/Viceroys
are correctly matched with the main events and
developments during their respective tenure?
(i) Foundation of Asiatic Society of Bengal — Lord
Cornwallis
(ii) Prohibition of fem ale infanticide — Lord
Hardinge I
(iii) Establishment of High Courts at Bombay, Madras
and Calcutta — Lord John Lawrence
(iv) Widow Remarriage Act — Lord Dalhousie
Codes:
A. Only (ii) B. (ii) and (iv)
C. (i) and (iv) D. (ii), (iii) and (iv)
9. During British rule Industries which were worst
affected by the British policies were the handicrafts
industries, textile, paper, metals, pottery etc. Which
among the following were the mains causes for this?
(i) Influx of foreign goods
(ii) Construction of railways
International Relations and Area Studies 299
(iii) Rise in prices of raw materials.
(iv) Loss of European markets to Indian manufacturers.
Codes:
A. (i), (ii) and (iii) B. (ii), (iii) and (iv)
C. (i), (iii) and (iv) D. All the above
10. Which of the following statements are true in the
context of the INA?
1. INA was founded by Captain Mohan Singh with
the help of the Japanese in 1942 in Singapore.
2. Netaji joined INA in 1943 and proclaimed the
provisional government of free India in Singapore.
3. The British army halted the march of the INA at
Kohima and forced Netaji to retreat to Malaya.
4. Colonel Prem Sehgal, Colonel Gurubaksh Singh
Dhillon and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of
the INA were tried for court martial at the Red
Fort between November 1945 and May 1946.
Which of the above statements are true?
A. 1, 2 and 4 B. 2, 3 and 4
C. 1 and 4 D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
11. Which of the following were the factors responsible
for tribal revolts/movements during the British
period?
1. Expansion of British colonial rule in the tribal
areas.
2. Increased penetration of the exploiters such as
moneylenders, traders, etc.
3. British interference in the socio-religious affairs
of the tribal.
4. Spreading the Christian religion by the Christian
missionaries.
Codes:
A. 1, 2 and 4 B. 3 and 4
C. 1, 2 and 3 D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
12. The British government had appointed various
committees to investigate the causes of famine and to
recommend measures to prevent recurrences in future.
Arrange the following committees in chronological
order:
(i) Sir Richard Strachey Commission
(ii) George Campbell Commission
(iii) Sir James Lyall Commission
(iv) Anthony McDonald Committee
Codes:
A. (ii), (i), (iii), (iv) B. (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
C. (ii), (i), (iv), (iii) D. (i), (ii), (iv), (iii)
13. Which of the following events occurred during the
tenure of Lord Irwin?
1. Appointment of Simon Commission.
2. Boycott of Simon Commission by the Congress.
3. Lahore session of the Congress and Purna Swaraj
resolution.
300 International Relations and Area Studies
4. Launching of the civil disobedience movement 20. Match the following :
by Gandhi with his Dandi march. (A) (B)
A. 1st Anglo-Sikh War 1. Auckland
Codes:
B. 1st Anglo-Maratha War 2. Warren Hastings
A. 3 and 4 B. 2, 3 and 4
C. 1st Anglo-Burmese War 3. Harding I
C. 2 and 4 D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
D. 1st Anglo-Afghan War 4. Amherst
14. By the Charter of 1669, the East India Company has
Codes:
got the power to make necessary laws and issue
(a) (b) (c) (d)
ordinance for the first time in India for which of the
A. 1 2 3 4
following area?
B. 3 2 4 1
A. Madras B. Calcutta
C. 3 4 2 1
C. Bombay D. Awadh
D. 4 3 2 1
15. Who among the following were not the members of
21. Among the following which one was the First Trade
the Cabinet Mission?
Union in India?
1. Lord Pathick Lawrence
A. All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
2. A. V. Alexander
B. Madras Labour Union
3. Sir Stafford Cripps
C. Indian Trade Union Federalism
4. Viceroy Lord Wavell
D. Textile Labour Union
Codes:
22. Who suggested to change the name Indian Union to
A. 3 & 4 B. 1, 2 & 3
Indian National Congress?
C. None of the above D. Only 4
A. Dada Bhai Naoroji B. W.C. Banerjee
16. Which among these may be assumed as first all India C. A.O. Hume D. Fakhruddin T. Jee
level Satyagraha by Gandhi? 23. Who is regarded as “The Mother of Indian
A. NCM Revolution”?
B. Champaran A. Mrs. Anne Besant
C. Khilafat Movement B. Snehlata Wadekar
D. Anti Rowlatt Movement C. Sarojini Naidu
17. Who among these had formed ‘Abhinav Bharat D. Madam Bhikaji Rustem Cama
Samaj’? 24. Which of the following statement is wrong?
A. Savarkar Brothers B. Rashbehari Bose A. Lord Linlithgow was the longest serving Governor
C. Khudiram Bose D. Pramodha Mitter General of British India.
18. What is ‘Imperial Preferences’ in British time? B. M. Abdul Kalam Azad was the longest serving
A. Concessions in the British imported goods to Congress President in Pre-Independent.
India. C. M. Mohan Malviya became the President of INC
B. Concessions given to the British Political Agents for maximum number of time.
by Indian States. D. Sarojini Naidu was 2nd female Congress President.
C. Concessions or preferences given to the British 25. Consider the following statements:
subject by the crown rule. 1. The word ‘Swarajya’ was used for the first time by
D. Concessions given to the British industry and Swami Dyanand Saraswati in his writings and
industrial interest in India. speeches.
19. Match the following: 2. The word ‘Swarajya’ was politically used for the
Land Revenue System Associated Person first time by Tilak, as a demand for self rule and
(a) Ryotwari System 1. Munro & Reed independence.
(b) Zamindari System 2. Merttins Bird 3. The word ‘Swarajya’ was used for the first time by
(c) Mahalwari System 3. Holt Mackenzie Dada Bhai Naoroji from Congress platform in
4. John Shore 1906, as a demand for immediate independence
from British rule.
Codes: A. Only 3 B. Only 2
1 2 3 4 C. 1, 2, 3 only D. None of these
A. (a) (c) (c) (b)
B. (c) (a) (c) (b) 26. Annie Besant was
C. (a) (b) (c) (c) 1. responsible for starting the Home Rule Movement.
D. (b) (a) (c) (c) 2. the founder of the Theosophical Society.

3. once the President of the Indian National Congress
Select the correct statement/statements using the
codes given below.
A. 1 only B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only D. 1, 2 and 3
27. The Ilbert Bill controversy was related to the
A. imposition restrictions the Indians of certain to
carry arms by Indians.
B. imposition of restrictions on newspapers and
magazines published in Indian languages.
C. removal of disqualifications imposed on the
Indian magistrates with regard to the trial of the
Europeans.
D. removal of a duty on imported cotton cloth.
28. The people of India agitated against the arrival of
Simon Commission because
A. Indians never wanted the review of the working of
the Act of 1919.
B. Simon Commission recommended the abolition
of Dyarchy (Diarchy) in the Provinces.
C. There was no Indian member in the Simon
Commission.
D. The Simon Commission suggested the partition
of the country.
29. Quit India Movement was launched in response to
A. Cabinet Mission Plan
B. Cripps Proposals
C. Simon Commission Report
D. Wavell Plan
30. With reference to Indian History, the Members of the
Constituent Assembly from the Provinces were
A. directly elected by the people of those Provinces.
B. nominated by the Indian National Congress and
the Muslim League.
C. elected by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies.
D. selected by the Government for their expertise in
constitutional matters.
31. The demand for the Tebhaga Peasant Movement in
Bengal was for
A. the reduction of the share of the landlords from
one-half of the crop to one-third.
B. the grant of ownership of land to peasants as they
were the actual cultivators of the land.
C. the uprooting of Zamindari system and the end of
serfdom.
D. writing off all peasant debts.
32. What was the purpose with which Sir William
Wedderburn and W. S. Caine had set up the Indian
Parliamentary Committee in 1893?
A. To agitate for Indian political reforms in the House
of Commons.
International Relations and Area Studies 301
B. To campaign for the entry of Indians into the
Imperial Judiciary.
C. To facilitate a discussion on India’s Independence
in the British Parliament.
D. To agitate for the entry of eminent Indians into
the British Parliament.
33. Mahatma Gandhi said that some of his deepest
convictions were reflected in a book titled, “Unto this
Last” and the book transformed his life. What was the
message from the book that transformed Mahatma
Gandhi?
A. Uplifting the oppressed and poor is the moral
responsibility of an educated man.
B. The good of individual is contained in the good
of all.
C. The life of celibacy and spiritual pursuit are
essential for a noble life.
D. All the statements A, B and C are correct in this
context.
34. With reference to Indian freedom struggle, Usha
Mehta is well-known for
A. Running the secret Congress Radio in the wake of
Quit India Movement.
B. Participating in the Second Round Table
Conference.
C. Leading a contingent of Indian National Army.
D. Assisting in the formation of Interim Government
under Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
35. With reference to the period of Indian freedom
struggle, which of the following was/were
recommended by the Nehru report?
1. Complete Independence for India.
2. Joint electorates for reservation of seats for
minorities.
3. Provision of fundamental rights for the people of
India in the Constitution.
Select the correct answer using the codes given
below:
A. 1 only B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only D. 1, 2 and 3
36. Which one of the following observations is not true
about the Quit India Movement of 1942?
A. It was a non-violent movement.
B. It was led by Mahatma Gandhi.
C. It was a spontaneous movement.
D. It did not attract the labour class in general.
37. Which amongst the following provided a common
factor for tribal insurrection in India in the 19th
century?
A. Introduction of a new system of land revenue and
taxation of tribal products.
B. Influence of foreign religious missionaries in tribal
areas.
302 International Relations and Area Studies
C. Rise of a large number of money lenders, traders
and revenue farmers as middlemen in tribal areas.
D. The complete disruption of the old agrarian order
of the tribal communities.
38. With reference to the period of colonial rule in India,
“Home Charges” formed an important part of drain of
wealth from India. Which of the following funds
constituted “Home Charges”?
1. Funds used to support the India Office in London.
2. Funds used to pay salaries and pensions of British
personnel engaged in India.
3. Funds used for waging wars outside India by the
British.
Select the correct answer using the codes given
below:
A. 1 only B. 1 and 2 only
C. 2 and 3 only D. 1, 2 and 3
39. What was the reason for Mahatma Gandhi to organize
a satyagraha on behalf of the peasants of Kheda?
1. The Administration did not suspend the land
revenue collection in spite of a drought.
2. The Administration proposed to introduce
Permanent Settlement in Gujarat.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2 D. Neither 1 nor 2
40. Consider the following:
1. Assessment of land revenue on the basis of nature
of the soil and the quality of crops.
2. Use of mobile cannons in warfare.
3. Cultivation of tobacco and red chillies.
Which of the above was/were introduced into India
by the English?
A. 1 only B. 1 and 2
C. 2 and 3 D. None of these
41. The Congress ministries resigned in the seven
provinces in 1939, because
A. The Congress could not form ministries in the
other four provinces.
B. Emergence of a ‘left wing’ in the Congress made
the working of the ministries impossible.
C. There were widespread communal disturbances in
their provinces.
D. None of the statements A, B and C given above
is correct.
42. Which of the following is/are the principal feature(s)
of the Government of India Act, 1919?
1. Introduction of diarchy in the executive
government of the provinces.
2. Introduction of separate communal electorates for
Muslims.
3. Devolution of legislative authority by the centre
to the provinces.
Select the correct answer using the codes given
below:
A. 1 only B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only D. 1, 2 and 3
43. During Indian freedom struggle, the National Social
Conference was formed. What was the reason for its
formation?
A. Different social reform groups or organizations of
Bengal region united to form a single body to
discuss the issues of larger interest and to prepare
appropriate petitions/representations to the
government.
B. Indian National Congress did not want to include
social reforms in its deliberations and decided to
form a separate body for such a purpose.
C. Behramji Malabari and M.G. Ranade decided to
bring together all the social reform groups of the
country under one organization.
D. None of the statements A, B and C given above
is correct in this context.
44. Which of the following parties were established by
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar?
1. The Peasants and Workers Party of India
2. All India Scheduled Castes Federation
3. The Independent Labour Party
Select the correct answer using the codes given
below:
A. 1 and 2 only B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only D. 1, 2 and 3
45. Mahatma Gandhi undertook fast unto death in 1932,
mainly because
A. Round Table Conference failed to satisfy Indian
political aspirations.
B. Congress and Muslim League had differences of
opinion.
C. Ramsay Macdonald announced the Communal
Award.
D. None of the statement A, B and C given above
is correct in this content.
46. With reference to Ryotwari Settlement, consider the
following statements:
1. The rent was paid directly by the peasants to the
Government.
2. The Government gave Pattas to the Ryots.
3. The lands were surveyed and assessed before being
taxed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only B. 1 and 2 only
C. 1, 2 and 3 D. None of these
 International Relations and Area Studies 303

47 Consider the following statements: 54. In 1614 Sir Thomas Roe was instructed by .................
to visit the court of Jahangir, the Mughal emperor of
The most effective contribution made by Dadabhai
India.
Naoroji to the cause of Indian National Movement
A. James I B. Babar
was that he C. Shajahan D. Humayun
1. exposed the economic exploitation of India by the
British. 55. In 1661 the company obtained ………….. from
2. interpreted the ancient Indian texts and restored Charles II.
the self-confidence of Indians. A. Bombay B. Madras
C. Kannur D. Calcutta
3. stressed the need for eradication of all the social
evils before anything else. 56. In 1650 Gabriel Boughton, an employee of the
Company obtained a license for trade in ................. .
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. Bengal B. Orissa
A. 1 only B. 2 and 3 only C. Mysore D. Surat
C. 1 and 3 only D. 1, 2, and 3
57. Year of the Battle of Plassey is ................... .
48. With reference to Pondicherry (now Puducherry), A. 1557 B. 1657
consider the following statements: C. 1757 D. 1857
1. The first European power to occupy Pondicherry
58. Year of the Battle of Wandiwash is ................... .
were the Portuguese.
A. 1560 B. 1660
2. The second European power to occupy Pondicherry
C. 1760 D. 1860
were the French.
3. The ‘English’ never occupied Pondicherry. 59. Year of the Battle of Buxar is ................... .
A. 1764 B. 1767
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? C. 1784 D. 1864
A. 1 only B. 2 and 3 only
C. 3 only D. 1, 2 and 3 60. Warren Hastings was appointed as the Governor of
.................... in 1772.
49. Consider the following statements: A. Bengal B. Madras
1. Dr. Rajendra Prasad persuaded Mahatma Gandhi C. Bombay D. Delhi
to come to Champaran to investigate the problem
61. Regulating Act was in the year of ................... .
of peasants.
A. 1573 B. 1673
2. Acharya J.B. Kriplani was one of Mahatma
C. 1773 D. 1873
Gandhi’s colleagues in his Champaran
investigation. 62. Hyder Ali was the ruler of ................... .
A. Hyderabad B. Mysore
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? C. Cochi D. Bengal
A. 1 only B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2 D. Neither 1 nor 2 63. Mahe was a colony of ................... .
A. English B. French
50. Who among the following Governor Generals created C. Dutch D. Germany
the Covenanted Civil Service of India which later
64. In November 1781, Sir Eyre Coote defeated
came to be known as the Indian Civil Service?
.................... at Porto Nova.
A. Warren Hastings B. Wellesley
A. Hyder Ali B. Marthanda Verma
C. Cornwallis D. William Bentinck
C. British D. Tipu Sultan
51. When did Vasco da Gama arrived in Calicut, India on 65. The Treaty of Mangalore was in the year ................ .
.................... . A. 1484 B. 1584
A. 1398 B. 1495 C. 1684 D. 1784
C. 1496 D. 1498
66. Seringapatam was the capital of ................... .
52. Diu was the colony of the .................. . A. Pazhassi Raja B. Tipu Sultan
A. Portuguese B. English C. Kurumbranad Raja D. Sri Moolam Thirunal
C. Dutch D. French
67. The fourth .................... War was of short duration and
53. Which country established a trading post in Gujarat decisive and ended with Tipu’s death on May 4,
in 1612? 1799.
A. British B. French A. Anglo-Mysore
C. Spain D. Dutch B. French-Mysore War
304 International Relations and Area Studies
C. Maratha-Mysore war B. By the Government of India Act of 1758
D. Nyzam-Mysore War C. By the Government of India Act of 1858
D. By the Government of India Act of 1958
68. The Treaty of Surat was in the year ................ .
A. 1475 B. 1575 81. Who set up the dual system of administration in
C. 1675 D. 1775 Bengal?
A. Robert Clive B. Lord Wellesley
69. Treaty of Rajpurghat was signed on December 25,
C. Dupleix D. Lord Macaulay
1805 between Holkar and ……………
A. French B. British 82. ................. made Permanent settlement in Bengal in the
C. Portuguese D. Dutch sphere of revenue administration.
A. William Pitt B. Hastings
70. The Company was granted an English Royal Charter, C. William Bentinck D. Lord Cornwallis
under the name Governor and Company of Merchants
of London Trading into the East Indies, by ................. 83. The Permanent Settlement was enforced in ............. .
on 31 December 1600. A. 1693 B. 1793
A. Elizabeth I B. Elizabeth II C. 1893 D. 1933
C. Henry VII D. Henry VIII 84. Subsidiary Alliance was introduced by ................ .
71. Under the Government of India ................., the British A. Lord Wellesley B. Sir John Shore
C. Robert Clive D. Lord Dalhousie
Crown assumed direct administration of India in the
new British Raj. 85. Fakir-Sannyasi Resistance against the East India
A. Act of 1658 B. Act of 1758 Company dominance in ................ .
C. Act of 1858 D. Act of 1947 A. Gujarat B. Kerala
C. Karnataka D. Bengal
72. Defeat of the Spanish Armada in ................ .
A. 1256 B. 1288 86. ................., a judge of the Supreme Court founded the
C. 1588 D. 1688 Asiatic society of Bengal in 1784 A.D.
A. Sir William Jones
73. The English East Company achieved a major victory
B. Warren Hastings
over the Portuguese in the Battle of ............... in 1612. C. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
A. Buxar B. Plassey D. Lord Macaulay
C. Swally D. Trafalgar
87. Charles Wood’s Despatch ................ .
74. The Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) resulted in the A. 1554 A.D B. 1684
defeat of the ................. forces. C. 1784 D. 1854
A. American B. British
C. French D. Russian 88. The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act ................ .
A. 1856 B. 1858
75. Robert Clive, the Governor General of the .............. . C. 1865 D. 1946
A. Dutch B. French
C. British D. Portuguese 89. The policy of Doctrine of lapse was introduced by
................ .
76. Joseph François Dupleix was the commander of the A. Lord Wellesley B. Lord William Bentinck
................. forces in India. C. Lord Macaulay D. Lord Dalhousie
A. French B. British
C. American D. Dutch 90. The ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ was in the year ................ .
A. 1657 B. 1757
77. Who defeated the Spanish Armada? C. 1765 D. 1857
A. Elizebeth I B. Elizebeth II
91. The Indian National Congress was formed in ........... .
C. Henry VIII D. James I
A. 1885 B. 1887
78. The First Opium War started in ................ . C. 1888 D. 1895
A. 1729 B. 1736
92. The Vernacular Press Act was passed in ................ .
C. 1839 D. 1939
A. 1878 B. 1881
79. Indian Mutiny began in ................ . C. 1888 D. 1898
A. 1557 B. 1657
93. The Vernacular Press Act was repealed by ................ .
C. 1857 D. 1957
A. Lord Ripon
80. The Company lost all its administrative powers B. Lord Lytton
................ . C. Lord William Bentinck
A. By the Government of India Act of 1658 D. Gladstone
 International Relations and Area Studies 305

94. Who made remarkable contribution to the development 105. In 1877 the entrance age to ICS was reduced from 21
of Local government? to ................ .
A. Lord Ripon B. Gladstone A. 17 B. 18
C. W.W Hunter D. Hastings C. 19 D. 20
95. The land owned by temples was known as ............. . 106. ................. started an all-India campaign for restoring
A. Dewaswam B. Brahmaswam the entrance age of 21 and for simultaneous ICS
C. Cherikkal D. Kanam examination in India.
96. Tipu was defeated in the ................. Anglo-Mysore war A. Gokhale B. S.N. Banerjee
by the British. C. Tilak D. William Logan
A. First B. Second 107. Who tried to rediscover India’s past?
C. Third D. Fourth A. Lord Lytton B. Max Muller
97. According to the term s of the treaty of C. S.N. Banerjee D. Gokhale
Srirangapattanam, ................. was ceded to the British. 108. Lytton held an Imperial Durbar at Delhi in 1877 to
A. Malabar B. Cochi announce ................. as the Empress of India at a time
C. Travancore D. Mysore when a large part of the country was in the grip of a
98. Throughout the 19th century intermittent uprisings severe famine.
occurred in Malabar, especially in the ................. and A. Queen Elizabeth B. Queen Victoria
Valluvanad taluks. Twenty two such riots were C. Queen Anne D. Queen Marie
reported from different parts of Malabar. 109. Who put on the statute book two obnoxious measures
A. Ernad B. Cochi the Vernacular Press Act and the Indian Arms Act.
C. Travancore D. Kannur A. Lord Ripon
99. MSP means ................ . B. Lytton
A. Malabar Special Police C. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
B. Mysore special Police D. Queen Victoria
C. Madras special Police
110. The llbert Bill controversy during the period of
D. Moppila Special Police
................. exposed the racial bitterness of the British
100. The violent Moppilas stormed the bunglow of the and united the Indians.
District Magistrate ............... and murdered him in A. Lytton B. Lord Ripon
1855. C. Queen Elizabeth D. Queen Anne
A. H.V. Connolly B. William Logan
111. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the founder of the
C. Lord Ripon D. Gladstone
................ .
101. As the unrest continued unabatedly, the Madras A. Brahma Samaj
government appointed ................., the collector of B. Arya Samaj
Malabar as special commissioner to enquire into the C. Ramakrishna Mission
causes of the uprisings and recommend remedial D. Theosophical society
measures.
A. Connolly B. William Logan 112. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was given the title ‘Raja’ by
C. S.N. Banerjee D. Gokhale the ................ .
A. Mughals B. British
102. The culmination of the series of the uprisings was the C. French D. Dutch
Moppila revolt of ................ .
A. 1721 B. 1821 113. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on May 22, 1772 in
C. 1895 D. 1921 village Radhanagar in the District of Hooghly in
................ .
103. When the East India Company came into existence, A. Bombay B. Assam
England was ruled by the ................ . C. Bengal D. MP
A. Hanoverians B. Stuarts
C. Normans D. Tudors 114. In ................., a man named Raja Ram Mohan Roy
founded an organization called ‘Brahma Samaj’.
104. The greatest contribution of the British rule to the A. 1628 B. 1728
growth of Indian nationalism was the ................ . C. 1828 D. 1928
A. Introduction of western education in India
B. Racial arrogance of the British 115. Who is regarded as as the ‘Father of modern India’.
C. Denial of Higher Jobs to deserving Indians A. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
D. Queen’s proclamation of 1858 B. Swami Dayananda Saraswati
2105 (MA–IR)—39
306 International Relations and Area Studies
C. Sri Aurobindo 124. Nirankari movement, was started by............... .
D. Bhagat Singh A. Baba Dayal B. Ranjit Singh
C. Lal Singh D. Tej Singh
116. Who convinced the British in 1829 to outlaw Sati?
A. Raja Ram Mohan Roy 125. The Kuka movement had its origin in the .................
B. Swami Dayananda Saraswati corner of the Sikh kingdom, away from the places of
C. Lokmanya Tilak royal pomp and grandeur.
D. Bhagat Singh A. North-west B. North-south
C. North-east D. South
117. Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati was an important
Hindu religious scholar, reformer, and founder of the 126. Who were called “Kukas”?
................ . A. Namdhari B. Nirankari
A. Arya Samaj C. Tilak D. Sri Aurobindo
B. Brahma Samaj 127. Baba Ram Singh, born at Bhaini, in ................. district
C. Ramakrishna Mission in 1816.
D. Theosophical society A. Haryana B. Jodhpur
118. Who was the first to give the call for Swarajya– “India C. Kashmir D. Ludhiana
for Indians”? 128. Baba Ram Singh passed away on November 29,
A. Dayanand Saraswati ................ .
B. Lokmanya Tilak A. 1885 B. 1887
C. Sri Aurobindo C. 1889 D. 1923
D. Bhagat Singh 129. The Singh Sabha intended to restore Sikhism to its
119. Who founded India House in London and guided past purity by publishing historical religious books,
other revolutionaries? magazines and journals, to propagate knowledge
A. Sri Aurobindo using Punjabi, to return Sikh apostates to their
B. Lokmanya Tilak original faith, and to involve highly placed ...............
C. Shyamji Krishna Varma in the educational programme of the Sikhs.
D. Bhagat Singh A. Portuguese B. Frenchmen
C. Dutch D. Englishmen
120. Satyarth Prakash was written by ................ .
A. Lala Lajpat Rai B. Lala Hardayal 130. Jyotiba Phule was one of the prominent ................. of
C. Dayanand Saraswati D. Raja Ram Mohan Roy the 19th century India.
A. Scientists B. Politicians
121. Dayananda was born on February 12 in 1824, in the C. Economists D. Social reformers
town of Tankara, near Morvi (Morbi) in the Kathiawar
region of the princely state of ................ . 131. Jyotirao Phule was born in Satara district of ...............
A. Assam B. Uttar Pradesh in 1827.
A. Maharashtra B. Madras
C. Bihar D. Gujarat
C. Gujarat D. Malabar
122. Who said,”I accept as Dharma whatever is in full
132. Jyotirao family belonged to ................. caste.
conformity with impartial justice, truthfulness and the
A. Mali B. Thiyya
like; that which is not opposed to the teachings of
C. Pulaya D. Mahar
God as embodied in the Vedas. Whatever is not free
from partiality and is unjust, partaking of untruth and 133. In 1848, an incident took place in his life that later
the like, and opposed to the teachings of God as sparked off the dalit-revolution in the Indian society.
embodied in the Vedas—that I hold as a dharma”. He Jyotirao was invited to attend a wedding of one of his
also said “He, who after careful thinking, is ever ready ................. friends.
to accept truth and reject falsehood; who counts the A. Brahmin B. Christian
happiness of others as he does that of his own self, C. Pulaya D. Nayar
him I call just”. 134. After reading Thomas Paine’s famous book ...............
A. Baba Ram Singh B. Ranjit Singh Jyotirao was greatly influenced by his ideas.
C. Lal Singh D. Dayananda Saraswati A. The Rights of Man B. Prince
123. In 1883 Dayananda was invited by the Maharaja of C. Utopia D. Advaitha Deepika
................. to stay at his palace. 135. Viewing the pathetic condition of widows and
A. Uttar Pradesh B. Kashmir unfortunate children Jyotirao decided the open an
C. Gujarat D. Jodhpur orphanage called ................ .
2105 (MA–IR)—39-II
 International Relations and Area Studies 307

A. Satya Shodhak Samaj 146. Aruvippuram installation was done by ............. .

B. Arya Samaj A. Mahatma Gandhi B. Na- ra- yana Guru
C. Brahma Samaj C. Chattambi Swamikal D. C. Kesavan
D. Ramakrishna Mission
147. A new phase began in the Guru’s life in 1904. He
136. In ................., Jyotiba Phule formed the Satya Shodhak decided to give up his wandering life and settle down
Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth). in a place to continue his Sadhana (spiritual practice).
A. 1773 B. 1853 He chose ................, twenty miles north of
C. 1873 D. 1889 Thiruvananthapuram.
137. Jyotiba Phule died on 28 November, ................ . A. Karunagapally B. Sivagiri
A. 1850 B. 1859 C. Kayamkulam D. Kannur
C. 1870 D. 1890 - -
148. Na ra yana Guru started a Sanskrit school in ............. .
- -
138. Sri Na ra yana Guru was born into an ................. family. A. Varkala B. Kottayam
A. Ezhava B. Nayar C. Mahi D. Calicut
C. Pulaya D. Vannan 149. In 1913 ............ founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva.
139. Narayana Guru was born on August 22, 1856, in the A. Na- ra- yana Guru B. Mahatma Gandhi
village of ................. near Thiruvananthapuram. C. Chattambi Swamikal D. K. Madhavan
A. Chempazhanthi B. Karunagapally
150. When Na- ra- yana Guru attained the age of sixty, his
C. Kayamkulam D. Kannur
birthday was observed throughout the west-coast from
140. Narayana Guru was the son of ................ . Mangalore to ................ .
A. Madan Asan A. Varkala B. Sri Lanka
B. Krishnan Vaidyan C. Kottayam D. Calicut
C. Kummampilli Ra- man Pillai Asan
151. In India, the Wahabi movement was started by
D. Kumaran Asan
................ .
141. The young Nanu had a keen mind and was sent to a A. Syed Ahmed of Rai Bareilly
famous scholar, ................ Asan at Karunagapally, a B. Vilayet Ali
village fifty miles away from his home, at the age C. Mohammad Ali
of 21. D. Jahan Dad Khan
A. Madan Asan
B. Kummampilli Ra- man Pillai 152. The battle of Balakot was in .................... .
C. Krishnan Vaidyan A. 1806 B. 1821
D. Kumaran Asan C. 1831 D. 1896
142. Under pressure from his family, Nanu married ............., 153. Swami Vivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life
the daughter of a traditional village doctor. as ................... .
A. Rukumani B. Kaliamma A. Narendra Nath Datta B. Vishwanath Datta
C. Rohini D. Meenakshi Amma C. Upendranath Datta D. Vasava Datta
143. Nanu met Kunjan Pillai, who later came to be known 154. Swami Vivekananda was born in an affluent family in
as Chattampi Sw amikal. Kunjan Pillai, w ho ……….on 12 January 1863.
-
discovered and appreciated Na- nu Aúa- n’s A. Bombay B. Ajmer
philosophical genius and passion for Yoga, C. Kolkata D. Orrisa
introduced him to ................, a ‘Hatha yogi’. 155. Swami Vivekananda’s father, ................., was a
A. Madan Asan B. Thycattu Ayyaavu
successful attorney with interests in a wide range of
C. Krishnan Vaidyan D. Kumaran Asan
subjects.
-
144. Na nu moved to his hermitage deep inside the hilly A. Vishwanath Datta B. Narendra Nath Datta
forests of ................, where he led an austere life C. Sri Ramakrishna D. Rashik Krishna Mallik
immersed in meditative thought and yoga and
156. Swami Vivekananda graduated from .................
subjected himself to extreme sustenance rituals.
University.
A. Silanka B. Maruthwa- mala
C. Karunagapally D. Kayamkulam A. Delhi B. Hyderabad
C. Calcutta D. Karachi
- -
145. Na ra yana Guru’s later literary and philosophical
masterpiece Atmopadesa Satakam written in ............ . 157. In November 1881, Narendra went to meet
A. Tamil B. Malayalam …………..who was staying at the Kali Temple in
C. Sanskrit D. Hindi Dakshineswar.
308 International Relations and Area Studies
A. Sri Ramakrishna A. 1842 B. 1843
B. Rashik Krishna Mallik C. 1845 D. 1875
C. Dakshina Ranjan Mukhopadhyay
166. The Theosophical Society was officially formed in
D. Ramgopal Ghose
which city by Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott,
158. Who founded the Ramakrishna Mission? William Quan Judge and others?
A. Derozio A. Madras B. Calcutta
B. Satkari Datta C. Bombay D. New York
C. Swami Vivekananda
167. After a few years Olcott and Blavatsky moved to India
D. Sri Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa
and established the International Headquarters at
159. Swami Vivekananda attended the World’s Parliament Adyar, in ................ .
of Religions held in Chicago in ................. . A. Bombay B. Calcutta
A. 1863 B. 1876 C. Kochi D. Madras
C. 1893 D. 1897
168. ..............., second President of The Theosophical
160. Vivekananda felt that the Parliament would provide Society from 1907 to 1933, was described as a
the right forum to present his Master’s message to the ‘Diamond Soul’, for she had many brilliant facets to
world, and so he decided to go to America. Another her character.
reason which prompted Swamiji to go to America was A. Annie Besant
to seek financial help for his project of uplifting the B. Krishnamohan Banerjee
masses. Swamiji, however, wanted to have an inner C. Hari Mohan
certitude and divine call regarding his mission. Both D. Govind Chandra Sen
of these he got while he sat in deep meditation on the
rock-island at ………………. 169. ................. joined the National Secular Society in 1874
A. Mumbai B. America and worked in the free thought and radical
C. Kanyakumari D. Chennai movements led by Charles Bradlaugh, MP.
A. Annie Besant
161. Whose speeches at the World’s Parliament of
B. Tarachand Chakravarty
Religions held in September 1893 made him famous
C. D. R. Mukhopadhyaya
as an ‘orator by divine right’ and as a ‘Messenger of
D. Brojnath Dhar
Indian wisdom to the Western world’.
A. Swami Vivekananda 170. ................. co-edited ‘the National Reformer’ with
B. Sri Ramakrishna Charles Bradlaugh and wrote many political and free-
C. Chandra Sekhar Deb thought books and pamphlets from 1874–88.
D. Shyama Charan Sen A. W.T. Stead B. S.N. Banerjee
162. When was Ramakrishna Mission founded? C. H.P. Blavatsky D. Annie Besant
A. 1795 B. 1797 171. Who started the Young Men’s Indian Association in
C. 1894 D. 1897 1914?
163. In early 1898 Swami Vivekananda acquired a big plot A. Annie Besant B. Swarnakumari Devi
of land on the western bank of the Ganga at a place C. Devendranath Tagore D. Rabindranath Tagore
called ............. to have a permanent abode for the 172. Who started the journal ‘The Commonweal’?
monastery and monastic order originally started at A. N.G. Chandavarkar B. Annie Besant
Baranagar, and got it registered as Ramakrishna Math C. M.G. Ranade D. R.G. Bhandarkar
after a couple of years.
A. Allahabad B. Lahore 173. Who started the journal ‘New India’?
C. Amritsar D. Belur A. C.W. Leadbeater B. Annie Besant
C. Ram Mohan Roy D. Keshub Chandra Sen
164. ‘Education is the manifestation of the perfection
already in man’, who said? 174. ................. formed the Arya Mahila Samaj in Pune.
A. Swami Vivekananda A. Ramabai Saraswati B. Swarnakumari Devi
B. Sri Ramakrishna C. Lord Chelmsford D. Annie Besant
C. Chandra Sekhar Deb 175. Who started the Sharda Sadan in Bombay?
D. Sri Narayana Guru A. Ramabai Saraswati
165. The Theosophical Society is an organization formed B. Sarala Devi Chaudhurani
in ................. to advance the spiritual principles and C. Lord Edwin Montague
search for Truth knowledge as Theosophy. D. Dorothy Jinarajadasa
 International Relations and Area Studies 309

176. The year of the foundation of the Women’s Indian 188. In ................. Derozio founded with his students the
Association (WIA) is ................ . ‘Academic Association’ which organised debates on
A. 1913 B. 1917 various subjects.
C. 1937 D. 1947 A. 1824 B. 1825
177. The swadeshi movement in Bengal started in C. 1828 D. 1834
................ . 189. The Young Bengal group published the .................
A. 1902 B. 1905 (Quest for Knowledge) for propagating their views.
C. 1908 D. 1909 A. Jnananvesan B. Parthenon
178. In 1917 Anasuya Sarabhai had led the ................. C. Hesperus D. Enquirer
textile workers’ strike. 190. Krishnamohan started the ................. in 1831.
A. Ahmedabad B. Bombay A. Enquirer B. Hindu Pioneer
C. Calcutta D. Malabar C. Quill D. Bengal Spectator
179. In 1920 under the leadership of M.K. Gandhi the 191. The Hindu Pioneer started was in ................ .
................., the Ahmedabad textile mill workers union A. 1827 B. 1831
was established. C. 1834 D. 1838
A. Majoor Mahajan B. Ushabai Dange
192. The ................. was run by Tarachand Chakravarty.
C. Parvati Bhore D. Maniben Kara
A. Quill B. Hesperus
180. The formation of the Self Employed Women’s C. Enquirer D. Bengal Spectator
Association (SEWA) at the initiative of ................. in
193. Calcutta medical college was established in ............. .
1972.
A. Ela Bhat B. Roop Kanwar A. 1735 B. 1745
C. Raja Radhakant Dev D. Dwarkanath Tagore C. 1832 D. 1835

181. The United Nations declared ................. as the 194. British Indian Association was founded on October
International Year of Women. 29, 1851 at……………..
A. 1875 B. 1878 A. Calcutta B. Pune
C. 1975 D. 1956 C. Madras D. Bombay

182. The First World Conference on Women in ................., 195. The Mohammedan Association was founded in
generated a new interest in and debate on women’s ................. in 1856.
issues. A. Calcutta B. Adayar
A. Delhi B. Hyderabad C. Madras D. Maharashtra
C. Mexico D. Copenhagen 196. The East India Association was founded by .................
183. Sati was declared a punishable offence in ................ . in 1866.
A. 1727 B. 1729 A. Lord Lyveden B. Raja Radhakanta Dev
C. 1829 D. 1834 C. Debendranath Tagore D. Dadabhai Naoroji

184. The formation of the Indian National Congress (INC) 197. Indian Association formed in ................. was one of the
was in the year ................ . pioneer political associations with an all India
A. 1865 B. 1875 outlook.
C. 1885 D. 1905 A. 1769 B. 1776
C. 1874 D. 1876
185. Zamindari Association was the ................. political
association of modern India. 198. Prior to the Indian Association Sisir Kumar Ghosh
A. First B. Second along with Sambhu Charan Mukherjee founded
C. Third D. Fourth ................. in Calcutta on 25 September 1875.
A. The India League
186. Bengal British India Society founded in Calcutta on B. Indian National Congress
20 April 1843, was the ................. political public C. Madras Mahajana Sabha
association to be formed in British India, the first D. Bombay Presidency Association
being the zamindari association (1837).
A. First B. Second 199. The partition of Bengal was occurred in ................ .
C. Third D. Fourth A. 1804 B. 1805
C. 1904 D. 1905
187. The British India Society was formed in ................ .
A. 1832 B. 1833 200. The first organisation in the Madras Presidency to
C. 1839 D. 1874 agitate for the rights of Indians was the Madras Native
310 International Relations and Area Studies
Association which was established by publicist 211. In 1905 ................. laid the foundation of the ‘Servants
................. Chetty in 1849. This organisation did not of India society’, with a view to the training of
survive for long and was eventually disbanded. national missionaries for the service of India, and to
A. Gazulu Lakshminarasu promote by all constitutional means, the true interest
B. S. Ramaswami Mudaliar of the Indian people.
C. P. Ananda Charlu A. Gokhale B. Dadabhai Naoroji
D. R. Balaji Rao C. R.C. Dutt D. Ranade
201. In May ................., S. Ramaswami Mudaliar and P. 212. ................. in his book ‘Economic history of India’
Ananda Charlu established the Madras Mahajana wrote ‘If India is poor today it is through the
Sabha. operation of economic causes’.
A. 1783 B. 1784 A. Dadabhai Naoroji B. R.C. Dutt
C. 1872 D. 1884 C. Ranade D. R.P. Datt
202. The Indian National Congress was founded in 213. ................. is remembered as the ‘Grand old man of
December 1885 at ................ . India’.
A. Bombay B. Calcutta A. Ranade B. Dadabhai Naoroji
C. Madras D. Gujarat C. Pulin Behari Sarkar D. Amaresh Chakravarty
203. The Indian National Congress was the first organized 214. The Bombay Association, the first political
expression of Indian nationalism on an all India Scale association in Bombay presidency was founded by
.................; a retired English LC.S officer played an ................. in 1852.
important rule in its formation. A. Dadabhai Naoroji B. Pulin Behari Sarkar
A. A.O. Hume B. Man Mohan Gosh C. Amaresh Chakravarty D. Prankrishna Parija.
C. W.C. Banerjee D. S.N. Sen 215. Dadabhai Naoroji’s book ‘Poverty and British un rule
204. In 1884 ................. founded the Indian National Union. in India’ published in ................. analysed the nature
A. A.O. Hume B. A.M. Bose of the British rule in India.
C. Lord Dufferin D. W.C. Banerjee A. 1898 B. 1901
C. 1908 D. 1946
205. The second session of the congress met in Calcutta on
December 1886, under the presidentship of ............. . 216. ................. is the acknowledged high priest of the drain
A. Dadabhai Naoroji theory.
B. Kadambini Ganguli A. Dadabhai Naoroji B. S N Bose
C. Ferozeshah Mehta C. J.N. Ghosh D. J.N. Mukherjee
D. D.E Wacha 217. ................., the viceroy of India decided to partition
206. Gokhale was born in a Marathi Brahmin family at Bengal for administrative purposes, creating a new
................ . province of East Bengal and Assam, with a
A. Kolhapur B. Poona population of 31 million people and with its capital
C. Allahabad D. Assam at Dhaka.
A. Lord Curzon B. Lord Rippon
207. The Deccan Educational Society founded by ………. C. Lord Hastings D. Wellesley
A. D.E. Wacha B. Ranade
218. The spark for the Swadeshi Movement was the
C. W.C. Banerjee D. S.N. Banerjee
................. decision to partition Bengal.
208. ................. edited the journal of Poona Sarvajanik A. French B. British
Sabha. C. Dutch D. Portuguese
A. Gokhale B. W.C. Banerjee
219. The partition of Bengal had to be annulled in
C. Ranade D. S.N. Banerjee
................ .
209. The Minto Morley reforms was in the year .............. . A. 1907 B. 1911
A. 1906 B. 1907 C. 1928 D. 1929
C. 1909 D. 1919
220. The inauguration of the Ganapati and Shivaji
210. The ‘political philosophy’ was the work of .............. . Festivals was done by ................ .
A. Gopala Krishna Gokhale A. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
B. Dadabai Naoroji B. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya
C. R.C. Dutt C. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
D. Lala Lajpat Rai D. J.N. Mukherjee
 International Relations and Area Studies 311

ANSWERS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
C B B B C A A D D A
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
D A D C D D A A A B
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
B A D C C C C C B C
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
A A B A B B D D A D
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
D C D B C C A A B C
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
D A A A A A C C A A
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
C B B A D B A D B A
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
C C C C C A A C C C
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
A D B A D A D A D D
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
A A A A A C A A A A
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
B D B A C B B B B B
111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
A A C C A A A A C C
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130
D D D A A A D A D D
131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
A A A A A C D A A A
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
B B B B B B B A A B
151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160
A C A C A C A C C C
161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170
A D D A D D D A A D
171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
A B B A A B B A A A
181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190
C C C C A B C C A A
191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
D A D A A D D A D A
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210
D A A A A A B A C A
211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220
A B B A B A A B B A

  
312 International Relations and Area Studies
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