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Chapter : 5
POLITICAL THEORY

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Medieval Europe
Problems
• Socially – Religion was Dominating and society was not Scientific so no progress
• Politically - Religious Wars & No Concept of Nation State so no fixed laws & rules
• Economic Stagnation – Feudalism was prominent where Land is the Only Wealth and the slave was tied to
a feudal lord

Solutions:
• Secularism
• Sovereignty - Nation State
• Classical Liberal (Negative Liberal) - Capitalism

Secularism:
• Western Concept of secularism (negative secularism)
• Complete Separation of State and Religion so both are absolutely Separate Sphere with no Intervention
with each other

Sovereignty:
• One supreme authority whose Order is Final
• One political head over all 3 Spheres i.e. executive, legislature & judiciary

Nation:
• The Feeling of "We" i.e. the commonness in ethnicity, language ,colour ,race etc
• India become the Nation First in the context of colonialism i.e. common suppression by Britishers

State:
• The word ‘State’ means a community or society politically organized under one independent government
within a definite territory
• So the four elements of a state are:
o Population: The most important element. A state cannot exist without a population.
o Territory: A state must have a definite territory.
o Government: A state must have a duly established government.
o Sovereignty: Sovereignty has two aspects: internal and external.
✓ Internal sovereignty is the state's monopoly of authority within its boundaries.
✓ External sovereignty is the state's independence from foreign powers
• India became a state in 15 August 1947

Evolution of Liberalism:
• Liberty is a core democratic value that encourages people to think, speak, and express themselves freely
• But meaning of Liberty is different in different aspects

Negative Liberty (Earlier Phase)

• According to this concept liberty means Complete "Absence of Restraint "
• So it stated that Law is against Liberty
• State must have only Limited Role and must function in a ‘Laissez Faire’ manner
o Laissez-faire is a French phrase that means "allow to do".

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o It is a political ideology that opposes government intervention in the economy.

o It is also a policy of minimal government interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society
• According to this concept the State Intervention needed only for
o Providing defense to its citizens from external forces
o Maintaining Law and Order within the country
o Acting as a regulator for Contract Enforcement among various entities
• So it stated that State is a ‘Necessary Evil’
o Necessary for the 3 functions mentioned above
o Evil as it curbs liberty by making laws
• The supporters of this concept are called Classical Liberals
• Relation of negative liberty with Equality is Negative (as state intervention to provide equality to certain
sections in form of reservation is consider to hamper others liberty)

Positive Liberty (Modern Phase) - Indian Constitution

• According to this concept liberty means “Presence of Conditions which are essential for Fuller
development of One's Personality"
• State will Create these Conditions in form of reservations for specific population or marginalized sections
of society
• So it stated that State Positive Good as State hinders the Hindrances in the Path of Liberty
• It consider that Law is essential for Liberty
• Relation of positive liberty with Equality is Complimentary (as state intervention to provide equality to
certain sections in form of reservation is consider to promote liberty)
o Example Given by Amartya Sen – suppose some people need to move from point A to B through a jungle
✓ If all people are left to cross the jungle then it is negative liberty
✓ If state helps only physically disable persons to cross the jungle then it is positive liberty (as it brings
equality to physically disable persons)

Capitalism:
• Capitalism is often thought of as an economic system in which private actors own and control property in
accord with their interests, and demand and supply freely set prices in markets in a way that can serve the
best interests of society.
• Thus it supported a Free Market without unnecessary government interference i.e. Liberty in Economic
Sphere
• Generally capitalism is the Private Player reinvesting with a motive to make a profit.
• As Initially capitalism is not regulated by government, it symbolized inequality & exploitation of workers by
rich entities. So it is initially kept under negative liberty concept
• But in India after LPG reforms in 1991 it is considered as positive liberty

New Problems:
• Secularism - What if Religion is too much integrated in individual life – so Western Model of Secularism,
not valid for Eastern societies like India where religion cant be completely separated from state
• Sovereign Nation State – it led to absolute rulers and gave rise to Authoritarianism
• Capitalism -initially considered Negative liberty as it led to Inequality and Exploitation of Worker

Solutions:
• Indian Model of Secularism (positive secularism)
• Constitutional Form of a Govt and Parliament for Traders
• Rise of Socialism

Indian Model of Secularism:

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• It stated that there can’t be Strict Separation of State and Religion

• State and Religion are not two different spheres
• State can intervene in Religious Matter whenever required for betterment of the society
• Shirur Mutt case 1954 – supreme court formulated Essential practices doctrine-
o state can intervene in religious matter but can’t wipe out its essential(major) practices
o court to decide what is essential and what’s not after proper verification and hearings of all stakeholders
• In democracy and diversity - Minority culture might be suppressed, so to protect it from majority
onslaught Parliament passed laws after Shah Bano case in 1986
o Example-
✓ For Gender Justice - Sabarimala, Tripple Talaq
✓ For Caste Justice - Temple Entry
• In this model of secularism religion is Publicly recognized
✓ holiday at all festivals like Diwali, Christmas, Eid al-Fitr etc
✓ Amarnath Yatra and Haj Yatra
• However no discrimination is allowed on the basis of religion
• Every religion will be given equal protection by state & there will be no state religion
• Pseudo Secular - Pseudo-secularism is a term used to describe people who claim to be secular but may
have biases towards a particular religion

Important terminologies
• Minority appeasement –
o Minority appeasement is pleasing minorities by providing freebies, reservation, subsidies etc at the cost
of majority.
o In short it is partiality towards a religious group for political motive or to get votes.
• Communalism –
o Communalism is described as an ideology stating the division between states (people, groups of people
or communities) on the basis of ethnicity, religion, beliefs, values, etc.
o The difference of two or more religious, ethnic and social communities can sometimes produce clashes in
the society.
• Casteism-
o Casteism is the belief in and adherence to the caste system.
o It's a system of social division that divides society into upper and lower classes.
o The upper class is favored, privileged, and more powerful, while the lower class is discriminated against
and segregated
• Principle Distance Model –
o Principled Distance is a new model of secularism given by Rajeev Bhargava.
o He says that Indian secularism did not erect a strict wall of separation, but proposed a 'principled
distance' between religion and state
o The separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious
institutions and religious dignitaries.

Constitutional Form of a Govt and Parliament for Traders:

Constitutional Form
• It means a Constitution which protect individual from the absolutism of State i.e. Limited State/limited
form of government
• Certain Rights which are Sacrosanct like Fundamental Rights ,Protect the Individual against the tyranny of
State

Parliament
• A Elected body who has
• limited Power
• Democratic way of functioning

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• Separation of power among judiciary, legislature & executive

• It may be
o Monarchy - inherited head of state
o Republic - elected head of state

Evolution of Socialism:
• "Socialism is a hat which has lost its shape because everyone wears it "
• Common Thing -
o Oppose Inequality and exploitative nature of capitalism
o Emphasize on Equality

First Category
• Utopian Socialism –
o Idealistic & Impractical means to achieve the goal of socialism
• Scientific Socialism-
o Karl Marx by Scientific analysis of society he gave concept of economic determinism
o Economic determinism is a socioeconomic theory that economic relationships are the foundation for all
other societal and political arrangements.
o It states that all cultural, social, political, and intellectual activities are a product of the economic
organization of society.

Second Category
• Evolutionary
o Gradual achievement of socialism as it slow and step by step
o Democratic Socialism followed by pandit Jawahar lal Nehru from 1930’s
o It focuses on achieving the goal of Socialism through the Democratic Means
• Revolutionary
o Sudden achievement of socialism through Revolution
o Proposed by
✓ Karl Marx
✓ Mao Zedong

Communism of Marx
• Communism is a political, economic, and social system that aims to establish a classless society where the
government or community owns the means of production, such as land, factories, and machinery and
everyone is expected to share the wealth they create
• Communism is opposed to capitalism and private ownership of resources.
• It is a theory that favors common ownership of property and goods
• Socialism also supports a state ownership of all resources for welfare of all the people i.e. equal
distribution of resources by state
• So communism is a type of socialism but communism proposes a socio-economic structure that promotes
the establishment of a stateless society as it considers State is a capitalist instrument
• It proposes a system of government in which a single party controls state-owned means of production or
the means of Production is Socially Controlled by Voluntary organization delivering Social goods
• It states Religion is the Opium of Masses so didn’t support any Religion and tries to suppress religious
beliefs
• It proposes revolution by the masses which would be violent and then it would bring peace & equality in
society
• This theory resulted in
o Dictatorship of Communist Party by Lenin in Russia
o Maoism in China

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Monarch vs Republic
Monarch
• A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until
abdication.
• The head of the state is a hereditary position and the post is not open to all
• Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within a royal
family (whose rule over a period of time is referred to as a dynasty) and trained for future duties.
• The Aim of the Monarchy is to maintain Continuity and stability.
• Monarchial democracy- In some countries head of the government may be elected by hereditary based
Monarch or president (Head of the state)
o It is also called constitutional monarch
o Both Monarchy and Democracy coexisted because Monarchy is about head of the state and the
Democracy is all about the head of the Government.
✓ The present-day concept of a constitutional monarch developed in Britain.
✓ India is a Republic democracy
• Monarchial dictatorship - In some monarchies the head of the government may also inherit the position
or appoint themselves.so in these cases, the head of the government is also not elected.
o Benevolent dictatorship: If rulers ruling in interest of people, then this type of dictatorship is known as
Benevolent dictatorship.
o Authoritarianism: If rulers ruling without interest or support of people then this type of Dictatorship is
known as Authoritarianism.

Republic
• A republic, based on the Latin phrase res publica ("public affair"), is a state in which political power rests
with the public and their representatives —in contrast to a monarchy.
• In summary, a monarchy is a form of government where a single person (the monarch) holds the power,
often hereditary, while a republic is a form of government where power rests with the public and their
representatives.
• Head of the state is elected by the citizens. Anyone can become Head of the state as this post is open to
all.
✓ Example: President of India.
• Generally it is of 2 types

Presidential republic
• A presidential republic is a form of government where the president is both the head of state and the head
of government.
• The president leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch and the executive is
not responsible to the legislature.
✓ The United States is the primary example of a presidential republic.
✓ Other countries that use a presidential system include: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, The Philippines.

Parliamentary republic
• A parliamentary republic is a republic that has a parliamentary system of government.
• In this system, the executive branch is accountable to the legislature and the executive branch is also
dependent on the support of the majority in the parliament.
• In a parliamentary republic, the head of state is usually ceremonial. The head of government is elected and
is usually from the legislature.
• In parliamentary republics, prime ministers have more political power than presidents.
✓ Some examples of parliamentary republics include: Germany, Italy, India, Canada.

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Federalism vs Unitary
Federalism
• Federalism is a system of government in which powers have been divided between the center and its
constituent parts such as states or provinces.
• India is a federal country and Federalism forms the Basic structure of our constitution

Essential features:
• Dual government: A political system where the union govt and state governments have clearly defined
powers.
• Power from the constitution: Provincial or state level government derive its power from a constitution and
not from the central government

Other features:
• Rigidity of constitution:The power of provinces is not questionable because it is written in the
constitution.
• Independent judiciary: it ensures that the judiciary makes decision without fear or favor from the
executive or legislature. It also resolves the dispute between different federal units.
• Bicameralism - Bicameralism is a legislative structure that divides the legislature into two separate
assemblies, or chambers.

Significance of federalism
• Promotes good governance as federalism follows the principle of subsidiarity
o The principle of subsidiarity is a principle of social organization that states that decisions should be made
at the lowest possible level.
o This means that decisions should be made as close as possible to the citizen, and where the actions will
be taken.
• Accommodate diversity: Federalism can accommodate diversity by dividing powers and resources
between different levels of government. This allows for regional autonomy and regional diversity within a
larger political unit.
• promotes local participation in the governance: Federalism decentralize decision-making power to
enhance local community participation

Cooperative federalism:
• In this type of Federalism center and state both cooperate with each other.
• Cooperative federalism is contrast with USA as there is no cooperation in between center and state in USA.
• But in India center depends upon state for implementation of its policies and state depends on center for
funds.

Competitive federalism:
• Different federal units compete with each other in a positive way for development
• State competing with each other for getting more center fund and more Private fund (private investments)
for their development.

Asymmetric federalism:
• Asymmetric federalism is a system of government where constituent states have different powers.
• In an asymmetric federation, one or more substates have more autonomy than the others.
• This can include more legislative, executive, or judicial powers.
• Asymmetric federalism can allow cultural groups or nationalities to achieve some self-determination

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• India shows asymmetric federalism

✓ Article 370 of the Constitution of India provides special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The article gives
the state the ability to make laws for its permanent residents and have its own constitution.
✓ In India, the Rajya Sabha seats are based on population, which is a political asymmetry. For example,
Uttar Pradesh has 31 seats, while Meghalaya and Mizoram each have one.
✓ Article 371 of the Indian Constitution gives special powers and responsibilities to the governors of
certain states (Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram)
• The United States is a symmetric federation- This means that each of the 50 states has the same rights
and powers under the Constitution.
✓ All 50 states have 2 seats each in the senate (upper house) irrespective of their state size and
population size

Unitary System
• A unitary state is a system of political organization in which most or all of the governing power resides in a
centralized government.
✓ All India services of India (e.g.; IAS, IFS, IRS, etc.) controlled by central government.
✓ Union territories of India are directly governed by Union government.
✓ In Unitary system the central govt has the power to make law over states (Includes matters in state list
during abnormal conditions).
✓ Central govt has the overriding power over concurrent list (Includes matter that both the union and the
states can make laws).

Parliamentary vs Presidential.
Concept of Separation of Power
• According to John Locke, an English philosopher and physician, power is the ability to change or to be
changed by another.
• Authoritarianism is a management style where an individual has total decision-making power. So to avoid
there must not be the concentration of Power in one single hand
• He proposed the concept of separation of power in 3 branches of government
o Legislative: law making
o Executive: law execution
o Judicial: law adjudication
• Gradually Independence of judiciary become a norm
o It is the principle that the judiciary should be free from any eternal influence or interference in its
functioning.
o The independence of the judiciary is also part of the basic structure of the Indian constitution.
o Article 50 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) of the Indian Constitution separates the
judiciary from the executive.
• Two forms of govt evolved with respect to legislative and executive.

Presidential: -
• A presidential government is a democratic system of government where the head of state and head of
government are the same person.
• There is complete separation of power between legislature and executive
• Presidential form of government is adopted in USA.

Parliamentary: -
• A parliamentary government is a democratic system where the head of government is elected by the
legislature.

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• The purpose of this government is to prevent the complete separation of power and to provide system of
checks and balance.
• India adopted parliamentary form of government because it offers greater scope for giving representation to
various sections, interests and regions in the government which promotes a national spirit among the
people and builds a united India.

Instrument of Control
• Budget cut motion: - A cut motion is a veto power that members of the Lok Sabha have to oppose a
demand in a financial bill presented by the government.
• Adjournment motion: - The adjournment motion is introduced in the Parliament to draw the attention of
the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance and needs the support of 50 members to be
admitted.
• The Parliamentary control over executive is also exercised through various instruments such as zero hour,
question hour, debates, and discussions, passing of various types of motions, etc.
• The parliamentary committees too play an important role in exercising control and supervision over
executives
o zero hour In India, zero hour is a time when members of parliament can raise important issues that require
immediate attention from the government.
o Question Hour it is the first hour of a sitting session of the Lok Sabha. It is a time when Members of
Parliament ask questions about administrative activities. The relevant Minister must answer the questions,
either orally or in writing

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