West Bengal PSC Syllabus
WBPSC Optional Paper - Political Science
Paper – I:
Group – A
Western Political Thought - Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Bentham, J. S. Mill, Marx.
Indian Political Thought - Kautilya, Rammohan Roy, Vivekananda, Syed Ahmed Khan, Rabindranath, Gandhi, Ambedkar. Political Concepts - State, Civil Society, Government, Governance, Power, Authority, Nation, Nationalism, Internationalism.
Political Ideas - Rights, Duties, Liberty, Equality, Justice, Rule of Law, People Participation.
Political Ideologies - Liberalism, Democratic Socialism, Feminism, Terrorism.
Different aspects of Democracy - Meaning and Theories of Democracy; Direct vs Representative Democracy; Electoral System; Electoral Reforms.
Political Process - Party System, Single Party, Bi Party, and Multi Party Systems; National Parties and Regional Parties; Lobbyists and Pressure Groups.
Forms of Government - Dictatorial vs Democratic; Totalitarian vs Liberal. Presidential vs Parliamentary, Unitary vs Federal.
Social Movements - Environmental movements, Women’s movements, Human rights movements.
Group-B
Basic features of Indian Constitution - Constituent assembly, Salient Features of the Indian Constitution, Nature of Indian Federation, Centre-State relations, Legislative, Executive and Financial-Fiscal dimensions, Evolving political trends.
Fundamental Rights - Directive Principles & Fundamental duties - Constitutional provisions and judicial interpretations regarding fundamental rights.
Union Legislature - Composition, Powers and Functions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Functioning of the Committee System. Union Executive - President, Vice President - Election, Position, Functions, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, Relationship between President and Prime Minister.
The Judiciary - Supreme Court and the High Courts, Composition and Functions, Judicial review and Judicial activism, Public interest litigations, Judicial reforms.
Government in the States - Governor, Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Position and Functions. State Legislature - Composition and Functions.
Local Government and Politics - Panchayati Raj: Evaluation, Structure, Powers and Functions, Municipal Government; Significance of 73rd and 74th amendments; Role of women, SCs & STs in Local Government.
Bureaucracy - Classical administration and Development Administration; Changing role of bureaucracy in Post-Colonial India, “Representative” bureaucracy, Issues of bureaucratic accountability.
Social Processes - Role of Peasants and Workers in Indian Politics; Role of Interest / Pressure Groups; Regionalism, Casteism, Linguism and Communalism in Indian Politics; Issues of Criminalisation, Corruption; Citizens’ movements.
Paper – II:
Public Administration and International Relations
Group - A
Public Administration
Theories of Administration - Scientific Management, Classical Theory, Weber’s theory of bureaucracy, Riggsian Model of Echological Approach to Public Administration.
Forms of Public Organizations - Ministries and Departments; Corporations, Boards and Commissions.
Principles of Organization - (a) Hierachy (b) Unity of Command (c) Span of Control (d) Authority (e) Centralization, Decentralization and Delegation, (f) Line and Staff. Processes of administration - (a) Decision - making and Policy Formulation (b) Communication and Control (c) Leadership (d) Co-ordination. Accountability and Control - Legislative, Executive and Judicial Control over administration; Role of Civil Society; Public opinion and Media; Right to Information; Administrative Corruption; Grievance Redressal Machineries like Ombudsman. Development Administration - Evolution of the Concept; Basic features. Control of Public Expenditure - Parliamentary Control, Control of Parliamentary Committees; Indian Administration - Continuity and Charge - brief historical outline. Recruitment and Training of Civil Servants in India - Role of Union and State Public Service Commissions and Training Institution. Organization of the Union Government in India - PMO, Cabinet Secretariat, Secretariat Administration. Organization of the State Governments in India - Chief Secretary - Relationship between Secretariats and Directorates. District Administration in India - Changing role of District Officers, Sub-divisional Officers & Block Officer; their interfaces with Local Self Government.
Group-B
International Relations
Some Basic Concepts of International Relations - (a) Balance of Power (b) Collective Security (c) Bi-polarity and Unipolarity (d) Neo-Colonialism (e) Globalization.
Foreign Policy - Concept and Techniques; Determinants of foreign policy. Evolution of World Politics - League of Nations; United Nations; Cold War; Detente; Collapse of the Soviet Union; Regional Integrations; International Terrorism.
Non-Alignment - Evolution of the Movement and Role of India. Major Issues in Indian Foreign Policy - Sino-Indian relations, Indo-Pak conflicts and the liberation of Bangladesh, developments in Sri Lanka, Indian role in promoting regional cooperation through S.A.A.R.C., the Kashmir question and India becoming a nuclear power. India and South East Asia; India’s relations with U.S.A., China, Japan & Russia. India on the question of nuclear weapon. India and the U.N. system-India’s role in U.N. peace keeping and global disarmament. India and the emerging international economic order. Recent Global Issues - Egypt, Lebanon and Lybia.
