PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

https://politicsforindia.com/ 1
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

- page intentionally left blank -

https://politicsforindia.com/ 2
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1A: POLITICAL THEORY

1] POLITICAL THEORY: MEANING AND APPROACHES 9

2] THEORIES OF STATE 9
3] THEORY OF JUSTICE 11
4] EQUALITY 11
5] RIGHTS 12
6] THEORIES OF DEMOCRACY 13
7] THEORIES OF POWER 14
8] POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES 16
9] INDIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT 20
10] WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT 23

SECTION 1B: INDIAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

1] INDIAN NATIONALISM 31
2] BRITISH LEGACY & MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION 31
3] SALIENT FEATURES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION : 32
4] PRINCIPAL ORGANS OF THE GOVERNMENT 33
5] GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY 34
6] STATUTORY INSTITUTIONS/COMMISSIONS 34
7] FEDERALISM 35
8] PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 36
9] CASTE, RELIGION AND ETHNICITY IN INDIAN POLITICS 36
10] PARTY SYSTEM 37
11] SOCIAL MOVEMENT 38

SECTION 2A: COMPARATIVE POLITICS AND INT. RELATIONS

1] COMPARATIVE POLITICS 39
2] POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION AND PARTICIPATION 40
3] GLOBALIZATION 40
4] STATE IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE 41
5] APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF IR 41
6] KEY CONCEPTS IN IR 43
7] CHANGING INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ORDER 44
8] INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM 44
9] UNITED NATIONS 45
10] REGIONALISATION OF WORLD POLITICS 45
11] CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL CONCERNS 45

https://politicsforindia.com/ 3
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

SECTION 2B: INDIA AND THE WORLD

1] INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY 47

2] INDIA & NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT 48
3] INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA 49
4] INDIA AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH 55
5] INDIA AND THE GLOBAL CENTRES OF POWER 55
6] INDIA AND THE UN 58
7] INDIA AND THE NUCLEAR QUESTION 59
8] RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY & VISION OF A NEW WOR… 59

https://politicsforindia.com/ 4
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

Quoting Political Thinkers in PSIR Optional

Quoting political scholars/experts in your answers in the Political Science and International
Relations (PSIR) optional subject can greatly enhance the quality and depth of your
arguments. It demonstrates your familiarity with the subject, shows your ability to engage
with theoretical perspectives, and gives credibility to your answers.

Why to Quote Political Thinkers

1. Theoretical Foundation for Arguments

Quoting political thinkers provides a solid theoretical foundation for our arguments. These
thinkers have spent years studying political concepts and ideas, and their insights help us
construct well-structured and logically sound arguments.

2. Demonstrates Depth of Analysis

Incorporating the ideas of political thinkers allows us to delve deeper into the topic and
explore its nuances. Their theories can offer different angles and perspectives that we can
use to critically examine the issue at hand.

3. Shows Contextual Understanding

Quoting political thinkers demonstrates our understanding of the historical and contextual
background of the topic. It shows that we’ve studied the evolution of ideas over time and
can apply it to contemporary issues.

4. Helps in Persuasive Arguments

By referencing renowned political thinkers, we add weight to your arguments. It indicates

that our ideas are not just personal opinions, but are rooted in the scholarly work of
established experts.

5. Shows Our Intellectual Engagement

Quoting political thinkers reflects our engagement with academic literature and shows that
you're not just regurgitating information but actively participating in intellectual discourse.

https://politicsforindia.com/ 5
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

How to Quote Political Thinkers

Along with understanding the importance of quoting political thinkers, let us also try to
understand how can we best do that.

1. Select Relevant Thinkers

Choose political thinkers whose ideas directly relate to the topic you're discussing. Don't
force quotes into your answers; they should naturally contribute to the discussion.

2. Provide Context

Introduce the thinker briefly before quoting them. Mention their background, the time
period they lived in, and their key contributions to political thought. However, you can do it
in brief since we’re constrained by word limits. However, for popular personalities (e.g. Plato,
Machiavelli, Gandhi, Nehru etc.), there is no need to introduce them.

3. Select Appropriate Quotes

Choose quotes that succinctly capture the essence of the thinker's ideas. These quotes
should be impactful and directly relevant to the point you're making. If the quote do not
align with the topic at hand, it’s better not to use it.

4. Explain the Quote

After providing the quote, explain its significance in the context of your argument. Break
down the key concepts and ideas, connecting them to the topic at hand. Further, if the quote
is self-explanatory, you may not go in lot of details.

5. Examples

Ex. 1.

“Justice is the first virtue of any social system”, these words by Modern Political thinker John
Rawls highlight the importance of justice in governance. Unfortunately, the recent Bill on
(XYZ Bill) completely undermines this spirit of justice…

Ex. 2.

Realist thinkers have long emphasized the pivotal role of power in shaping international
relations. As Hans Morgenthau, a prominent realist scholar, stated in his seminal work
‘Politics Among Nations,’ “Power covers all social relationships which serve…

We would also recommend to be observant how the quotes are used by writers in
newspaper articles and also in the books that we read during our preparation. Along with
gathering knowledge, always observe the way its presented by the author. This will certainly
help you in improving your writing skill.

https://politicsforindia.com/ 6
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

Making Best Use of This Book

This book has collection of more than 700 quotes across all 4 sections of PSIR. And it is not
expected that you will remember all of them.

First of all, quotes is not something to remember artificially and then somehow fit it in the
answer we’ll be writing. Quotes should stick with you. And that happens only when we
understand the thinker’s perspective, or the point a person is trying to make through his
statement.

While writing answer, quotes should naturally supplement the argument you’re making.
You don’t have to artificially stuff them. Sometimes you may not be able to recall the exact
words, but then if you explain particular thinkers view, taking his name, that is also
sufficient. Lastly, you don’t have to quote the entire statement of a thinker. Often, you can
also use parts of it.

Further, also note that the arrangement of quotes in a topic-wise manner given in this book
is only for convenience. You have no limitations to use quote from one topic while
answering question from some other topic, or from some other section.

Please use this book keeping all these points in mind. This will definitely help you in Mains
preparation and help you get good marks.

Best wishes for your preparation and exam!

Abhijeet Pimparkar,
Director, Politics for India

https://politicsforindia.com/ 7
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

Copyright Information

Published by,
Politics for India
15th August 2023.
https://politicsforindia.com
products@politicsforindia.com
Copyright © 2023, Politics for India.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-
commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Note: Due care and diligence has been taken while editing this book. Neither the author nor
the publisher of the book holds any responsibility for any mistakes that may have
inadvertently crept in.
Publisher shall not be liable for any direct, consequential, or incidental damages arising out
of the use of the book.

If you have any queries or suggestions, please mail us at products@politicsforindia.com.

For free notes on Political Science and International Relations optional, visit us at
https://politicsforindia.com

Contributions

Compiled & edited by: Mr. Abhijeet Pimparkar (B. Tech, M.A. Pol. Science)
Mrs. Shubhangi

https://politicsforindia.com/ 8
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

Section 1A: Political Theory

1] Political Theory: Meaning and Approaches

“Political science begins and ends with the state.” - Garner

“Bring the state back in” - Theda Skocpol

“We need facts, facts and facts” – Lord Bryce

“If history is a root, politics is a shoot. History is past politics; politics is present history.” -
Laski

“Every thinker is a child of his times” - Laski

“No political idea is ever intelligible, save in the context of time.” - Laski

“Political ideas are themselves the products of the crisis phases of history.”- Sabine

“When we ignore values, it is like not making any difference in pure water and dirty water.”
– Leo Strauss

“Political scholars sitting in ivory towers, perfecting their techniques have ignored the
purpose for which the technique is used.” – David Easton

“Political theory includes Political Science and political philosophy, where science is
concerned with means while philosophy is concerned with the end.” - George Catlin

“Every political scientist has to play a double role i.e., part scientist and part philosopher.” –
Andrew Hacker

“In absence of political theory and its systematic pursuit, there is a danger of politics being
left to the ignorant.” – David Held

2] Theories of state

“If a determinate human superior, not in a habit of obedience to the like superior, receives
habitual obedience, from the bulk of the society, then that human superior is sovereign and
that society is a political society.” - John Austin

“Since society is federal, authority should also be federal.” – Laski

“The notion of sovereignty must be expunged from political theory.” - Krabbe

https://politicsforindia.com/ 9
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

“State represent irreconcilability of class antagonism.” - Lenin

“There is no feminist theory of the state’. - Catherine MacKinnon

“Sovereignty is such a ruling power on citizens and the ruled on which there is no foundation
of law” - Bodin

“Sovereignty is that characteristic of the state due to which it is not under compulsion for
anyone else’s wish or external orders except for its own wish” - Jelinek

“Since rights exist within society, they are dependent on the moral recognition by the
community. Moral consciousness emanating from society compels men to pursue ideal
objectives. State is also a product of moral consciousness.” – T H Green

“Human consciousness postulates liberty, liberty involves rights, rights demand the state.”
– T H Green

“A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian
power” – F A Hayek

“Planning is both practically dangerous and economically inefficient”. –Hayek in his work
The Road to serfdom

“The state is, by no means, a power forced on society from without rather it is a product of
society at a certain stage of development” - Engels

“Political power, properly called, is merely the organized power of one class oppressing the
other.” - Marx and Engels, in their famous Communist Manifesto (1848),

“State has always been a mere organization of a specific class and its form will Always
remain the same so that one particular class can always benefit.” - Lenin

“State is an instrument of oppression controlled by bourgeoisie minority to oppress the

proletarian majority.” - Marx

“As society is federal, authority must also be federal.” - Laski

“It is impossible to make the legal theory of sovereignty valid for political Philosophy. it
would be a lasting benefit to political science if the whole concept of sovereignty was
surrendered” - Laski

“State is an association of associations” - Robert MacIver

“When I look at the state it appears male to me.” Catharine MacKinnon

https://politicsforindia.com/ 10
PSIR Quotebook Politics for India Publications

3] Theory of Justice

“Justice is the first virtue of the social institutions, just as truth is the first virtue of any system
of thought”. - John Rawls

“Each person possess inviolability founded on the principles of justice, that even the welfare
of the society as a whole cannot override.” - John Rawls

“Different goods ought to be distributed differently, for different reasons, by different agents.
All these differences arise from the different understanding which is inevitable product of
different backgrounds, historically and culturally.” - Michael Walzer

“Justice is not the science of homogenization but art of differentiation.” - Michael Walzer

“Justice is today the central and commanding concept of current mainstream normative
political philosophy.” - Tom Campbell

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” - Karl Marx

“A good society is a cooperative venture for mutual advantage.” – John Rawls

“The well-being of the individual depends on the good of his community, and therefore, the
recognition and protection of the group or cultural rights of the community are not less
important than the just distribution of the freedom and equality rights to the individuals.” -
Charles Taylor

“The minimal state is the most extensive state that can be justified and that any more
extensive state does violate people’s rights.” - Nozick

“Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realise one’s full
potential as a human being.” - Amartya Sen

4] Equality

“From everyone according to his ability, to everyone according to his needs” - Marx

“Justice is treating equals equally and unequals unequally” - Aristotle

“Equality is basically a process of equalization. So first of all equality implies the deficiency
of special rights. Secondly, it implies that everyone should get enough opportunities for
growth.” - Harold Laski

“Inequality is multi-dimensional concept, and the elimination of one aspect of inequality

often leads to the exaggeration of other aspects of social, political and cultural inequalities.”
- Turner

https://politicsforindia.com/ 11
 This is a free preview of the book

To buy complete PDF, please visit

https://products.politicsforindia.com/product/psir-quotes-book/