BSEH SS Political Science cheat sheet

Cold War (1945–1991) was the US-Soviet rivalry: ideological (capitalism vs socialism), military (NATO 1949 vs Warsaw Pact 1955), and nuclear, but never direct war between the two superpowers.

Origins: Yalta and Potsdam (1945), Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (1947), Berlin Blockade (1948–49), NATO (1949), Korean War (1950–53), Warsaw Pact (1955).

Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962): Soviet missiles in Cuba, US naval 'quarantine'; resolved by Soviet withdrawal in exchange for a US no-invasion pledge and removal of US missiles from Turkey; led to the Moscow–Washington hotline (1963).

Détente (late 1960s–1970s): SALT I (1972), ABM Treaty (1972), Helsinki Accords (1975); ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (December 1979).

NATO is a collective-defence alliance under Article 5; the Warsaw Pact (1955) was the Soviet-led counterpart, dissolved in 1991.

Non-Aligned Movement: Bandung Afro-Asian Conference (1955), Belgrade founding summit (September 1961) with Nehru, Nasser, Tito, Sukarno and Nkrumah as key figures; membership later exceeded 100 states.

NAM principles: non-alignment with either bloc, anti-colonialism and self-determination, peaceful coexistence (Panchsheel, India–China 1954), and opposition to nuclear weapons.

India's non-alignment: refused to join either bloc, signed the Treaty of Friendship with the USSR (1971) while remaining formally non-aligned, and received Soviet support during the 1971 Bangladesh war.

Cold War proxy conflicts: Korea (1950–53), Vietnam (US involvement 1955–75), Afghanistan (Soviet intervention 1979–89), plus superpower intervention in Angola, Nicaragua and the Horn of Africa.

Gorbachev's reforms: perestroika (economic restructuring), glasnost (openness), and the 1987 INF Treaty; these weakened Soviet control over Eastern Europe.

1989: revolutions in Eastern Europe; the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989; the Warsaw Pact was dissolved in 1991.

August 1991: failed coup against Gorbachev; the USSR was formally dissolved in December 1991 (Belovezha Accords), leaving 15 independent republics with Russia as the legal successor.

CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) was formed in December 1991 by Russia, Ukraine and Belarus; the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) never joined.

Shock therapy in Russia: rapid price liberalisation, privatisation and removal of subsidies in the early 1990s; results included hyperinflation, output collapse, and oligarchs acquiring state assets.

Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s into Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia (North Macedonia), Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo (2008 declaration); ethnic conflict produced the Dayton Accords (1995).

Post-Cold War order: US unipolarity, NATO and EU eastward enlargement, and the first Gulf War (1990–91) as a UN-authorised collective action.

Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) became independent in 1991; they hold large oil, gas and mineral reserves and are courted by Russia, China and the US.

Russia under Putin: Chechnya war, 2008 Georgia war, 2014 annexation of Crimea, and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine reversed post-Cold War cooperation with the West.

Hegemony is dominance based on a mix of military, economic, technological and cultural power; the US is described as a 'hyperpower' after 1991.

Military dimension: largest defence budget, global base network, naval carrier groups, and alliances (NATO, Japan, South Korea, Australia/NZUS).

Economic dimension: dollar as the principal reserve and trade currency, Bretton Woods institutions (IMF, World Bank) and the G7; the US is also the largest single national economy.

Soft power (Joseph Nye): attraction through culture, universities, media and values rather than coercion; contrasted with hard power (military and economic coercion).

Structural power: control over the global financial system, notably the SWIFT payments network and dollar clearing, gives the US sanctions leverage.

Constraints on US hegemony: rise of China and the EU, costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2008 financial crisis, unilateralism (2003 Iraq invasion without UN authorisation), and domestic polarisation.

Institutions of US-led order: UN Security Council permanent seat with veto, IMF/World Bank weighted voting, and the WTO (1995) as the successor to GATT.

Contemporary responses: BRICS (2009 summit; New Development Bank 2014), Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and regional trade blocs that dilute US economic primacy.

European Union: Maastricht Treaty (1992/1993) created the EU; euro introduced 1999 (cash 2002); 27 members after Brexit (2020); a single market plus common policies on trade, environment and some foreign policy.

EU institutions: European Commission (executive), Council of the EU, European Parliament (elected), European Court of Justice, and the European Central Bank.

China's rise: WTO accession (2001), export-led growth, Belt and Road Initiative (2013), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (2015), and a permanent UNSC seat since 1971.

Japan: third-largest economy historically, constitutionally restricted military (Article 9), strong alliance with the US, and major aid donor; ASEAN+3 links East Asian economies.

ASEAN (1967, Bangkok): ten Southeast Asian states; principles of non-interference and consensus; ASEAN Regional Forum for security dialogue.

SAARC (1985, Dhaka): eight South Asian members; suffers from India–Pakistan rivalry, and the 2016 summit collapse; BIMSTEC and the Bay of Bengal initiative gained salience as alternatives.

Other blocs: African Union (2002, successor to the OAU), OPEC (1960), G20 (1999, leaders' summit from 2008), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (2001).

BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (joined 2010); New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement; expansion announced from 2023–24.

South Asia comprises India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan; SAARC is the regional body (1985).

India–Pakistan: Partition (1947), wars in 1947–48, 1965, 1971 and 1999 (Kargil); Siachen dispute; Lahore Declaration (1999); Indus Waters Treaty (1960) survived several conflicts.

Bangladesh: independence in 1971 with Indian military support; later disputes over river water (Farakka/Ganges Treaty 1996), migration and border enclaves (land boundary agreement 2015).

Nepal: 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship; open border; 2015 constitution and blockade strained ties; China's influence grew through infrastructure and transit agreements.

Sri Lanka: ethnic conflict with the LTTE (1983–2009); India's 1987 intervention (IPKF) and the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord; China built Hambantota port.

Bhutan: treaty relations revised in 2007; Doklam standoff (2017) between India and China over Bhutanese territory.

Maldives: India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, 1988 Indian military intervention, and competition with Chinese infrastructure loans.

Afghanistan: India's development assistance; Pakistan's strategic depth doctrine; Taliban takeover in August 2021 reshaped regional security.

United Nations founded 24 October 1945 in San Francisco; 193 member states; headquarters in New York; six official languages including English, French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Arabic.

Principal organs: General Assembly (one state, one vote), Security Council (5 permanent with veto: US, UK, France, Russia, China; 10 non-permanent for two years), Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council (suspended 1994), International Court of Justice (The Hague) and Secretariat.

Security Council has primary responsibility for international peace and security; reforms demanded for permanent seats (G4: Brazil, Germany, India, Japan; African Union's Ezulwini Consensus).

UN agencies: WHO (health, Geneva), UNESCO (education/culture, Paris), UNICEF (children), ILO (labour, Geneva), FAO (food, Rome), IMF and World Bank (Bretton Woods, Washington), IAEA (Vienna).

Peacekeeping: Blue Helmets under UN command; India is among the largest troop contributors historically; peacekeeping is not mentioned explicitly in the Charter.

Secretary-General: appointed by the General Assembly on Security Council recommendation; five-year renewable term; António Guterres took office in 2017.

Voting: General Assembly resolutions are non-binding recommendations; Security Council resolutions are binding on all members under Article 25.

Financing: assessed contributions based on capacity to pay, plus voluntary contributions; the US is the largest assessed contributor.

Traditional security: state-centric, military threats, deterrence, balance of power and alliance systems; realism treats military force as central.

Non-traditional security: terrorism, migration, drug trafficking, pandemics, cyber attacks, food and water scarcity, and environmental stress; these require cooperative, non-military responses.

Human security (UNDP 1994): seven dimensions - economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and political security.

India's security concerns: cross-border terrorism, nuclear deterrence (Pokhran-II 1998, No First Use doctrine), insurgency, and maritime security in the Indian Ocean.

Global warming: UNFCCC (1992), Kyoto Protocol (1997), Paris Agreement (2015) with nationally determined contributions; principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Climate justice: developed countries bear historical responsibility; mechanisms include the Green Climate Fund and the Loss and Damage fund agreed at COP27 (2022).

Globalisation: integration of economies through trade, investment, technology and migration; driven by the WTO (1995), liberalisation and container shipping/ICT.

Contested effects: growth and technology transfer versus inequality, job displacement, cultural homogenisation and reduced policy autonomy; anti-globalisation protests (Seattle 1999).

Environmental movements in India: Chipko (1973, Uttarakhand), Narmada Bachao Andolan, and judicial activism (public interest litigation).

Partition (1947): the Radcliffe Line divided Punjab and Bengal; roughly 8–10 million people migrated; estimates of deaths range from 200,000 to over a million.

Integration of princely states: about 565 states; Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon negotiated accession; Junagadh, Hyderabad (Operation Polo, 1948) and Kashmir required force or special arrangements.

Kashmir: Instrument of Accession (October 1947), UN resolutions and a ceasefire line (1949); Article 370 gave special status, revoked in August 2019.

Linguistic reorganisation: Potti Sriramulu's death (1952) led to Andhra (1953); the States Reorganisation Act (1956) created states largely on language lines.

Official language controversy: Hindi as official (not national) language; the Official Languages Act (1963) assured continued English use; anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu (1965).

Federal accommodation: asymmetric arrangements under Articles 370 and 371, special provisions for the Northeast (Sixth Schedule) and Union Territories.

Secularism in the Indian Constitution: no state religion, freedom of religion (Articles 25–28), and the power to reform Hindu social institutions (Article 17 abolishes untouchability).

Planned integration tools: All India Services, the Finance Commission, and the Election Commission as unifying institutions.

Congress dominance (1952–1977): won clear Lok Sabha majorities in the first four general elections; dominance was based on a broad social coalition, organisational reach and control of the national agenda.

First general election (1951–52): universal adult franchise for the first time; Congress won about 364 of 489 seats; turnout around 45%.

Opposition parties: Communist Party of India (legal, parliamentary path), Socialist Party (formed 1948, split in 1955), Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1951), and Swatantra Party (1959).

Congress's internal factions: the 'syndicate' of regional bosses; the 1969 split between Indira Gandhi's Congress (R) and the old guard's Congress (O).

1977 Janata experiment: first non-Congress government at the Centre, formed after the Emergency; collapsed in 1979 over defections and leadership disputes.

Coalition era: National Front (1989–91), United Front (1996–98), NDA (1998–2004), UPA (2004–14), and NDA from 2014; power shifted toward regional parties.

Coalition dynamics: common minimum programmes, outside support, and the role of regional parties such as DMK, TMC, BSP and AIADMK as kingmakers.

Anti-defection law (52nd Amendment, 1985): Tenth Schedule bars defection; a split requires two-thirds of a legislature party (later amended).

Planning Commission (1950, non-statutory) and NITI Aayog (2015, replacing it); the Bombay Plan (1944) and the National Planning Committee (1938) were precursors.

First Five-Year Plan (1951–56): focused on agriculture and irrigation; modelled partly on the Soviet experience; successful in raising food output.

Second Plan (1956–61): Mahalanobis model, emphasis on heavy industry; Industrial Policy Resolution (1956) reserved strategic sectors for the public sector.

Mixed economy: public sector in heavy industry, infrastructure and finance; private sector regulated by licensing (Industries Development and Regulation Act, 1951).

Green Revolution: high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, fertilisers, irrigation and credit; M.S. Swaminathan and Norman Borlaug; Punjab, Haryana and western UP were the core areas.

Green Revolution results: food grain output rose sharply from the mid-1960s, reducing dependence on food aid (PL-480) and famine risk; critics note regional inequality and groundwater depletion.

Land reform: zamindari abolition, tenancy reform and ceilings; implementation varied greatly by state; Kerala and West Bengal recorded the most success.

Economic liberalisation (1991): balance-of-payments crisis, IMF conditions, abolition of industrial licensing for most sectors, rupee devaluation, and opening to foreign investment.

Poverty and growth: national poverty estimates declined over time, but regional and social disparities persisted; the service sector grew faster than manufacturing.

Emergency declared on 25 June 1975 under Article 352 (internal disturbance), following the Allahabad High Court ruling setting aside Indira Gandhi's 1971 election; lifted in March 1977.

Emergency measures: suspension of fundamental rights, press censorship, preventive detention under MISA, and arrests of opposition leaders; the Shah Commission later documented excesses.

1977 election: Congress lost; Janata Party formed the first non-Congress government; the 44th Amendment (1978) reversed many Emergency provisions.

Punjab: Anandpur Sahib Resolution (1973), Khalistan militancy, Operation Blue Star (June 1984), and the assassination of Indira Gandhi (October 1984).

Northeast: Naga insurgency, Mizo National Front and the 1986 Mizoram Accord, Assam movement (1979–85) and the Assam Accord (1985), and AFSPA (1958).

Jammu and Kashmir: Article 370, the 1987 election controversy, insurgency from 1989, and the 2019 reorganisation into two Union Territories.

Dalit movements: Ambedkar's anti-caste struggle, the Poona Pact (1932), the Republican Party of India, and the Dalit Panthers (1972).

Women's movement: anti-dowry and anti-rape campaigns, the Shah Bano case (1985), and the 73rd/74th Amendments (1992–93) reserving one-third of local body seats for women.

Farmers' and environmental movements: Bharatiya Kisan Union (1980s), Chipko, Narmada Bachao Andolan, and the 2020–21 farm law protests.

Mandal Commission (1980) recommended 27% reservation for OBCs; implemented in 1990; the 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment upheld it while excluding the 'creamy layer'.

Babri Masjid demolition (6 December 1992) and the subsequent communal violence; the Liberhan Commission reported in 2009.

Economic reforms of 1991 under P.V. Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh: liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation; dismantling of the licence-permit raj.

Coalition era consolidation: NDA (1998), UPA (2004), and the rise of regional and caste-based parties; 2014 marked the first single-party majority since 1984.

Constitutional amendments: 73rd/74th (local government, 1992–93), 101st (GST, 2016), 103rd (EWS reservation, 2019), and the abrogation of Article 370 (2019).

Major schemes: MGNREGA (2005), Right to Information (2005), National Food Security Act (2013), Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfers, and GST (2017).

Judicial and institutional developments: NJAC struck down (2015), the right to privacy declared fundamental (2017), and the electoral bonds scheme struck down (2024).

Foreign policy shifts: 1998 nuclear tests and the Indo-US civil nuclear deal (2008), Look East/Act East, and India's G20 presidency (2023).

Social and political issues: women's reservation bill (2023), UCC debate, digital media regulation, and the politics of welfare transfers.