CHSE Odisha Elective Political Science cheat sheet

State is defined by four elements: population, territory, government and sovereignty; sovereignty is its distinguishing mark, separating it from other associations.

Origin theories of the state: divine right, social contract (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau), force theory, patriarchal and matriarchal theory, and evolutionary theory.

Hobbes' state of nature is a war of all against all; Locke's is relatively peaceful with natural rights to life, liberty and property; Rousseau's is a noble savage state corrupted by private property.

Social contract outcomes differ: Hobbes produces absolute sovereignty (Leviathan), Locke produces limited constitutional government with right of revolution, Rousseau produces popular sovereignty and general will.

Sovereignty has two aspects - internal (supreme authority within territory) and external (independence from other states); Austin locates it in a determinate determinate sovereign body.

Monistic theory of sovereignty (Austin, Bodin, Hobbes) holds sovereignty is absolute, indivisible and unlimited; pluralist theory (Laski, Duguit, MacIver) denies this and stresses associations.

Law of nature versus law of nations: Grotius is treated as the father of international law; natural law is universal and moral, positive law is enacted and enforced by the state.

State versus government versus society: state is permanent and abstract, government is the temporary agency of the state, society is wider than the state and includes non-political associations.

Rights are classified as natural, moral and legal; legal rights are enforced by the state, and rights and duties are correlative, each right implying a corresponding obligation.

Liberty has two senses: negative liberty as absence of restraint (Berlin) and positive liberty as capacity for self-realisation; liberty is not licence.

Equality types: natural, civil, political, economic and legal; equality of opportunity differs from equality of outcome, and liberty and equality are reconciled through the rule of law.

Justice types: distributive (proportional share of benefits), retributive (punishment fitting the offence) and commutative (fair exchange); Rawls' justice as fairness uses the original position and veil of ignorance.

Rawls' two principles: equal basic liberties first, then the difference principle permitting inequalities only if they benefit the least advantaged; fair equality of opportunity applies to offices.

Forms of government: monarchy, aristocracy, democracy; democracy is direct (referendum, initiative, recall) or indirect/representative, and is judged by periodic free elections and accountability.

Unitary versus federal features: unitary has a single constitution and supreme central legislature; federal has a written rigid constitution, division of powers, bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary, as in India.

Separation of powers (Montesquieu) divides legislature, executive and judiciary with checks and balances; parliamentary government fuses legislature and executive through collective responsibility.

Electoral systems: first-past-the-post gives simple majority in single-member constituencies, proportional representation allocates seats by vote share, and each shapes the party system differently.

Political parties aggregate interests and contest elections; pressure groups influence policy without contesting elections, and are classified as sectional or promotional.

Key political thinkers and ideas: Plato's philosopher king and theory of ideas, Aristotle's man as a political animal and classification of constitutions, Machiavelli's realism in The Prince.

Socialism advocates public or collective ownership and planning; communism (Marx) predicts class struggle, dictatorship of the proletariat and a stateless, classless society.

Gandhism rests on truth and non-violence, satyagraha, trusteeship, swaraj and decentralised village self-rule; it rejects state-centred coercive power.

Nationalism is loyalty to a nation sharing territory, culture and history; the Indian national movement passed through moderate, extremist, Gandhian and revolutionary phases.

Indian Constitution: adopted 26 November 1949, enforced 26 January 1950; the Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946, and Dr B. R. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee.

Preamble declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic securing justice, liberty, equality and fraternity; the words socialist and secular were added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976.

Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12–35) are justiciable and enforceable through writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto under Article 32 and Article 226.

Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV, Articles 36–51) are non-justiciable but fundamental in governance; Fundamental Duties were added by the 42nd Amendment on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation.

Fundamental Rights versus Directive Principles: rights are negative restraints on the state and enforceable, while directives are positive obligations and not enforceable in courts, though courts read them together.

Union executive: President is elected indirectly by an electoral college under Article 54, is head of state, and acts on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers (Article 74).

Prime Minister heads the Council of Ministers and is the real executive; the Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha under Article 75(3).

Parliament has three parts - President, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha; money bills can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha with the President's prior recommendation (Article 110).

Rajya Sabha members are elected by elected members of State Legislative Assemblies; one-third retire every two years, and the Vice-President is its ex officio Chairman.

Supreme Court: judges appointed by the President, retire at 65, and Article 124 establishes the Court; judicial review lets courts strike down laws violating the Constitution.

Basic structure doctrine from Kesavananda Bharati (1973) holds Parliament cannot amend the Constitution's essential features; the 42nd Amendment's attempt was reversed in Minerva Mills.

Emergency provisions: national emergency (Article 352), President's rule (Article 356) and financial emergency (Article 360), each with distinct grounds and procedural safeguards.

State government mirrors the Union: Governor appointed by the President, Chief Minister as real executive, and a State Legislative Assembly, with some states having a Legislative Council.

Constitutional amendments under Article 368 need a special majority; amendments touching federal provisions also need ratification by at least half the State Legislatures.

Election Commission of India is a constitutional body under Article 324 supervising elections to Parliament, State Legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President.

Election machinery includes the Model Code of Conduct, voter registration, electronic voting machines and VVPAT, and the power to recognise parties and allot symbols.

Panchayati Raj was constitutionalised by the 73rd Amendment (1992), mandating three tiers, five-year terms, reservation for women and Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and a State Election Commission.

The 74th Amendment (1992) dealt with urban local bodies; the 73rd and 74th are together called the local self-government amendments.

Administrative reforms: All India Services, Union Public Service Commission (Article 315), and the distinction between civil servants' political neutrality and responsiveness to ministers.

Corruption watchdogs: Comptroller and Auditor General (Article 148), Central Vigilance Commission and Lokpal under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

Civil society, media and social movements act as non-state instruments of accountability; the Right to Information Act, 2005 enables citizen access to public records.

Judicial activism and public interest litigation expanded access to courts, while judicial overreach is criticised as encroaching on the legislature and executive.

International relations approaches: realism (states pursue power and national interest), liberalism (cooperation and institutions), and constructivism (ideas and identities shape interests).

United Nations: founded 1945, six principal organs - General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, Secretariat and International Court of Justice.

Security Council has five permanent members with veto power (China, France, Russia, UK, USA) and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

India's foreign policy principles include non-alignment, Panchsheel (1954), anti-colonialism and peaceful coexistence; Non-Aligned Movement founded at Belgrade in 1961.

Cold War blocs: NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955); the Non-Aligned Movement offered a third path for newly independent states.

Regional organisations include SAARC (1985), ASEAN, the European Union and the African Union; they address trade, security and regional cooperation.

Globalisation involves liberalisation, privatisation and deregulation; it increases flows of trade, capital and information but raises concerns about inequality and sovereignty.

India's nuclear policy after Pokhran-II (1998) rests on credible minimum deterrence and no first use; India signed the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015.

Terrorism and human rights are transnational challenges; India advocates comprehensive convention on international terrorism and reforms of the UN Security Council.