Kerala +2 Political Science cheat sheet

Positive liberty = freedom to realise one's potential through enabling conditions; negative liberty = absence of external coercion (Isaiah Berlin's two concepts).

Rawls' veil of ignorance: principles chosen without knowing one's social position; yields equal basic liberties plus the difference principle allowing inequalities only if they benefit the least advantaged.

Justice types: distributive (fair share of benefits), procedural (fair process), retributive (punishment fitting the wrong), restorative (repairing harm to victim and community).

Isaiah Berlin's value pluralism: ultimate human values can conflict irreconcilably, so no single formula resolves all political disputes.

Social contract chain: Hobbes (security under sovereign) → Locke (natural rights, right of revolution) → Rousseau (general will, popular sovereignty).

Marxist concepts: base/superstructure, class struggle, alienation of labour, surplus value; state in Marxist theory is an instrument of the dominant class.

Feminist political theory distinguishes sex (biological) from gender (socially constructed), and public/private divide as a site of power.

Ambedkar's critique of caste: caste as a system of enclosed, endogamous groups; annihilation of caste requires rights, not charity; liberty without equality is privilege.

Constituent Assembly: formed under Cabinet Mission Plan 1946; first sitting 9 December 1946; Constitution adopted 26 November 1949; came into force 26 January 1950.

Drafting Committee chaired by B.R. Ambedkar; Objectives Resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946.

Borrowings: parliamentary system and rule of law (UK); fundamental rights and judicial review (US); directive principles (Ireland); emergency provisions (Weimar Germany); concurrent list (Australia); amendment procedure partly (South Africa).

Preamble declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic; words 'socialist' and 'secular' inserted by the 42nd Amendment 1976.

Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12-35) are justiciable; Directive Principles (Part IV, Articles 36-51) are non-justiciable but fundamental in governance.

Article 368 governs amendment; Kesavananda Bharati (1973) established the basic structure doctrine limiting amending power.

Article 32 (right to constitutional remedies) was called the 'heart and soul' of the Constitution by Ambedkar.

Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) added by the 42nd Amendment 1976 on Swaran Singh Committee recommendation.

President: elected indirectly by electoral college of elected MPs and elected MLAs; impeachment under Article 61 for violation of the Constitution.

Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (Article 75); Prime Minister is head of government, President is head of state.

Lok Sabha maximum strength 552 (530 states, 20 UTs, 2 Anglo-Indians nominated - the nomination provision lapsed in 2020); Rajya Sabha maximum 250.

Money Bill defined in Article 110; introduced only in Lok Sabha on President's recommendation; Rajya Sabha can only recommend within 14 days.

Supreme Court: Article 124; judges retire at 65; High Court judges at 62 (Article 217); writs under Articles 32 and 226.

Judicial review derives from Articles 13, 32, 131-136, 226 and 246; collegium system evolved through the Three Judges Cases (1981-1998).

CAG (Article 148), UPSC (Article 315), Election Commission (Article 324), Finance Commission (Article 280) are constitutional bodies.

Attorney General (Article 76) is the chief legal adviser; not a member of the Cabinet and not a constitutional body in the same sense as CAG.

Seventh Schedule divides powers: Union List (97 original entries), State List (66), Concurrent List (47); residuary powers with the Union (Article 248).

India described as 'quasi-federal': strong Centre, single citizenship, unified judiciary, emergency provisions that can convert the system into unitary form.

Article 356 (President's Rule) and Article 360 (financial emergency) are the principal centralising instruments; S.R. Bommai (1994) restricted arbitrary use of 356.

Inter-State Council under Article 263; Zonal Councils are statutory (States Reorganisation Act 1956), not constitutional.

GST Council under Article 279A (101st Amendment 2016) - cooperative federalism body; states and Centre share decision-making.

Finance Commission (Article 280) recommends devolution of central taxes to states; 15th FC recommended 41% vertical devolution.

Asymmetrical federalism: special provisions for Jammu and Kashmir (Article 370, largely abrogated 2019), Nagaland (371A), Mizoram (371G), and Sixth Schedule autonomous districts.

Punchhi Commission (2007) and Sarkaria Commission (1983) recommended restraint on Article 356 and greater state consultation in Governor appointment.

73rd Amendment 1992 (Panchayati Raj) and 74th Amendment 1992 (Municipalities) added Parts IX and IXA and Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules.

Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects for panchayats; Twelfth Schedule lists 18 subjects for municipalities.

Three-tier panchayat structure mandatory for states with population above 20 lakh; intermediate tier optional below that.

Reservation: one-third seats for women (many states legislate 50%); proportional reservation for SC/ST; State Election Commission (Article 243K) and State Finance Commission (Article 243I).

Gram Sabha (Article 243A) consists of all registered voters of a village; foundational deliberative body.

District Planning Committee under Article 243ZD consolidates panchayat and municipal plans.

Kerala: 1996 People's Plan Campaign devolved 35-40% of plan funds to local bodies; Kerala is a model of participatory budgeting and social auditing.

Kerala's 'Janakeeya Sabha' and neighbourhood groups (ayalkoottam) are grassroots participatory mechanisms often cited in decentralisation literature.

Election Commission of India: Article 324; multi-member body since 1993; conducts elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, President and Vice-President.

First-past-the-post system used for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections; a candidate can win with a plurality, not a majority.

Anti-defection law: Tenth Schedule (52nd Amendment 1985); Speaker decides disqualification; 91st Amendment 2003 limits defection to one-third splits.

Model Code of Conduct is not statutory; enforced by ECI from the date of announcement of elections until results.

NOTA introduced in 2013 (SC in PUCL v. Union of India 2013); does not compel re-election if NOTA gets most votes.

Party types: cadre-based (CPI, CPI(M), BJP-RSS), mass/catch-all (Congress historically), regional (DMK, AIADMK, TMC, JD(U)), and coalition-era national parties.

National party criteria under ECI: 6% vote in 4 states plus 4 Lok Sabha seats, or 2% of Lok Sabha seats from 3 states, or recognition as a state party in 4 states.

Kerala's electoral politics: bipolar contest between LDF (CPI(M)-led) and UDF (Congress-led); BJP has limited but growing presence; Kerala has high voter turnout and literacy-linked political awareness.

Presidential system (US): separation of powers, president elected separately, no parliamentary confidence motion; cabinet not responsible to legislature.

Parliamentary system (UK, India): executive drawn from legislature, collective responsibility, dissolution of lower house, head of state distinct from head of government.

UK features: uncodified constitution, constitutional monarchy, sovereignty of Parliament, first-past-the-post, fusion of powers.

US features: codified constitution, federalism, judicial review (Marbury v. Madison 1803), checks and balances, two-party system.

France: semi-presidential (Fifth Republic 1958); directly elected president plus prime minister responsible to National Assembly.

Switzerland: collegial executive (Federal Council of 7), direct democracy via referendum and initiative, consociational features.

China: single-party system, National People's Congress as highest state organ, democratic centralism; not a competitive party system.

Typologies: Duverger's law (FPTP tends to two parties), Lijphart's majoritarian vs consensus democracy, Sartori's party system classification.

Realism: states as rational unitary actors in anarchic system, pursuit of power and security, balance of power, self-help.

Liberalism: cooperation possible through institutions, trade, and international law; democratic peace theory; regimes and interdependence.

Constructivism: identities and norms shape state interests; anarchy is what states make of it (Wendt).

Key institutions: UN (1945, 193 members), Security Council (5 permanent veto members), IMF and World Bank (Bretton Woods 1944), WTO (1995).

Cold War bipolarity (1947-1991) → post-Cold War unipolar moment → contemporary multipolarity with China's rise and regional powers.

India's foreign policy: Non-Alignment (Nehru), Panchsheel 1954, nuclear tests 1974 and 1998, Look East/Act East, Neighbourhood First, membership in BRICS, SCO, QUAD, G20 presidency 2023.

Collective security vs collective defence: UN Charter Chapter VII vs NATO Article 5.

Global governance issues: climate (UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, COP), terrorism, migration, pandemics, cyberspace, and reform of UNSC.

Globalisation: integration of economies through trade, capital, technology and labour; critics cite inequality, cultural homogenisation, and loss of state autonomy.

Climate regime: UNFCCC 1992 → Kyoto Protocol 1997 → Paris Agreement 2015 (NDCs, 1.5°C/2°C goals); CBDR principle.

Sustainable Development Goals: 17 goals adopted 2015 with 2030 target, replacing the 8 MDGs (2000-2015).

Terrorism: non-state actors, transnational networks; India's concerns include cross-border terrorism and FATF scrutiny.

Human rights regime: UDHR 1948; ICCPR and ICESCR 1966; India's Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 created NHRC.

Regional organisations: SAARC (1985, often stalled), BIMSTEC, ASEAN, EU, African Union; India's shift from SAARC to BIMSTEC.

Nuclear order: NPT 1968, CTBT 1996 (not in force), India not a signatory to NPT but has civil nuclear cooperation (123 Agreement 2008).

Global economic governance: G20, IMF quotas, WTO dispute settlement crisis, rise of protectionism and supply-chain realignment.

Kerala Legislative Assembly: 140 seats (unicameral); 20 Lok Sabha seats and 9 Rajya Sabha seats.

Kerala's political coalitions: LDF (CPI(M), CPI, JD(S), NCP, KC(M) etc.) and UDF (Congress, IUML, KC, RSP etc.); BJP contests separately.

Kerala model of development: high human development indicators (literacy, life expectancy, IMR) with comparatively low per capita income; remittance economy from Gulf migration.

Kerala's decentralisation: 1996 People's Plan Campaign, strong Gram Panchayats, and high share of plan funds devolved to LSGIs.

Kerala's social reform movements: Sree Narayana Guru (SNDP), Ayyankali (Dalit rights), Chattampi Swamikal, and the Temple Entry Proclamation 1936.

Kerala's land reforms (1969 and 1975 amendments) and Kerala Agricultural Workers Act 1974 are cited as redistributive policies.

Kerala's current issues: fiscal stress, ageing population, migration, coastal erosion, waste management, and rehabilitation after 2018 floods.

Constitutional application: Article 356, Governor-State relations, and Centre-State fiscal disputes are recurring themes in Kerala's public debate.

Kerala Legislative Assembly: 140 seats (unicameral); 20 Lok Sabha seats and 9 Rajya Sabha seats.

Kerala's political coalitions: LDF (CPI(M), CPI, JD(S), NCP, KC(M) etc.) and UDF (Congress, IUML, KC, RSP etc.); BJP contests separately.

Kerala model of development: high human development indicators (literacy, life expectancy, IMR) with comparatively low per capita income; remittance economy from Gulf migration.

Kerala's decentralisation: 1996 People's Plan Campaign, strong Gram Panchayats, and high share of plan funds devolved to LSGIs.

Kerala's social reform movements: Sree Narayana Guru (SNDP), Ayyankali (Dalit rights), Chattampi Swamikal, and the Temple Entry Proclamation 1936.

Kerala's land reforms (1969 and 1975 amendments) and Kerala Agricultural Workers Act 1974 are cited as redistributive policies.

Kerala's current issues: fiscal stress, ageing population, migration, coastal erosion, waste management, and rehabilitation after 2018 floods.

Constitutional application: Article 356, Governor-State relations, and Centre-State fiscal disputes are recurring themes in Kerala's public debate.