International Relations, Treaties and Global Security Organisations
International Relations, Treaties and Global Security Organisations
This domain examines how states cooperate, bargain and constrain themselves through treaties and institutions. The exam tests India's treaty position and the difference between binding law and political commitment.
Core framework
- The UN is the central universal organisation; the Security Council has five permanent members with veto power. General Assembly resolutions are mostly recommendatory, not binding.
- NATO is a collective-defence alliance; SAARC, BIMSTEC, SCO and ASEAN are regional or trans-regional groupings; the Quad is a consultative grouping, not a treaty alliance.
- NPT seeks to prevent nuclear proliferation; India is not a party. CTBT bans nuclear test explosions; India signed but has not ratified. India is a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, Biological Weapons Convention, Geneva Conventions, UNCLOS and the Outer Space Treaty.
- India's nuclear doctrine is credible minimum deterrence, no first use, non-use against non-nuclear weapon states, and massive retaliation. India is a member of the MTCR, Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group, but not the NSG.
- Strategic autonomy means deciding alignments by national interest rather than bloc membership.
Worked example
A question says India is bound by the NPT because it receives IAEA safeguards. Reasoning: India has safeguards agreements for civil nuclear facilities, but it is not an NPT party and has no NPT obligations as a state party. Safeguards and NPT membership are separate legal facts.
Traps that cost marks
Do not call India an NPT member. Do not confuse signing the CTBT with ratifying it. Do not treat UNGA resolutions as binding. Do not describe the Quad as a mutual-defence pact. Do not confuse the IAEA with the UN Security Council.