Tamil Nadu HSE First Year Political Science cheat sheet

Political Science studies the state, government, power, and the distribution of authority; its central subject is the state and its institutions.

Aristotle is called the father of Political Science; his Politics treated the subject as a master science concerned with the good life of the community.

Traditional view limits scope to the state and government; modern view includes power, influence, decision-making, public opinion, and political behaviour.

Politics is often defined as 'who gets what, when, and how' (Lasswell), stressing the authoritative allocation of values.

Political theory is normative (what ought to be); political science is empirical (what is), using observation and comparison.

Key approaches: philosophical (normative), institutional (formal structures), behavioural (observable behaviour), and post-behavioural (relevance and action).

Interdisciplinary links: Economics (public finance), Sociology (social bases of power), History (evolution of institutions), Law (constitutional rules), Psychology (political attitudes).

Scope includes comparative politics, international relations, public administration, political economy, and public policy studies.

Four essential elements of the state: population, territory, government, and sovereignty - all four must be present for a state to exist.

Population: no fixed minimum or maximum; a state must have permanent inhabitants. Territory: defined land, territorial waters, and airspace.

Government is the agency through which the will of the state is formulated and expressed; it is not the state itself.

Sovereignty is the supreme and final authority of the state internally and its independence externally.

Divine origin theory: state is ordained by God; exponents include St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Social contract theory (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau): state arises from an agreement among people; Hobbes favoured absolute sovereign, Locke limited government, Rousseau popular sovereignty.

Evolutionary/kinship theory: state grew gradually from family, clan, tribe, and territorial community through kinship, religion, property, and war.

Functions: essential (defence, law and order, justice, revenue) and optional/welfare (education, health, industry, social security).

Sovereignty: supreme, absolute, unlimited, and final power of the state over all persons and associations within its territory.

Internal sovereignty means authority over all within the territory; external sovereignty means independence from foreign control.

Austin: law is the command of the sovereign backed by sanction; the sovereign is indivisible and unlimited.

Legal sovereignty is the legally supreme authority; political sovereignty is the actual power of the people or electorate.

Pluralist view (Laski, MacIver, Duguit): sovereignty is limited and shared by associations; the state is one association among many.

Popular sovereignty: ultimate authority rests with the people; reflected in the Preamble's 'We, the People of India'.

Sources of law: custom, legislation, judicial precedent, and personal/religious law; law is distinguished from morality by its enforceability.

Rule of law (Dicey): no punishment except for breach of law established in ordinary courts, equality before law, and rights arising from judicial decisions.

Democracy: government by the people, directly (direct democracy) or through elected representatives (indirect/representative democracy).

Direct democracy devices: referendum, initiative, recall, and plebiscite; practised in ancient Athens and modern Swiss cantons.

Dictatorship: power concentrated in one person or small group, often acquired by force, with no free elections and no accountability to the people.

Aristotle's classification: monarchy, aristocracy, and polity (good forms) versus tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy (perverted forms).

Unitary government: single constitution, single citizenship, one central government with power delegated to local units; e.g., the United Kingdom, France.

Federal government: division of powers between the central government and states written in a written constitution; e.g., the United States, India, Australia.

Federal features: written constitution, division of powers, supremacy of constitution, bicameralism, independent judiciary, dual polity.

Unitary features in the Indian system: single citizenship, single constitution, All India Services, emergency provisions, Governor appointed by the President.

Legislature makes laws; functions include representation, financial control, deliberation, and oversight of the executive.

Bicameral legislature has two chambers (e.g., Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha); unicameral has one.

Executive is the branch that enforces laws; political executive (elected ministers) versus permanent executive (civil servants).

Presidential executive (e.g., USA) is separate from the legislature and not responsible to it; parliamentary executive (e.g., India, UK) is drawn from and responsible to the legislature.

Judiciary interprets laws, settles disputes, and protects rights; judicial review allows courts to strike down unconstitutional laws.

Independence of judiciary safeguards: security of tenure, fixed salaries, appointment by the executive with consultation, and contempt powers.

Doctrine of separation of powers (Montesquieu): legislature, executive, and judiciary should be separate to prevent tyranny.

India follows a separation of functions with checks and balances rather than a rigid separation of powers.

Constitution: the fundamental law that establishes the state's framework, organs, and limits of governmental power.

Written constitutions are codified in a single document (India, USA); unwritten constitutions rest on conventions and statutes (UK).

Rigid constitutions require a special amending procedure (USA); flexible ones can be amended by ordinary legislation (UK).

Indian Constitution: adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.

Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar; the Constituent Assembly had a drafting process influenced by the Objectives Resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Indian Constitution is the longest written constitution; it is partly rigid and partly flexible, and is described as federal in form with unitary features.

Sources: parliamentary system (UK), fundamental rights and judicial review (USA), Directive Principles (Ireland), emergency provisions (Germany), federal scheme (Canada/Australia).

Amendment under Article 368: special majority in both Houses; some provisions require ratification by half the state legislatures (e.g., federal provisions, fundamental rights).

Fundamental Rights are in Part III (Articles 12–35); they are justiciable and enforceable through writs issued by the Supreme Court (Article 32) and High Courts (Article 226).

Six categories: Right to Equality (14–18), Right to Freedom (19–22), Right against Exploitation (23–24), Right to Freedom of Religion (25–28), Cultural and Educational Rights (29–30), Right to Constitutional Remedies (32).

Article 32 is called the 'heart and soul of the Constitution' by Dr. Ambedkar; it empowers the Supreme Court to issue five writs: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, and quo warranto.

Fundamental Duties are in Part IVA (Article 51A), added by the 42nd Amendment (1976); they are non-justiciable moral obligations of citizens.

Directive Principles of State Policy are in Part IV (Articles 36–51); they are non-justiciable guidelines for policy-making and aim at a welfare state.

Article 37 states that Directive Principles are not enforceable in courts but are fundamental in the governance of the country.

Article 39A (legal aid) and Article 44 (uniform civil code) are examples of Directive Principles; Article 40 directs organisation of village panchayats.

Conflict between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles is resolved by reading them harmoniously; the basic structure doctrine (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973) limits amendments.

India is described as a 'Union of States' (Article 1); the federation was not formed by an agreement among states but by the Constitution itself.

Legislative relations: Union List (97 entries), State List (66 entries), Concurrent List (47 entries); residuary powers vest in Parliament (Article 248).

Article 249 allows Parliament to legislate on a State List subject if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a two-thirds majority.

Administrative relations: Union can issue directions to states (Article 256); Article 356 allows President's Rule on failure of constitutional machinery.

Financial relations: Finance Commission (Article 280) recommends distribution of taxes; Article 275 grants-in-aid to states.

Inter-State Council (Article 263) is a constitutional body for coordinating relations between states and the Union.

Asymmetry: special provisions for Jammu and Kashmir (historically Article 370), Nagaland (Article 371A), and other states under Articles 371 to 371J.

Sarkaria Commission (1983) and Punchhi Commission (2007) reviewed Centre-State relations and recommended greater state autonomy.

Election Commission of India (Article 324) is a constitutional body that conducts elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President.

Adult suffrage: every citizen aged 18 or above is entitled to vote (61st Amendment, 1988, lowered the age from 21 to 18).

First-past-the-post system is used for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections; the candidate with the highest votes wins.

Model Code of Conduct is enforced by the Election Commission from the announcement of elections until results are declared.

A political party is a group that seeks to gain power by contesting elections and forming government; recognised parties are national or state parties under Election Symbols rules.

Functions of parties: interest aggregation, political socialisation, recruitment of leaders, formulation of policies, and mobilisation of voters.

Pressure groups influence policy without contesting elections; examples include trade unions, farmers' associations, business chambers, and professional bodies.

Pressure group methods: lobbying, strikes, demonstrations, publicity, electioneering support, and civil disobedience.

Public opinion: the aggregate of views held by a significant portion of the public on issues of public concern.

Formation factors: family, education, peer groups, religion, region, economic status, political parties, and the mass media.

Mass media includes newspapers, television, radio, cinema, and digital/social media; it shapes, transmits, and reflects public opinion.

Propaganda: deliberate, systematic dissemination of ideas to influence attitudes and behaviour, often by slanting or selective presentation of facts.

Techniques of propaganda: name-calling, glittering generalities, transfer, testimonial, bandwagon, card-stacking, and plain-folks appeal.

Media functions: information, education, watchdog over government, agenda-setting, and providing a platform for public debate.

Media ethics issues: paid news, sensationalism, ownership concentration, and the spread of misinformation.

Public opinion is measured through opinion polls and surveys; accuracy depends on sample size, representativeness, and question framing.

International relations studies interactions among states and non-state actors; key concepts include power, national interest, diplomacy, and balance of power.

United Nations founded on 24 October 1945; India is a founding member; headquarters in New York.

Principal UN organs: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice, and Secretariat.

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

International Court of Justice sits at The Hague and settles disputes between states; it is the principal judicial organ of the UN.

Specialised agencies: WHO (health), UNESCO (education and culture), ILO (labour), FAO (food and agriculture), IMF and World Bank (finance).

India's foreign policy principles: non-alignment, Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, 1954), anti-colonialism, and support for the UN.

Regional organisations: SAARC (1985, South Asia), ASEAN, European Union, and BRICS; India is a member of SAARC, BRICS, and the G20.