International Relations for Civil Services Examination

In any competitive exam, the easiest strategy to grasp the needs of the exam is to thoroughly understand the syllabus. This write up, as an introductory one, precisely does the same for International Relations (IR from now) for the UPSC Civil Services Examination.

Relevance of International Relations in Civil Services Examination

First, let us try to understand the sections of IR in the vast syllabus prescribed by the UPSC. IR is crucial for all the three stages of the exam. It is directly mentioned in the syllabus of the Prelims (the first stage) and Mains (the second stage). In the Prelims exam, IR comes under the heading of the syllabus mentioned as “Current Affairs of National and International Importance”. A simple analysis of the past year Prelims exam papers will suggest any aspirant that the above-mentioned section is one of the most important sections of the syllabus, contributing nearly 35 to 40 questions per year. A further breakdown of the above section of the syllabus gives us a better picture. As per that, one can infer that on an annual basis, there are 10 to 12 questions in the Prelims exam that can be directly related to IR.

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Examples of questions from International Relations in the Preliminary Exam

The nature of the questions in the Prelims is simple and straightforward. The questions normally range from International organizations in which India participates or is affected by its dynamics; bilateral and multilateral diplomatic agreements and accords signed by India or affecting interests and diplomatic values of India; geopolitical changes in India’s neighborhood or extended neighborhood affecting India.

Preliminary Exam question in 2018

For instance, in 2018, India was diplomatically striving to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The joining of NSG has tremendous implications on India’s nuclear program (I have explained this in the chapter on Indian Nuclear diplomacy). The UPSC asked the question related to NSG in the Prelims exam asking the consequences of India joining NSG.

Preliminary Exam question in 2019

Similarly, Israel-Palestine issue was in news all throughout 2019 due to conflict between Palestinians in Gaza Strip and Israel. The UPSC asked the question related to the “Two-state solution” in 2019 Prelims.
Seeing the instances of the two questions above, one thing can be safely inferred. The Prelims exam revolves around the current happenings.

Preliminary Exam question in 2020

Question-1: In which one of the following groups are all the four countries members of G20?
[a) Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey
[b) Australia, Canada, Malaysia and New Zealand
[c) Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam
[d) Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea

This question can be easily answered by reading the Section-11, Page 438 of the book

Question-2: In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA Safeguards” while others are not?
[a) Some use uranium and others use thorium
[b) Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies
[c) Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises
[d) Some are State-owned and others are privately owned

This question can be easily answered by reading the Section-9, Page 403 of the book

What should be your approach for International Relations for Preliminary Exam

Follow a 3 Point Strategy for International Relations for Prelims exam

• Strategy 1: An aspirant should read the newspapers carefully. Please restrict yourself to reading The Hindu newspaper ONLY.
• Strategy 2: One should analyze what are the major events happening on the international front in the newspaper. This means you need to look out for all the news related to IR on Editorial, Op-Editorial and International Pages of the newspaper.
• Strategy 3: Then, the aspirants should try to study the different dimensions related to the items in the news from the book here. For instance, if India joined the NSG- this as a news item will be found in every newspaper. What is expected from the aspirant is that after seeing this news item, one should go to the chapter on India’s nuclear program and try to study about NSG and associated multilateral export control regimes and India’s diplomatic stance. Similarly, if Israel and Palestinian people are having a conflict, then the aspirants need to read Israel-Palestine dispute from the book here. One must note that reading the entire Israel-Palestine issue is important, as it is a broad issue. If in 2019, UPSC has asked about the two-state solution; and if the issue continues in news in 2019 (which it is), then, the UPSC can ask any other dimension from the issue ranging from HAMAS to Palestinian Authority to the policy of Khaled Mashal and Mohammad Abbas etc.

Thus, read the newspaper. Identify the IR specific issue in the news. Read its background from the relevant chapters in the book. Add from the news whatever titbits you get. The dimension is ready for the Prelims.

What should be your approach for International Relations for the Mains Exam

Now, let us try to analyze the syllabus, strategy and requirements of the Mains exam. The syllabus of the mains exam is properly defined by the UPSC. The IR is a part of General Studies Mains Exam Paper-II. There are four topics mentioned by the UPSC in the syllabus.

• The first topic in the syllabus is called “India and neighborhood relations”. By far, this is the most important topic. It encompasses all are land and maritime neighbors. The neighbors of India stretch from Afghanistan to Myanmar to China to Maldives. This book has covered the bilateral relations (in subsequent chapters), with all the neighbors from ancient times till 2020-21. The neighbors of India are in the news round the year. Any developments between India and her neighbors have to be carefully analyzed as questions are expected in the exam. So, for instance, if India and Pakistan have decided to open Kartarpur Corridor in 2019, the aspirants should read all the dimensions of India and Pakistan relations from the Mains exam point of view.
• The second topic in the syllabus is called “Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests”. This is a very broad topic. It literally includes India’s relations with all the countries in the world from regional to the international level; various diplomatic agreements signed etc. This is also the biggest section in the book. No other book in the market on International Relations gives a more comprehensive coverage on this section than this book. So, for instance, if Indian President visits South Africa; then one should read all the dimensions of the India and South Africa and India and Africa ties. Similarly, if USA exempts India for a temporary period from sanctions under the CAATSA to purchase oil from Iran; then one has to read India-USA relations as well as India-Iran relations.
• The third topic in our syllabus is called “Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora”. This is a straightforward self-explanatory topic. For instance, if Sri Lanka comes out with a policy that affects Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka, then it comes under this heading. Similarly, if Trump Administration decides to bring about changes in USA’s immigration policy; altering the conditional requirements for the grant of H-1B visas etc; then it affects the Indian population in USA and thereby comes under this heading.
• The last fourth topic of the syllabus is “Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate”. What is important to remember here is that the concern of the examiner is to test the aspirants command over India’s international diplomatic negotiation style at international institutions and agencies? Therefore, the aspirants need to carefully analyze the various meetings where India participates and its diplomatic style of negotiation.

How will this book help in your overall preparation of IR for Prelims and Mains?

• In the month of October, November and December 2020; McGraw Hill will be providing a series of webinars for International Relations where I shall be discussing important topics for 2020 Mains examination. While these webinars would be for those who are appearing in 2020 Mains examination; I would strongly urge all those aspiring for 2021 attempt also to participate with me on these webinars as they will sharpen your skills of International Relations. These Webinars would be open for all students to attend and free of cost. You can register here.
• Starting from October 2020, at the McGraw Hill Education student portal, I shall be posting two things and these would be exclusively available for those only who have registered their scratch codes given at the back cover of the IR Book 3rd Edition through their unique one-time passwords.

Case-1: Guided GS Mains Answer Writing Sessions:

I will be providing TWO guided General Studies centric mock questions for Mains examination. I shall be informing you in advance the chapters of the book to be read. Please read those chapters and then attempt the question. After you attempt the question, I shall provide the readers with a detailed model solution for the question for you to evaluate your performance. I shall be giving the readers a computerized evaluation matrix for you to evaluate if you have covered all the dimensions or not. The matrix will help you to generate your score for the answer. A religious monthly-guided answer writing practice will enable you to improve your answer writing skills. Dedicated electronic support will be provided for you to interact with me directly to clarify your doubts after the exercise every month.

Case-2: Guided support for Political Science Optional students Sessions:

For PSIR students, I will be providing guided Political Science Optional centric mock questions for Mains examination once a month. Again, I will inform the readers in advance about the chapters of the book to be read. Please read those chapters and then attempt the question. After you attempt the question, I shall provide you with a detailed model solution for the question for you to evaluate your performance. In the solution, I will provide you with a list of scholars. These scholars will enable you to prepare that specific topic from the optional perspective. This exercise is exclusive for PSIR students only and shall be beneficial for students aspiring for 2020 Mains and 2021 attempt.