KSLU Solved Question Papers
Political Science (Theory and Thought)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2016 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Political Science (Theory and Thought) 2016 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.
Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.
munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.
The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2016 Jun examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2016 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2016 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Define political science and explain its relationship with geography and psychology[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: three definitions; the nature of political science in brief; Garner on its auxiliary studies; geography: its meaning and seven links with political science, with Garner, Montesquieu, Hume, Shaler and Indian examples, and its place in present-day politics; psychology: its meaning and nine links, with Bagehot, Weber, Michels, Machiavelli, Hobbes and Wallas; Garner's caution on both; how political science gives back; a comparison table; why it matters for a law student; and a conclusion.
Definitions
Political science is the systematic study of the state and government. The word "politics" comes from the Greek polis, the city-state.
- Garner: "political science begins and ends with the state."
- Paul Janet: it is "that part of social science which treats of the foundations of the state and the principles of government."
- Leacock: "political science deals with government."
Nature in brief
Political science is a social science. Garner defines a science as "a fairly unified mass of knowledge relating to a single subject", gathered by systematic observation and classified, and concludes that politics has "the rank of a true science". But it is not an exact science, because human behaviour is complex and changing. It is also an art, because statesmen use its knowledge to govern.
Auxiliary studies
Garner notes that writers such as Jellinek treated "geography, physical anthropology, ethnology, psychology, and ethics as among the studies auxiliary to political science." He adds that "the tendency of modern thought is to accentuate the relations instead of the differences" between branches of knowledge. Geography and psychology are two of the most important of these neighbours.
Part A: Political science and geography
Geography studies the earth's surface: land, climate, rivers, seas, resources and the distribution of peoples.
1. Territory shapes institutions. Garner: "Geographical situation and the shape and conformation of the territory, as well as extent of domain, have an important bearing upon the institutions and national life of the state." These factors "determine the occupations and industries of the people, the extent and variety of the natural resources".
2. Thinkers who stressed geography. Garner notes that "Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Bodin, Montesquieu, Comte, and Hume, dwelt upon the influence of natural phenomena upon the character and institutions of nations."
3. Montesquieu and climate. Montesquieu tried to link climate with laws and forms of government: "The empire of the climate is the first, the most powerful of all empires."
4. The critics. Garner judged that Montesquieu's conclusions "abound in paradoxes, and his estimate of the effect of climatic influences was greatly exaggerated". Hume went further: "I do not believe that man ever in his spirit or destiny owed any thanks to atmosphere, food, or climate."
5. Location and history. Garner quotes Shaler: "To a trifling geographical incident ... we owe the isolation of Great Britain from the European continent". The narrow sea protected Britain from invasion and turned it towards sea power.
6. Size and form of government. Large and varied territories often need federal government, while small ones can be unitary. Distance from the capital makes local self-government more necessary in a large country. India's size and diversity help to explain its federal structure. Aristotle thought the best number of citizens is one that "can be taken in at a single view".
7. Defence and foreign policy. Mountains, rivers and seas shape frontiers, defence and relations with neighbours. A country with long coasts needs a navy; one with mountain borders needs a different strategy. India's territorial sea extends "twelve nautical miles from the nearest point of the appropriate baseline", under the Maritime Zones Act of 1976. The study of how geography affects the power of states joins the two subjects.
Part B: Political science and psychology
Psychology studies the human mind and behaviour: motives, feelings, habits and attitudes. Since the state is made up of people, political behaviour depends on how people think and feel.
1. Authority rests on belief. Bagehot held that a constitution "must first GAIN authority, and then USE authority". Its "dignified" parts "excite and preserve the reverence of the population"; the "efficient" parts actually rule.
2. Deference. Bagehot explained that Cabinet government worked in England because it "was a deferential country".
3. Leadership and charisma. Weber's charismatic authority rests on the followers' belief in a leader's extraordinary qualities, not on law or custom.
4. Why oligarchy grows. Michels traced the rule of party leaders partly to psychological causes in the leaders and in the masses.
5. Human nature. Machiavelli built his advice on the view that men are "ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous". Hobbes built his state on fear: without a common power, life is one of "continuall feare, and danger of violent death".
6. Public opinion. Propaganda, advertising, campaigns and the media work on the minds of voters. Dictators use propaganda to win loyalty; democracies need an informed public. Bryce described public opinion as made up of "different currents of sentiment", some stronger than others.
7. Voting behaviour and socialisation. Modern political science studies how people form political attitudes in the family and the school. It also studies why they vote as they do, using the methods of psychology. Children learn loyalty, trust or distrust of authority long before they can vote.
8. A modern classic. Graham Wallas's Human Nature in Politics (1908) was an early modern study of the subject.
9. Crowds and propaganda. People in crowds may act on feeling rather than reason. Leaders who understand this can inspire great movements, as in non-violent protest, or stir up hatred, as dictators have done. Political science must study both uses.
Geography in present-day politics
Geography still shapes political questions. Rivers that flow through several States cause disputes over water. The Constitution provides for their settlement: article 262 lets Parliament provide for the adjudication of inter-State river water disputes. Mineral wealth, coastlines and borders affect the economy, defence and relations between the Union and the States.
Garner's caution
Garner warned that the "so-called psychological method" had "been overexploited by a certain class of writers". They tried to explain all social institutions "through psychological laws". The same caution applies to geography. Garner himself notes that "The enlargement or reduction of the territorial area of the state does not ordinarily affect its international capacity or interrupt the continuity of its life." Neither the mind alone nor the climate alone decides political life; institutions, law and history matter too. A theory that explains everything by climate or by instinct leaves no room for human choice, which is the very stuff of politics.
A balanced view
The best approach treats geography and psychology as conditions, not causes. They shape the choices open to a people and the way people feel about authority. But within those conditions, people still choose their institutions and leaders. That is why political science remains a study of choice, law and institutions, enriched by its neighbours.
Political science gives back
The relationship runs both ways. Political decisions change the map: states draw boundaries, build dams and roads, and settle frontiers by treaty. Laws and institutions shape behaviour too, so people behave differently under a democracy and under a dictatorship. Psychology and geography therefore also need political science.
| Geography | Psychology | Political science | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studies | The earth and its regions | The mind and behaviour | The state and government |
| Contribution | Territory, resources, location | Motives, obedience, opinion | Uses both to explain politics |
| Danger | Geographical determinism | Explaining all by the mind | Must avoid both extremes |
Why the relationship matters for a law student
Laws work only if they fit the people and the land they govern. A law student who understands how people think and how territory shapes interests can better see why laws succeed or fail. The same knowledge explains why constitutions divide power as they do.
Conclusion. Political science is the systematic study of the state and government. Geography helps it explain how territory, climate and location shape institutions, defence and national life. Psychology helps it explain authority, obedience, leadership, public opinion and voting. Garner warns against overstating either influence. Political science draws on both neighbours while keeping its own focus on the state, its institutions and the rules of power.
The rest of the answers
The first answer is free. The rest come with the KSLU B.A. LL.B. Semester 1 solved papers.
You have read the question paper and its first answer in full. Buy the solved papers once and you can read every answer of every solved paper in this semester.
Solved papers: ₹499 Already bought it? Sign in
The question paper itself stays free.
Found an error in this volume? Report it and we will check it against the paper.