KSLU Solved Question Papers
Political Science (Theory and Thought)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2018 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Political Science (Theory and Thought) 2018 Dec Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2018 Dec examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2018 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2018 Dec 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 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) a. Answer all five Units. b. One essay type question and short note in compulsory from each Unit. c. Figures to the right indicate marks. d. Answer shall be written either in English or Kannada completely.
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.
Q1
Unit I
Q1Explain the origin of theories of the State.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why the origin of the state is a question; the divine origin theory; the force theory; the patriarchal and matriarchal theories; the social contract theory; the historical or evolutionary theory, with Garner's conclusion and the factors that built the state; a comparison table; and a conclusion.
Introduction
No one saw the first state being made. So writers have offered theories to explain how the state came into existence. Some are fallacious (mistaken), and one, the historical or evolutionary theory, is generally accepted.
1. The divine origin theory
Meaning. The state was created by God, and the king rules as God's representative. The king is answerable to God alone, and resistance to him is a sin.
Exponents. King James I of England, Sir Robert Filmer in Patriarcha (published 1680) and Bossuet in France.
Criticism. It is a matter of faith, not proof. It cannot bind people of other religions. It makes tyranny unanswerable, because a bad king can only be left to God. And it cannot settle a disputed succession: when two claimants each say God chose them, the matter is settled by force. Locke's First Treatise demolished Filmer's version.
2. The force theory
Meaning. The state was born of conquest. The strong subdued the weak, and political authority rests on superior force.
Exponents. Thrasymachus in Plato's Republic said justice is the interest of the stronger. Later historical writers such as Gumplowicz and Oppenheimer saw the state as the rule of a conquering group. Jenks wrote: "The origin of the state, or political society ... is to be found in the development of the art of war."
Criticism. Force played a real part in building states, but might does not make right. A state based on force alone could not last, because force is costly and breeds resistance. The theory confuses a historical fact with a justification.
3. The patriarchal and matriarchal theories
Patriarchal theory. The state grew out of the family under the authority of the father, as Aristotle described: family, then village, then state. Sir Henry Maine, in Ancient Law (1861), traced early law to the patriarchal family.
Matriarchal theory. J.F. McLennan and others argued that the patriarchal family was not the oldest form. Earlier groups, they said, lived in loose "hordes" and traced kinship through the mother.
Leacock notes that nineteenth-century research showed the patriarchal regime "has not everywhere appeared as the foundation of later institutions".
Criticism. Kinship helped form early groups, but the state is more than an enlarged family. Garner says the state is not "a mere expansion of the family."
4. The social contract theory
Meaning. People once lived in a state of nature without government. They made a contract to set up the state.
- Hobbes: life in the state of nature was "solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short", so men gave all power to an absolute sovereign.
- Locke: the state of nature was peaceful but inconvenient, so men set up a limited government to protect "lives, liberties and estates".
- Rousseau: men formed a community directed by the general will.
Criticism. There is no historical evidence of such a contract. Men without a state could not have the political understanding to make one. And a contract made by ancestors cannot bind their descendants.
5. The historical or evolutionary theory
Meaning. The state was neither made by God, nor by force alone, nor by contract. It grew slowly over a long time. Garner concludes: "the state is neither the handiwork of God, nor the result of superior physical force, nor the creation of resolution or convention, nor a mere expansion of the family." It is "an institution of natural growth, of historical evolution."
Leacock puts it simply: "The state is not an invention: it is a growth, an evolution." Just as language developed slowly, so did government.
The factors in its growth.
- Kinship. Blood relationship first bound families and clans together under elders.
- Religion. Common worship united people and gave rulers authority.
- Force and war. Conquest and defence enlarged groups and created leaders and armies.
- Economic activity. Settled farming, property and trade required rules and authority to protect them.
- Political consciousness. Garner explains that political self-consciousness appeared first in a few leaders, spread through the people, and finally became general. Then the state took form in institutions and laws.
Comparison
| Theory | Origin of the state | Main weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Divine origin | Created by God | Faith, not proof; justifies tyranny |
| Force | Conquest of the weak | Might is not right |
| Patriarchal | Expansion of the family | The state is more than a family |
| Social contract | Agreement of individuals | No historical basis |
| Evolutionary | Gradual growth from many factors | None serious; generally accepted |
Conclusion. The divine, force, patriarchal and social contract theories each capture one factor but mistake it for the whole. The historical or evolutionary theory is accepted. It recognises that the state grew slowly through kinship, religion, war, economic need and the rise of political consciousness. In Leacock's words, the state "is not an invention: it is a growth."
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