KSLU Solved Question Papers
Political Science (International Relations and Organisation)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 4
2021 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 4 Political Science (International Relations and Organisation) 2021 Mar Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2021 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Mar 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 National Power and explain briefly the importance and elements of National Power.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: definitions of national power (Morgenthau; Palmer and Perkins; the relational definition in an MEA lecture of 2019) and its forms and nature (relative, changing, potential and actual); power distinguished from force (Morgenthau); its importance, under eight heads with examples (survival and deterrence, the national interest, bargaining power, status, protection of citizens with Operation Ganga, development, a contribution to world order, and the centrality of power in Morgenthau's theory); its elements: Morgenthau's eight (geography, natural resources, industrial capacity, military preparedness, population, national character, national morale, the quality of diplomacy), the quality of government, Palmer and Perkins's technology and leadership, Nye's soft power and Kautilya's four instruments; the elements applied to India; why they cannot simply be added up; a conclusion.
Definition
Hans Morgenthau wrote in Politics Among Nations (1948) that "International politics, like all politics, is a struggle for power". By power he meant "man's control over the minds and actions of other men". Palmer and Perkins (1954) applied the term "power" to "the totality of a state's effectiveness in world politics". A lecture published by India's Ministry of External Affairs in 2019 defined power in relational terms, "as the ability of actor A to influence the behavior of actor B to get the outcome he wants".
In simple words, national power is the capacity of a state to make other states act as it wishes. It is also the capacity to stop them acting against its interests.
Forms. Power may be military, economic, political or diplomatic. It may also be "soft": the attraction of a country's culture and values.
Nature.
- Relative. A state is strong or weak only in comparison with the states it deals with.
- Changing. Power rises and falls with economic growth, technology, leadership and alliances.
- Potential and actual. Resources are potential power; they become actual power only when a state organises and uses them.
Power is not the same as force
Power is a psychological relation: one state acts because it fears, respects or admires another. Force is the actual use of violence. Morgenthau held that "armed strength as a threat or a potentiality is the most important material factor making for the political power of a nation". But if force is actually used in war, "it signifies the substitution of military for political power". So the best use of power is often the one that never has to be fired.
Importance of national power
1. Survival and deterrence. In a world without a world government, a state must rely mainly on its own strength. Power deters attack, because an aggressor must weigh the cost of fighting a strong state.
2. The pursuit of the national interest. Power is the means by which a state secures its territory, prosperity and values.
3. Bargaining power in diplomacy. Negotiation reflects strength. A state with power behind its words is listened to; a weak state must accept terms set by others.
4. Status and a voice in world affairs. Power brings seats at the top table. India's claim to a permanent seat on the Security Council rests partly on its size, economy and military strength.
5. Protection of citizens abroad. Power lets a state bring its people home in a crisis. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, India's Operation Ganga returned about 22,500 citizens, using ninety flights, fourteen of them by the Indian Air Force.
6. Development. Economic power brings trade, investment and technology, which in turn raise living standards.
7. A contribution to world order. Strong states can keep the peace and help others. India's long service in UN peacekeeping depends on its military capacity.
8. The centre of international politics. For realists such as Morgenthau, power is the immediate aim of every state in international politics. A student cannot understand world affairs without understanding power.
Elements of national power
Morgenthau listed eight elements and divided them into "those which are relatively stable, and those which are subject to constant change".
1. Geography. "The most stable factor upon which the power of a nation depends is obviously geography." Oceans protect the United States, and the Channel protected Britain from Napoleon and Hitler. Location can also be a handicap: a landlocked state depends on its neighbours for access to the sea.
2. Natural resources. Food is the most basic resource. Before the Second World War, Britain grew only about thirty per cent of its own food. Its survival therefore depended on keeping the sea lanes open. Raw materials, such as oil and minerals, are vital to industry and war.
3. Industrial capacity. Resources become power only if they can be used. Morgenthau's example was uranium: the Belgian Congo held vast deposits, but without industrial plant they did not make Belgium powerful.
4. Military preparedness. "What gives the factors of geography, natural resources, and industrial capacity their actual importance for the power of a nation is military preparedness." It depends on technology, the quality of military leadership, and the quantity and quality of armed forces.
5. Population. Numbers alone do not make a nation powerful. But Morgenthau held that "no country can remain or become a first-rate power which does not belong to the more populous nations of the earth". Trends matter too: a growing or ageing population changes power over time.
6. National character. Certain qualities of mind and character are more common and more valued in one nation than another. They are hard to define, but they shape what a nation can achieve.
7. National morale. "National morale is the degree of determination with which a nation supports the foreign policies of its government in peace or war." Without it, no government can pursue its policies for long.
8. The quality of diplomacy. "Of all the factors which make for the power of a nation, the most important, if the most unstable, is the quality of diplomacy." Diplomacy, Morgenthau wrote, "is the brains of national power, as national morale is its soul".
Further elements.
- The quality of government. In later editions Morgenthau also named the quality of government, its capacity to balance resources against commitments and to win public support.
- Technology and leadership. Palmer and Perkins listed technology, in industry and in war, and leadership, in government, war and diplomacy, as separate elements.
- Soft power. Joseph Nye added the attraction of a country's culture, political values and foreign policies.
- Kautilya's instruments. India's own tradition, recalled in the MEA lecture, named four instruments of policy: saam, dhaan, bhed and dhand (conciliation, gifts, division and force).
Tangible and intangible. The first five elements are tangible: they can be seen and counted. National character, morale, the quality of government and diplomacy, leadership and soft power are intangible.
The elements applied to India
India's geography places it between the Asian land mass and the Indian Ocean, a permanent factor every power must reckon with. A UN DESA policy brief records that "India overtakes China as the world's most populous country", so on Morgenthau's test India belongs to the more populous nations. Its resources count only if its industry and technology can use them. In 1954 Palmer and Perkins wrote that India "seems to possess the human and natural resources and the qualities of mind and spirit to become a major power". Whether that potential becomes power depends on the intangibles: leadership, morale, the quality of government and of diplomacy.
The elements cannot be added up
The elements depend on one another. Population without industry, or arms without morale, give little real power. Palmer and Perkins warned that the elements "defy statistical calculation". An assessment of power is therefore a judgment about how the elements combine, compared with those of the state one is dealing with.
Conclusion. National power is a state's capacity to influence the conduct of other states, its "totality" of effectiveness in world politics. It is relative, changing and partly potential. Its importance lies in survival, the national interest, bargaining power, status, the protection of citizens, development and world order. Its elements are geography, natural resources, industrial capacity, military preparedness and population, together with national character, morale and the quality of diplomacy. The quality of government, leadership, technology and soft power complete the list. They must be judged together, and, as India's case shows, the intangibles decide whether potential becomes power.
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