POLITICAL SCIENCE & IR | BOOKLIST
The following are the basic books every aspirant should read to have good command over Political Science and IR optional subject for UPSC Civil Services Examination. If you are self-studying, these books will be of immense help in laying a firm foundation for the subject. Even if you have taken coaching classes, these books will help you clarify majority of your doubts and prepare better.
POLITICAL SCIENCE & IR: PAPER I
Political Theory
Political Theory- meaning and approaches; Theories of State; Concepts including Justice, Equality, Rights, Democracy, and Power; and Political Ideologies.
- An Introduction to Political Theory by O. P. Gauba
- Political Theory: An Introduction by Rajeev Bhargava and Ashok Acharya
- Politics by Andrew Heywood
- Political Ideologies by Andrew Heywood
Indian Political Thought
- Modern Indian Political Thought by V. P. Varma
- Political Thought in Modern India by Thomas Pantham and Kenneth L. Deutsch
- Makers of Modern India by Ramachandra Guha
Western Political Thought
- A History of Political Thought: Plato to Marx by Mukherjee and Ramaswamy
- Western Political Thought: From Socrates to the Age of Ideology by Brian R. Nelson
- History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Indian Government and Politics
- The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution by Sujit Choudhry, Madhav Khosla, and Pratap Bhanu Mehta
- Oxford Companion to Politics in India by Niraja Gopal Jayal and Pratap Bhanu Mehta
- India After Gandhi: A History by Ramachandra Guha
- India’s Struggle for Independence: 1857-1947 by Bipan Chandra
- If you have been reading Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth as part of your Prelims preparation, that will be very helpful.
POLITICAL SCIENCE & IR: PAPER II
Comparative Politics and International Relations
- Comparative Politics by J. C. Johari
- Comparative Politics Today: A Worldview by Gabriel A. Almond et.al.
- Theories of Comparative Politics: The Search for a Paradigm Reconsidered by Ronald H. Chilcote
- IGNOU MPS-004 Comparative Politics: Issues and Trends (Free Download)
- Global Politics by Andrew Heywood
India and the World
- Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy by Shivshankar Menon
- Does the Elephant Dance? Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy by David Malone
- How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century by Shyam Saran
- The Oxford Handbook of Indian Foreign Policy by David M. Malone, C. Raja Mohan, and Srinath Raghavan
- Handbook of India’s International Relations by David Scott
- Engaging the World: Indian Foreign Policy since 1947 by Sumit Ganguli
