POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION & PARTICIPATION

1. POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION & PARTICIPATION

Political parties, pressure groups & social movements in advanced industrial & developing societies

A. Third World Politics & Global Justice

1. Comment: Nature of political process in the Third World. (2001)
2. Analyse the basic goals of Third World movement for global justice. What is the importance of South-South co-operation to achieve these? (2005)
3. Is it necessary to evolve a distinct theoretical framework for analyzing emergent politics in the developing world? (2009)

B. Political Parties & Party Systems

1. Examine the significance of ideological and policy aspects in the structural growth of modern political parties. (250 words) (2012)
2. Party system in India is neither western nor indigenous. Explain. (2014)
3. Comment on the decline of political parties and examine whether new social movements shall be alternative strategy for establishing link between government and society. (2016)
4. “Political parties and pressure groups are sine qua non of democracy.” Comment. (2021)
5. Explain the impact of electoral systems and cleavages in shaping party systems with reference to developing countries. (2021)
6. Critically examine the role of political parties in sustaining and stabilising democracies in the developing societies. (2024)

C. Pressure Groups & Interest Groups

1. How does functioning of interest groups differ from political parties? Discuss with appropriate examples. (2008)
2. Evaluate the nature and distinction of anomic and associational interest groups in the pressure politics of developing countries (200 words). (2012)
3. What is the difference between Interest Groups and Pressure Groups? Are the Pressure Groups in India in a position to fully protect or promote the interests of their members? (2015)
4. Do interest groups help to promote democracy or to undermine it? Give your opinion. (2016)

D. Social Movements

1. Bring out your perspective on the indications of the emergence of a global civil society. (2010)
2. What is ‘New Social Movement (NSM)’? Explain the main challenges of the NSM in the developing countries. (2011)
3. How did the struggle for representation increase the level and quality of democracy in the industrial societies? (150 words) (2012)
4. Compare and contrast social movements in advanced industrial and developing societies. (200 words) (2013)
5. Is the rise of social movements a sign of opening up of popular space in political process or decline of representative politics? Examine. (200 words) (2013)
6. In what respect is the new social movement new in nature? Discuss. (2014)
7. Examine the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) movement in developed societies and how it is affecting the political participation in developing societies. (2017)
8. How big a role does identity play in determining political participation in the developing countries? Discuss your answer with suitable illustrations. (2018)
9. Write an essay on ‘New Social Movements’ in developing countries. (2019)
10. Discuss the role of social movements in strengthening the democratic processes in developing societies. (2022)

E. Democracy, Participation & Citizenship

1. Examine the comparative advantages of democracy and autocracy in restraining political violence. Do you think that autocratic societies are more prone to political violence? Illustrate your answer with a comparative study of a few societies. (2009)
2. Explain the reasons for low voter turnout in democratic countries with suitable examples. (2019)
3. Analyze the contribution of liberal democratic principles in the democratization of Indian polity. (2020)
4. Has the increased participation of the underprivileged in the political process of the developing societies strengthened democracy or created political chaos and conflict? Comment. (2020)
5. How has the electoral democracy augmented the participation of people in the democratic process? (2022)
6. How does democratic politics construct citizenship? (2023)