- International Relation (IR) was NOT EASY in Prelims-2018
- Strategy for IR for Prelims and Mains
- Don’t turn into an IR-LOVER
- Solution / Answerkey for Prelims-2018
International Relation (IR) was NOT EASY in Prelims-2018
- On 3rd June 2018, UPSC conducted Prelims exam for recruitment in IAS/IPS and other civil services.
- Paper-I consisted of 100 MCQs from general studies. For that, I’ve already published answerkey for Science, Polity, Environment and Geography. Now, this article covers International Relation (IR)/ Diplomacy answerkey and the strategy for next year.
Total 8 MCQs, out of them 6 are of medium to tough level of difficulty. So, overall IR/diplomacy was not an easy section, for three reasons:
- Since the Mains-syllabus change of 2013, you’ve to prepare only IR events affecting Indian interest. So, people tend to downplay / ignore the events where India is not directly involved / affected. Yet, such places have been asked in Prelims-2018.
- IAEA’s additional protocol, Israel-Palestine’s two-state solution… these type of contemporary issues- candidates prepare only after qualifying for Mains. Yet they’re asked in Prelims-2018.
- Only one from current affairs (Rule of law index), rest are just contemporary events. So, Prelim-2018’s IR/Diplomacy section was more comfortable for senior players, particularly those who have appeared in atleast one mains. There were no cliched current affairs IR questions like “What was the theme / venue of 2017’s xyz high profile summit?” Similarly, nothing from India’s own defense development or joint military exercise.
Strategy for IR for Prelims and Mains
IR section was not easy, but at the same time questions didnot fall from sky. Observe the source of my answerkey:
- First cultivate curiosity and interest in International relation, by looking at colorful texts and photos from NCERT Class12: Contemporary World Politics. Then go for:
- Pavneet Singh’s International Relations Book (Macgraw-hill) It’s useful for both theory and contemporary affairs for both Prelims and Mains (GS Paper-II). Earlier there was book by Pushpesh Pant but Pavneet’s book is much comprehensive and updated with latest contemporary developments. He also has a dedicated chapter on Indian Diaspora for GSM2, so your time is saved for not having to consult IGNOU’s Political science booklets on that topic.
- Current Affairs: Regular reading of IndianExpress and PDF compilations of theHindu. Whenever a new place / region is mentioned, you should look it up in the school atlas. As I explained in the Geography answerkey, avoid instantly delivered location from Google Map. If you manually search the place in in School Atlas, then due to trial-error you’ll also come across additional information about its surrounding places, and thus your command over the map / IR will improve. Example, Crimea opens up in Black sea, and Black sea opens up in Mediterranean sea through Bosporus strait. So, if Russia took over Crimea from Ukraine, then Putin could trade commodities and send military to so many countries via Crimean Port.
Don’t turn into an IR-LOVER
UPSC is for killers and not for lover. (आशिको का इधर कोई काम नही है.) Still, those with IFS as 1st preference- they get obsessive about studying IR / diplomacy and those with IPS as first preference obsessively study Internal security / terrorism topics. Both parties forget that:
- In Mains, UPSC is not asking such in-depth nuanced questions where you can pour in all your in-depth knowledge of diplomacy. Observe the topicwise question papers here. And even on rare occasion when they ask, there are time and space constrains of the actual exam so you’ll not be able to pour in your entire knowledge of diplomacy. Maximum word limit in GSM2 is 250 words only.
- Even at Interview stage, there is no guarantee that just because you’ve IFS / IPS as 1st preference in DAF, panel will be grilling you on those respective subjects only, OR that surviving through such grilling will automatically translate to selection or high interview marks. Yes, you’ve to insure yourself by preparing those topics, but don’t turn into a lover.
Accordingly, the examples of poor strategies are:
- Web-scrapping of entire site of IDSA.in. You should read it selectively for the topics you deem very important in Mains example India’s entry to NSG or UNSC. Daily commentary over China’s rise and African terrorism is not necessary.
- Web-scrapping of entire website of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), for every bilateral summit and even downloading its three dozen PDFs “India Perspectives magazine”. Yes, it helps cultivating vocabulary and improves comprehension. But you should first invest in Yojana and Kurukshetra (which have better utility both in Prelims and mains), before moving to any other Government magazines.
- Web-scrapping of C.Rajamohan’s IR columns from Indianexpress. Besides, nowadays Rajamohan is writing more frequently, and therefore quality of individual article has declined just like Tarak Mehta’s episodes. So, gist of every column is: “China is doing xyz, and South block officials are incompetent.” or its spin-off episodes where South block officials are overzealous, overcautious, skeptical, or hesitant depending on who the other party is. Yes you should read him to cultivate fodder points for Essay, Mains and interview. But his column-study should not become a become full time standalone activity.
Anyways, let’s solve the IR questions asked in Prelims-2018
Organizations and reports
Q88. In the Indian context, what is the implication of ratifying the ‘Additional Protocol’ with the ‘International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’ ? (Pre18 Set-D)
- The civilian nuclear reactors come under IAEA safeguards.
- The military nuclear installations come under the inspection of IAEA.
- The country will have the privilege to buy uranium from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
- The country automatically becomes a member of the NSG.
Difficulty: Tough, because candidates primary focus had been on NSG / MCTR related current affairs last year, so unlikely that they’d follow through this much details.
Answer: Pavneet Singh’s IR Book Section-A Key terms in International Relations , page A-16
- Under the old IAEA safeguards, all NPT signatories would specify their nuclear sites and IAEA would carry out inspections in the specified sites. Thus, IAEA, under the old safeguards, could only carry out inspection for unauthorised activities only at designated or specified sites declared by a country. This basically left an option open for states to carry out covert nuclear programmes – as it happened in case of Iraq.
- Thus, in 1993, the IAEA designed Additional Protocols (AP) to tighten the existing safeguarding regime.
- However, India specific Additional Protocols (AP) do not give IAEA the right to hinder or interfere with activities which are outside the scope of India’s safeguard agreements, thus recognizing that India reserves a right to a military nuclear program outside IAEA agreement.
From this description, C and D are irrelevant, and B is wrong. Thus we are left with answer A.
Guessmaster-giriTM doesn’t help arriving at right answer, It can only help upto elimination of optionD- because optionD has extreme worded statement “Automatically” so, it has to be a wrong statement according to GM-Rule#1.
Q22. What is/are the consequence/consequences of a country becoming the member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group’? (Pre18 Set-D)
- It will have access to the latest and most efficient nuclear technologies.
- It automatically becomes a member of “The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)”.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Difficulty: Easy for senior players, and anyone who follows IR developments even in casual manner.
Answer: Pavneet Singh’s IR Book ch. 2 India China relations
- By joining NSG, we’ll have access to sophisticated nuclear technology, so #1 is right.
- India wishes to be a part of the NSG. However, as India is not a member of NPT, China and Pakistan have objections to its enrolment. So, #2 is wrong.
Guessmaster-giri TM possible, if we go by GM-Rule#1, extreme worded statements are automatically wrong, then #2 ought to be wrong, as it has extreme word ‘automatically’. Ofcourse, then statement#1 will also be wrong for the words “latest and most efficient”, but by GM-Rule#5: “word association”- since question says nuclear suppliers group, therefore statement#1 (access to nuclear tech) is likely to happen. Thus you get answer A: only 1.
Q29. “Rule of Law Index” is released by which of the following ? (Pre18 Set-D)
- Amnesty International
- International Court of Justice
- The Office of UN Commissioner for Human Rights
- World Justice Project
Difficulty: Tough because unlike HDI, hunger, happiness or ease of doing biz. report, this one is not highlighted in a grand manner by all newspapers. Guessmaster-giri TM also not possible since all options have words associated with human rights / justice which is associated with rule of law.
Answer: Topic was in news during 2018-March.
The World Justice Project released its Rule of Law Index 2017-18 report, which measures the extent to which 113 countries have adhered to the rule of law in that period. (India’s rank was 62, better than China, Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh; Denmark occupied the top spot. Ref: TheHindu
Now, let’s look at other options, to gain some more knowledge:
- Amnesty international (1961)– Amnesty International is a London-based non-governmental organization focused on human rights. Already a question was asked in 2014 prelims on this organisation.
- International court of justice (1945) – UN organization, located at Hague, Netherlands. Recently in news due to Indian Judge Dalvir Singh Bhandari getting selected as a judge for the 2nd time.
- UN Commissioner for Human Rights– Its high commissioner is appointed by UN Secretary General, after approval of the UN General Assembly. Present commissioner is
Jim GordonZeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
Places in News
Q60. Consider the following pairs of Regions sometimes mentioned in news vs Country : (Pre18 Set-D) 1. Catalonia: Spain 2. Crimea: Hungary 3. Mindanao: Philippines 4. Oromia: Nigeria
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched ?
- 1, 2 and 3
- 3 and 4 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 2 and 4 only
Difficulty: Easy for senior players, and anyone who follows IR news even on casual basis- If you just know about Catalonia and Crimea, you can get right answer.
Answer: Pavneet Singh’s IR Book ch1 Section 4
- Crimea had been gifted to Ukraine in 1954 but Putin annexed the province back in 2014
, because he’s a Boss like that.(page h84) So, #2 is wrong, Crimea is not in Hungary. This eliminates A and D. - In 2017, India has decided to give 25 Million Pesos aid to Philippines to fight Islamic State in Mindanao Province. This is the first time that India has decided to extend monetary assistance outside to any state to fight terrorism. This signals a rise of India’s image as a Net Security Provider. (page i-13) So, #3 is right
- Catalonia had been in news due to referendum where people decided to vote for secession from Spain. (IndianExpress 2017-October) So, #1 is right. This eliminates Option B.
- Thus by elimination, we get Option C: 1 and 3 Only.
- Now just to satisfy curiosity about #4: Oromia is not in Nigeria but in Ethiopia, it has been in news in 2017, due to Ethnic violence, terrorism and general anarchy that is common in such African countries and also in some Indian states. Ref: IndianExpress 2017-May
Q63. Very recently, in which of the following countries have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine/acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war/ethnic conflicts ? (Pre18 Set-D)
- Angola and Zambia
- Morocco and Tunisia
- Venezuela and Colombia
- Yemen and South Sudan
Difficulty: Tough because in real-exam stress, you can have second thoughts about areas mentioned here.
Answer:
- Venezuela and Columbia– Venezuela has been facing severe crisis due to hyperinflation, food shortage and associated food-riots. But this hunger/ malnutrition is not by war/ethnic conflicts per say, but rather President Nicolas Maduro’s bogus economic policies. So, #C looks tempting but doesn’t fit.
- Morocco and Tunisia– Were in news due to starting of Arab Spring, Jasmine revolution. In 2014 Civil Services Prelims UPSC had already asked a question on starting place of the Arab Spring. फूटा हुआ कारतूस जो अब चर्चा में नही है. So, B doesn’t fit.
- Angola is in Africa, but not much in news except for economic crisis and stampede- which is a common thing for African countries. Similar case for Zambia. So, A doesn’t fit.
- In war-torn South Sudan 1.25 million people are facing starvation, double the number from the same time last year, This country could once again plunge into famine in 2018 says UN [IndianExpress 2017-Nov]
- In Yemen, over 20 million people need humanitarian assistance, including 7 million facing “famine-like” conditions, Food supplies are expected to run out within six weeks due to Saudi-led coalition’s a blockade on war-torn Yemen. [IndianExpress 2017-Nov] It was also in news during Feb-2017: Seven million Yemenis are closer than ever to starvation,due to conflict escalated between the government and Huthis rebels. [IndianExpress 2017-Feb]
- Therefore, among the given options, D is most fitting.
Q69. The term “two-state solution” is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of (Pre18 Set-D)
- China
- Israel
- Iraq
- Yemen
Difficulty: Medium because as such serious candidates would have prepared India-Israel deals during Modi visit-2017 but this “two-state solution” is a bit faded old topic.
Answer: Pavneet Singh’s IR Book Section-H Ch1: Issues in the Middle East: Palestine under Israeli control to advocating the two states solution. It wants the creation of Arab Palestine state in the Gaza strip and West Bank, along side the state of Israel. (page H11)
Guessmaster-giri TM doesn’t help, because by GM-Rule#5 “Word association” even China could be the answer in context of Taiwan / Tibet.
Q92. Consider the following pairs Town sometime mentioned in news: Country: (Pre18 Set-D)
- Aleppo: Syria
- Kirkuk: Yemen
- Mosul: Palestine
- Mazar -i- Sharif: Afghanistan
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
- 1 and 2
- 1 and 4
- 2 and3
- 3 and 4
Difficulty: Medium because Aleppo= Syria and Mosul = Iraq is known to every one who follows Middle East IR-current affairs even in casual manner, but these two factoids alone don’t help reaching the right answer.
- Aleppo = Syria, in news due to Syrian conflict. So, #1 is right. This eliminates C and D.
- The remaining options A and B don’t contain #3 so you must believe without needing any proof that Mosul is not in Palestine. (It’s in Iraq by the way- and in news because it was under control of ISIS, and then liberated.)
- So, it all boils down to the validity of 2 and 4.
- Mazar-i-Sharif is in Afghanistan. Last year PM Modi condemned a terror attack which killed 140 soldiers here. [Ref: IndianExpress 2017- April] It also reoccurs in news for chabahar port linking to Zaranj-Delaram corridor and then to the Garland Highway.
- So, B: 1 and 4 are correctly paired.
- Kirkuk-Incorrect. It is in Iraq. Been in news due to ISIS controlled territory
GM-Rule#5 “word association” doesn’t help. Because Mazar-i-Sharif sounds Islamic name but it could have been in Pakistan also.
Defense
Q98. What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news? (Pre18 Set-D)
- An Israeli radar system
- India’s indigenous anti-missile Programme
- An American anti missile system
- A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea
Difficulty: Medium, because this is not an Indian missile, and N.Korea-USA news items had become so frequent that candidates would have stopped following ball-by-ball.
Answer: The THAAD system is designed to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight. USA installed this system in South Korea in 2017, in the wake North Korean missile tests. But this angered China, who feels that deployment of American armaments will upset the regional security balance. [Ref IndianExpress May 2017]
GM-Rule#5 “word association”: “area defense” : radar alone can’t provide defense, and geographically Japan-S.Korea are not ‘high altitude countries’, so it has to be an anti-missile program. But it only narrows down the choice between “B” and “C”- doesn’t help arriving at right answer.
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By joining NSG, we’ll have access to sophisticated nuclear technology, so #1 is right.
– The question is for any country what will be the benefit. Suppose a country joins NSG – it will have access to technology only when they agree to IAEA safeguards or becomes a signatory to NPT.
Your analysis looks funny.If you think these question were not current affairs ,then you have not understood what current affairs actually mean when it comes to UPSC.There was no need to be a serious player but what it required was to be a “sincere player.”
If you are saying that two state solution is a faded topic then your understanding of contemporary events is really insufficient.Two state solution was in news several times in Hindu ,when India voted against Israel in UN and Jerusalem was recognised as capital by Trump .It was discussed in several debates thereafter as well .
THAD was a hot topic throughout the year in Hindu plus there was an explainer about it in Hindu as well .Moreover ,Yemen crisis and killing of Saleh by Houthi rebels ,Houthi missiles shot down by Saudi Arabia and humanitarian crisis in Yemen was in news all the year around .Even Channels like Aaj tak have covered it .
Except ,Additional protocol wala question ,all the questions could be easily (I am emphasising word easy here )answered from The Hindu.Hence ,your classification depicting Pavneet’s book as king and Hindu se sabse kam ae h is actually arbitrary .Please ,don’t advertise new books.Students are already having more than sufficient material to read and retain .If any aspirant has surplus time it should be and must be utilised in NITIs documents and ARC reports which will yield better result than these new books. Again ,as all the toppers say key for IR is The Hindu ,RSTV and some Wikipedia research plus some websites like Diplomat (if I am not wrong about this website’s name as I have not utilised Diplomat in my notes making).I hope your analysis makes better sense in the future.
Yea true this time his analysis went haywire . IR portion and Economy portion was easy in prelims.
For IR i read only hindu for 3 months only still solved all questions except one . No idea why he is putting pressure to read Indian Express on students all questions can be solved from hindu alone .
i agree with raju. most of the questions could be solved only by serious reading of ‘the hindu’ on daily basis. I don’t find compilations of ‘the hindu’ very useful because they actually get very boring. it is better for students to focus on the hindu newspaper. however, thanks to mrunal for democratising preparation of UPSC.
There is a quiet attempt to sell Pavneet Singh’s IR Book
*correction -“There was no need to be a senior player but what it required was to be a “sincere player.” “
my situation is strange…. getting more than 80% correct in s&t,polity,economy, IR. Getting 0 in history,geography and environment. My strategy to master subjects which I and to be able to answer easy question in other subjects didn’t work as they didn’t give any easy questions in those subjects.
@Raju Rajesh
So much negativity against Mrunal Sir. Why?
Rather appreciating what sir has done for us, you always come and talk negatively. If this is the case why do you even follow this website? Please don’t talk gibberish about Mrunal sir, because we believe in him.
“Virtually unnoticed by non-proliferation critics abroad, the International Atomic Energy Agency this week formally approved an Additional Protocol to the safeguards agreement whose passage last year helped set the stage for India’s re-entry into the world of nuclear commerce after nearly two decades of isolation.”
“In a nutshell, the Indian additional protocol limits the provision of additional information to just nuclear exports from India and grants no extra physical access to the IAEA.”
“India committed itself to allowing the IAEA access to specified civilian facilities where imported nuclear fuel was being used.”
also NSG public Statement in 2008 in relation to NSG waiver for INDia make as precondition that India will adhere to Additional protocol.
so likely c is the ans .
rely on good news and journal.
the book is an bad attempt at citation
all of this form just one article
i agree with you
it is comprehensive agreement which will bring nuc reactor under IAEA
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/India-and-the-Additional-Protocol/article16631586.ece
“the International Atomic Energy Agency this week formally approved an Additional Protocol to the safeguards agreement whose passage last year helped set the stage for India’s re-entry into the world of nuclear commerce after nearly two decades of isolation.”
“In a nutshell, the Indian additional protocol limits the provision of additional information to just nuclear exports from India and grants no extra physical access to the IAEA. ”
In its “””””safeguards agreement”””””, India committed itself to allowing the IAEA access to specified civilian facilities where imported nuclear fuel was being used.
civilian reactor put in safeguard not because of Additional protocol(AP) its an independent thing.
what AP does is below
“All the AP adds to this obligation is a commitment to provide IAEA inspectors multiple-entry visas and to allow the IAEA “free communications … including attended and unattended transmission of information generated by Agency containment and/or surveillance or measurement devices” which will already be put in place in India’s safeguarded facilities.”
so the ans should be C.
in addition 2008 NSG Statement on Clean wavier to India ,Addition protocol is a requirement for nuclear fuel trade.
the whole thing is linked with 123 agreement and why India agreed to AP in the first place.
people could have derived the ans if they we’re aware that India gives international access to those reactor where imported fuel is used.
the attempt for citation from that book was not appropriate.
Mrunal sir please please take your video classes for economics mains. This is a request on behalf of thousands of aspirants preparing to write mains this year.
Sir even if you take paid classes in neostencil or flavido then also we’ll join. BUT PLEASE TAKE CLASSES FOR MAINS sir
haaan sir pls pls pls..ye sahibol raha hai…aisa kardijiye pls
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/India-and-the-Additional-Protocol/article16631586.ece
“In a nutshell, the Indian additional protocol limits the provision of additional information to just nuclear exports from India and grants no extra physical access to the IAEA. ”
In its “””””safeguards agreement”””””, India committed itself to allowing the IAEA access to specified civilian facilities where imported nuclear fuel was being used.
civilian reactor put in safeguard not because of Additional protocol(AP) its an additional over the top addition thing.
what AP does is below
“All that AP adds to this obligation is a commitment to provide IAEA inspectors multiple-entry visas and to allow the IAEA “free communications … including attended and unattended transmission of information generated by Agency containment and/or surveillance or measurement devices” which will already be put in place in India’s safeguarded facilities.”
what it does imply is
“the International Atomic Energy Agency this week formally approved an Additional Protocol to the safeguards agreement whose passage last year helped set the stage for India’s re-entry into the world of nuclear commerce after nearly two decades of isolation.”
so the ans should be C.
in addition 2008 NSG Statement on Clean wavier to India ,Addition protocol is a requirement for nuclear fuel trade.
the whole thing is linked with 123 agreement and why India agreed to AP in the first place.
Economy ki nikalo Mrunal sir