CSS Political Science Paper II: Comparative Politics, Pakistan and International Relations Syllabus

Paper II: Comparative Politics, Pakistan and International Relations syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Paper II: Comparative Politics, Pakistan and International Relations in CSS Political Science, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Comparative Study of Western Political Systems

   2 topics

   • Anglo-American Systems
   • Continental European Systems
2. 2

   Global and Regional Integration

   3 topics

   • Globalization and Global Society
   • Regional Politico-Economic Integration
   • International Financial Regimes
3. 3

   Comparative Study of Asian and Muslim Political Systems

   2 topics

   • Muslim-World Systems
   • South and East Asian Systems
4. 4

   Political Movements in India (Colonial Period)

   2 topics

   • Rise of Muslim Nationalism in South Asia
   • The Pakistan Movement
5. 5

   Constitutional Development in Pakistan

   3 topics

   • Early Constitution Making
   • Comparative Study of Constitutions
   • Constitutional Amendments
6. 6

   Federalism and Provincial Relations

   2 topics

   • Federal Structure
   • Centre-Province Relations
7. 7

   Government and Politics in Pakistan

   3 topics

   • Political Culture and Institutions
   • Structural Dynamics
   • Elections and Cleavages
8. 8

   International Relations and Foreign Policy

   2 topics

   • History of International Relations
   • Foreign Policy of Pakistan

Paper II: Comparative Politics, Pakistan and International Relations flashcards for CSS Political Science

23 of 50 cards from the Paper II: Comparative Politics, Pakistan and International Relations deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What distinguishes a 'parliamentary' system (Anglo-American type, e.g. UK) from a 'presidential' system in terms of executive-legislative relations?

   In a parliamentary system the executive (PM and cabinet) is drawn from and accountable to the legislature, with fused powers and collective responsibility; in a presidential system the executive is separately elected, with a strict separation of powers and fixed terms independent of legislative confidence.

2. What are the three core features of the British (Westminster) political system?

   An unwritten/uncodified flexible constitution, parliamentary sovereignty (Parliament is supreme), and a fusion of executive and legislative powers through a cabinet government drawn from the majority party in the Commons.

3. What is the key structural difference between the US and UK systems regarding the constitution and judicial review?

   The US has a written, rigid constitution with judicial review (Marbury v. Madison, 1803) and a Supreme Court that can strike down laws; the UK has an unwritten, flexible constitution with parliamentary sovereignty and traditionally no power to strike down primary legislation.

4. In the Anglo-American model, what type of party system typically prevails and why?

   A two-party system, fostered by 'first-past-the-post' (single-member plurality) electoral rules, which under Duverger's Law tend to produce two dominant parties (Conservative/Labour in UK; Democrat/Republican in US).

5. What is the defining feature of Continental European (e.g. French Fifth Republic) systems compared with Anglo-American ones?

   Many are semi-presidential (a directly elected president plus a PM responsible to parliament), use codified constitutions, often employ proportional representation producing multi-party systems and coalition governments, and frequently have administrative law courts and a Conseil d'État tradition.

6. Define a 'semi-presidential' system and give its classic example.

   A system combining a popularly elected president (with real powers) and a prime minister/cabinet accountable to the legislature; France's Fifth Republic (1958, Charles de Gaulle's constitution) is the classic example, which can produce 'cohabitation'.

7. What is 'cohabitation' in the French political system?

   A situation where the directly elected President and the parliamentary majority (and hence the Prime Minister) belong to opposing political camps, forcing the President and PM from rival parties to share executive power.

8. Define 'globalization' as used in comparative politics and international relations.

   The process of increasing interconnectedness and interdependence among states, economies, societies and cultures, marked by the rapid cross-border flow of goods, capital, people, technology and ideas, compressing time and space.

9. What are the three main dimensions of globalization?

   Economic globalization (trade, finance, production), political globalization (international institutions, governance, declining state autonomy), and cultural globalization (spread of ideas, media, norms and consumer culture).

10. What is meant by a 'global civil society' or 'global society'?

    The emergence of transnational networks of NGOs, social movements, advocacy groups and citizens operating across borders, pursuing shared goals (human rights, environment, etc.) independently of any single state.

11. List the five levels/stages of regional economic integration in ascending order.

    1) Free Trade Area (no internal tariffs), 2) Customs Union (common external tariff), 3) Common Market (free movement of factors of production), 4) Economic Union (harmonized economic policies/common currency), 5) Political/Complete Union (supranational governance).

12. Which regional bloc is the most advanced example of economic and political integration, and what stage has it reached?

    The European Union (EU) — it has achieved an economic and monetary union with a common currency (the euro) and elements of political union, making it the deepest example of regional integration.

13. What is SAARC, when was it founded, and what is its purpose?

    The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, founded in 1985 (Dhaka), promotes economic, social and cultural cooperation among South Asian states (members include Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Afghanistan).

14. What is ASEAN and when was it established?

    The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, established in 1967 (Bangkok Declaration) to promote regional economic growth, social progress, and political stability in Southeast Asia.

15. What were the three Bretton Woods institutions created in 1944, and the purpose of each?

    The IMF (to ensure exchange-rate stability and address balance-of-payments problems), the World Bank/IBRD (to finance reconstruction and development), and the GATT (to liberalize trade, later succeeded by the WTO in 1995).

16. What was the Bretton Woods system (1944) and what ended it?

    A post-WWII international monetary order pegging currencies to the US dollar, which was convertible to gold at $35/ounce; it collapsed in 1971 when President Nixon suspended dollar-gold convertibility ('Nixon Shock'), ushering in floating exchange rates.

17. What is the primary function of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and when was it founded?

    Founded in 1995 (succeeding GATT), the WTO administers global trade rules, provides a forum for trade negotiations, and settles trade disputes among member states based on principles like non-discrimination (Most-Favoured-Nation and National Treatment).

18. What is the OIC and what is its significance for the Muslim world?

    The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (founded 1969, originally 'Organisation of the Islamic Conference'), the second-largest intergovernmental body after the UN, representing the collective voice of the Muslim world (57 member states) on political and economic issues.

19. Contrast the Turkish and Saudi Arabian models of governance in the Muslim world.

    Turkey is a secular, parliamentary/presidential republic with separation of religion and state (Kemalist legacy); Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy where the king is head of state and government and Islamic Sharia is the constitution and basic law.

20. What is the distinctive feature of the Iranian political system (post-1979)?

    A theocratic republic (velayat-e faqih / 'guardianship of the jurist') in which a Supreme Leader holds ultimate authority above an elected president and parliament, blending republican institutions with clerical oversight by the Guardian Council.

21. What model of governance characterizes China's political system?

    A one-party socialist state led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), with democratic centralism, a National People's Congress as the highest organ of state power, and party supremacy over state institutions.

22. What is notable about Japan's post-war political system?

    A constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy under the 1947 'Peace Constitution' (Article 9 renouncing war), an emperor as ceremonial symbol of the state, and a long dominance by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

23. What is the 'Two-Nation Theory'?

    The ideological basis of Pakistan: the assertion that Hindus and Muslims of South Asia are two distinct nations with separate religions, cultures, social customs and ways of life, and therefore Muslims required a separate homeland.

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