International relations make an important component of Mains GS-2 Paper, with around 4 questions every year. In all 33 questions have been asked from IR in 7 years.

Questions Asked Are Of Following Types:

• Purely current based.
• Purely static based.
• Mix of current and static.

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In CSM 2013, 8 questions of 10 marks each were asked. Only 2 of them were static, based on Gujral Doctrine and World Bank/IMF.

In CSM 2014, 5 questions were asked. 2 of them static, based on Information Technology Agreements and WTO.

In CSM 2015-2019, 4 questions each were asked from IR in GS-2. Questions in 2015 were too direct and easy.

But, things changed in 2016 and 2017 and there were tricky questions like:

• Explain with suitable examples. What are the aims and objectives of the McBride Commission of the UNESCO? What is India’s position on these?
• What are the main functions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)? Explain different functional commissions attached to it. (ECOSOC covered in static notes shared below)
• Indian Diaspora has an important role to play in South-East Asian countries’ economy and society. Appraise the role of Indian Diaspora in South-East Asia in this context.

In 2018 and 2019, questions were again straight forward and from current affairs.

Detailed Analysis Of IR Questions Asked Covering All 33 Questions, Static and Current Questions Segregation, Countries or Bodies Asked and What To Expect In 2020.

Link: IR Questions Detailed Analysis

Sources For IR Current:

• The Hindu.
• Vision Monthly Current Affairs Magazine.
• Insights Secure Compilation.
• IDSA Selected Articles.
• East Asia Research Programme Site Selected Articles.

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• Decode Ethics 2nd Edition Sample Chapter
• UPSC 2019 Ethics Paper Detailed Question Sources And Answer Content
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Sources For IR Static:

• Rajiv Sikri Book (Only if you are completely unaware of historical aspects of IR).
• Google Static Bodies.
• Static Bodies Notes covering IMF, WB, ECOSOC etc.

Notes Making For IR:

• Make notes region wise (ex West Asia).
• Segregate further, country wise in a region.
• Focus more on neighbours, especially China.
• Develop temporal sense of relations between India neighbours-regions-countries bodies.
• Major focus still shall be on current affairs though static notes from a book shall be ready for quick revision.
• IR Notes 2017 Mains: Note the country and region wise segregation.

Answer Writing For IR:

• I followed same answer structure for IR as mentioned in “My Answer Writing Strategy” (intro, news background, points etc).
• Wrote answer in points as it is a GS paper and not optional.
• Diagram in IR can include map of India or World.
• Keywords specific to IR shall be prepared and used in answers to gain edge over others.

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ATB!!!