Political Science Books for UPSC - Best PSIR Optional Books by Toppers
Studying the Best Political Science Books for UPSC is a must if you are planning to ace the UPSC IAS exam on your first attempt. Given the vast syllabus, candidates are required to prepare for the Political Science portion; you must pick a limited but correct set of Political Science books for UPSC to streamline your preparation. Several candidates chose PSIR as their Optional paper, as its syllabus has a significant overlap with the General Studies paper of the IAS Mains exam.
Also, Political Science is a subject of direct relevance to the profile of Civil Servants, which means that several aspirants might choose this as their optional out of interest. With the best Political Science Books for UPSC in hand, one can improve one's thorough understanding of the recent political paradigms, reforms, and contexts. Candidates should stay away from shortcuts and rote memorization for the Political Science optional and instead refer to the best Political Science Books for UPSC to master the subject.Political Science Books For UPSC help students score well. This article shares the best Political Science Books For UPSC and tips to use them well.
- In this article, you can find the best books for Political Science for the UPSC Mains Exam for both Optional Paper I and Paper II.
- With so many books available in the market for Political Science, we have shortlisted some of the highly recommended Political Science books for UPSC Mains and Optional.
- The list of important Political Science books mentioned in this article can be easily bought online or from any nearby bookstore.
- The prescribed books are shortlisted strictly based on the latest UPSC Mains syllabus and for their conceptual clarity.
- Candidates can also download the list of Political Science books for UPSC PDF from this article.
- We have also provided an effective preparation strategy for UPSC's reading of political science books for maximum output.
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Choosing the correct set of Political Science books for the UPSC exam is crucial as they will determine what you know about your preferred option before you appear for the same in the final exam. In the table given below, check out the best Political Science books for UPSC Paper-1 that will help you go over and beyond studying the Political Science portion for the IAS Mains exam.
Download the Political Science Booklist For UPSC PDF
Political Science Books For UPSC - Optional Paper 1
In the first Political Science optional paper of UPSC, questions related to Indian Politics, Political Theory, Indian Nationalism, and various political ideologies and schools of thought are asked. Candidates can refer to the list given below to select the best book for Political Science for UPSC Mains:
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UPSC Political Science Optional Books (Optional Paper-I) |
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Book Name |
Publisher/Author Name |
Book Description |
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An Introduction To Constitution |
D.D. Basu |
This book gives an overview and explains our Constitution. It is ideal for beginners to understand the Indian Constitution. |
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An Introduction To Political Theory |
O.P. Gauba |
Candidates can refer to this book to understand the basics of Political Theory and related concepts. |
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Fifty Major Political Thinkers |
Ian Adams And R W Dyson |
The book has listed Fifty of the most famous Political Thinkers in the world and their ideology of Politics. |
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A History Of Political Thought: Plato To Marx |
Subrata Mukherjee And Sushila Ramaswamy |
Political thoughts from ancient times till the nineteenth century from Plato to Karl Marx have been covered in this book, which is considered one of the most sought-after UPSC Political Science optional books. |
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An Oxford Companion To Politics In India |
Niraja Gopal Jayal And Pratap Bhanu Mehta |
Detailed discussion of Politics in India compiled in this book which makes it useful for candidates. |
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Foundations Of Indian Political Thought |
V. R. Mehta |
This book is highly recommended for candidates preparing Political Science as it covers the origins of Indian Political thoughts. |
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A New Look At Modern Indian History |
B.L Grover And Alka Mehta |
Modern Indian History and the influence of Politics to it makes the book a must read. |
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India’s Struggle For Independence |
Bipin Chandra |
It is a mandatory book to read to understand Indian Freedom Struggle and how Indian Politics took shape during the period. |
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Indian Government And Politics |
B L Fadia |
A general guide to how Politics and the Indian government functions. |
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Western Political Thought: From Socrates to the age of Ideology |
Brian R Nelson |
This book deals with the Political ideology of Western countries and the chronology of Politics getting its shape from Socrates to the present. |
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Modern Indian Political Thought: Text and Context |
Bidyut Chakrabarty and Rajendra Kumar Pandey |
An in-depth analysis on how the modern Indian Politics functions makes this book a must to read for the candidates. |
These books cover the full syllabus. Political Science Books For UPSC are great for GS papers and optional subjects.
Also check out the complete Political Science Optional Syllabus for UPSC.
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Political Science Books For UPSC - Optional Paper 2
A good booklist for psir optional helps in smart study. For candidates who have chosen Political Science as their optional subject for UPSC Mains, it is necessary to prepare core concepts of politics and international relations. Toppers follow a simple and clear political science optional booklist by toppers. Choosing the best books for psir optional is key to scoring high. One must thoroughly study Western political thought, and comparative foreign politics by using the booklist given below:
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UPSC Political Science Optional Books (Optional Paper-II) |
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India’s Foreign Policy |
V P Dutt |
This Political Science textbook talks about the International Relations of India with other countries and India’s Foreign Policy. |
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International Organisations |
Spectrum Books Publication |
A very important book to understand about various International Organisations and its functions. |
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International Relations |
V N Khanna |
This book completely deals with India’s International Relations and provides wide knowledge in this topic. |
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Challenge And Strategy: Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy |
Rajiv Sikri |
Challenges faced by India while creating the Foreign Policy and the way to getting the present Foreign Policy implemented have been given in detail in this book. |
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Does The Elephant Dance?: Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy |
David M. Malone |
Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy is yet another critical way of approach to the topic and this book is recommended by experts in Political Science. |
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Global Politics |
Andrew Heywood |
Global Politics is a must read topic for the Political Science Paper II. Hence, this book is ideal for preparing Global Politics. |
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MPS-004 Comparative Politics: Issues And Trends |
Expert Panel Of GPH |
Current issues faced by Politics are covered in detail in this book. |
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The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations |
John Baylis, Steve Smith and Patricia Owens |
This book talks about the globalization of World Politics and how International Relations are related to it. |
Download UPSC Political Science Previous Year Papers for practice right away.
Other Best Political Science Books to Refer for UPSC
Knowing psir syllabus upsc is the first step. Apart from the list of UPSC Political Science Optional books given above, candidates are advised to read a few other books that will help them develop a thorough understanding of Indian Politics, Political theory, Nationalism, and other pertinent topics evaluated in the Political Science optional paper in UPSC. Since the subject of political science is vast, the number of books to be referred to will also increase. However, it is advised that you read these books as part of your routine and get an overall perspective rather than read them to answer questions in the exam. Get the detailed psir upsc optional syllabus from the UPSC website. political science and international relations upsc books cover both paper 1 and 2. Use them with current affairs. The following are some of the additional books that you can add to your reading list for the UPSC Political Science Optional Papers.
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Other Recommended Political Science Books for UPSC Preparation |
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Book Name |
Publisher/Author Name |
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Theories of International Relations |
Palgrave Publications. |
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The Oxford Handbook of International Relations |
Christian Reus-Smit and Duncan Snidal. |
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Theoretical Aspects of International Politics |
Mahendra Kumar |
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Understanding International Relations |
Chris Brown and Kirsten Ainley. |
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Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches |
Georg Sorenson and Robert Jackson. |
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Our Parliament: An Introduction to Parliament of India |
Subhash C. Kashyap |
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Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers |
M. P. Singh and Himanshu Roy |
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Comparative Govt. & Politics |
J.C. Johri |
Important Political Science Topics For UPSC
Before you study from the various books to prepare for the Political Science portion of the UPSC exam, it is essential to clear your fundamentals. Read the topics political science books for upsc effectively given below to know and understand the basic terminology and theories that you must learn to ace this optional subject in the UPSC IAS exam:
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Important Political Science Topics for UPSC |
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Administration of Special Areas |
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Panchayat Raj and Municipalities |
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Subject-wise Prelims Previous Year Questions |
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