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Study material for law student, Lecture notes of Political Science

Ballb lecture notes sem 2 kslu syllabus

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AL-AMEEN COLLEGE OF LAW
MODEL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS – DECEMBER 2019
Prepared by
S.Premkumar
Guest Lecturer in Political Science
This material has been prepared keeping in mind specific student requirements,
Nonetheless this material is not aimed to replace the standard prescribed textbooks on the
given area, yet this avails itself as a quick reference to aid classroom discussions.
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AL-AMEEN COLLEGE OF LAW

MODEL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS – DECEMBER 2019

Prepared by S.Premkumar Guest Lecturer in Political Science This material has been prepared keeping in mind specific student requirements, Nonetheless this material is not aimed to replace the standard prescribed textbooks on the given area, yet this avails itself as a quick reference to aid classroom discussions****.

State and Political Obligations Unit- I / Model Answers Define Political Obligation. Explain its kinds. Political obligation implies that as man is a political animal, he is bound to live under some authority and as such, it becomes his obligation to obey its commands. Hence when the authorizing rule is law, and the association of the state, we call its political obligation. According to Stanford encyclopedia of Philosophy, Political Obligation is defined as a Moral duty to obey the laws of one’s own country or others Kinds of political obligation. Moral Obligation According to the moral principles of society in which he lives, the individual shall discharge certain obligations or duties. Serving old parents, helping poor people, helping injured person, showing kindness to the animals etc. are moral obligations. The state cannot punish any person, who violates moral obligations. Moral obligations left to the conduct of the people of their choice. Society is not competent to use any coercive power against the individual who is indifferent to his moral duties. Legal obligations Law regulates the social life of Men. The legal obligations take the form of a bond between the Individuals in a society for the performance of some act as desired by the enforcement of law. Legal obligations of the individuals are prescribed by the state. State will enforce the sanctions for the legal obligations. Moral obligation found its sanctions on individual conscience. The breach of moral rules requires voluntary and blame worthy conduct, but legal rules carries a force in it. If the legal duty is breached then the force carrying with such rules will act on the person. Positive obligation Positive obligations can be divided into Positive legal obligations and Positive moral obligation. Paying taxes or joining the army during national emergency is a “positive legal duty” and looking after one’s sick and old parents is a “positive moral obligations”. Negative obligations. Negative obligations are prescribed to call upon the individual not ot behave in a particular manner in the state or society. For example, legally the criminal shall not violate any civil or criminal law. He shall not encroach on the property of other or commit theft or murder.

The welfare state is a form of government in which the state protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of the citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for citizens unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life.[1] Sociologist T. H. Marshall described the modern welfare state as a distinctive combination of democracy, welfare, and capitalism. Political obligations of a welfare state.

  1. A welfare state aims to promote the interest of the society apart from its normal functions like collecting taxes and maintaining peace and order.
  2. The state undertakes the responsibility of bringing about the material welfare of the people within the framework of democratic political institutions
  3. The state takes initiative of protecting the health and economic security of the citizens
  4. The state takes steps to abolish illiteracy, poverty and unemployment. It establishes school, hospitals and other institutions to meet the needs of the people
  5. The state is expected to provide reasonable working conditions, minimum hours of work with leisure, subsidized food facilities, housing, medical relief.
  6. It upholds rights of all without showing any discrimination against any individual or group of people
  7. State has to undertake certain social service measures such as running child homes, old age homes, orphanages, rehabilitation of physically handicapped , mentally retarded, welfare of women and children.
  8. The state regulates the economic and other activities of the people in the larger interests of the society. These are the political obligations of the state under socialism and welfare state. Unit 2 Give a note on Delegated Legislation. Delegated legislation is a technique to relieve pressure on legislative time so that it can concentrate on principles and formulation of policies. In the Indian context under Article 77 resident has power to make rules for more convenient trans of business of government. India, rules and regulation, orders, notifications by laws form part of delegated legislation. Factors responsible for growth of delegated legislation i. Lack of time for legislature to shape Legislative details which are technical in nature were administration expertise is required. e.g.- Environmental standard, Intellectual property laws and legislative measures to ego term -and eradicate various diseases. ii. The subject matter of legislation being technical, complex and, unsuitable for debate in legislature.

iii. Democratizing of rule making process by providing for “Consultation with dected interest” iv. Advantages of flexibility scope for experiments then the delegated legislation technique is employed. v. Further, socio-economic teams being experimental in Initial stages and practical difficulties at stage of implementation cannot be foreseen. vi. International Community: Delegated legislation is an effective instrument to bring about changes in domestic rules and regulations in accordance with changes that are taking place at global level. For ex., if a country signs a bilateral or a multilateral trees, the provisions of treaty should be incorporated in domestic laws. They do not require legislative approval because legislature already passed those treaties at policy level. vii. New Economic Issues: Executive has to take into consideration the changing global - economic environment and has to exploit the process of globalization to benefit the interests of country. For this it has to make necessary and continuous changes to rules and regulations so that they became simplified in nature and can help in enhance efficiency of bureaucracy. viii. Volatile Environment: Stable political economic and cultural environment do not require radical changes in rules and regulations. On the contrary, unstable conditions demand immediate and rapid changes! is can done only through the process of delegated. Volume of work with the legislature: Because of increasing complexity in nature of activities performed by government, legislation is overburdened with policy making. In order to reduce the burden it has been suggested that legislature can use the technique of delegate legislation to reduce burden on its shoulders. i. Advantages of Delegated legislation: i. It saves time for legislature. ii. It can be easily done in consultation with parties affected. iii. It allows for flexibility iv. Expert legislation v. Parliament is not always in session vi. Delegated legislation is resorted to encase of emergencies. vii. It can be used on an experimental basis. viii. Criticism of Delegated Legislation ix. i. It has long term bearing on legislative control. In a parliamentary form of democracy, legislature is the supreme organ of state because it consists of peoples’

The democratic messages of Greek city-states were almost buried in oblivion during the Roman period and middle ages. But the messages found a new lease of life in the hands of Rousseau (1712-1778). In recent years the scholars have interpreted Rousseau’s thought in different ways and at least on one message there is a broad-based agreement and it is liberty (freedom) is the most valuable and coveted thing. We feel that Rousseau is still remembered by the students of political science (other students of social sciences also read him seriously). But his theory of freedom is well-linked with two other concepts—rights and equality. It is especially evident in his open assembly concept wherever one participates. Origin of the Concepts: There is a famous comment of Prof. Ernest Barker. Once he said—Human consciousness postulates liberty, liberty involves rights and rights demand the state. Though this comment does not include equality we can unhesitatingly add equality to it. It is a common sense idea that without equality liberty cannot exist at all. Rights, liberty and equality are closely linked and work together. Though the historicity of the social contract theory is very often questioned by political scientists. The fundamental truth that comes out of the doctrine is that for greater amount of rights, liberty, equality and their protection the people of the state of nature decided to lay the foundation of civil body with a government whose chief function would be to provide protective net for the democratic principles. All the three exponents (Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau) of the Social Contract did not conceal their view or motive. People of the state of nature spontaneously decided to set up civil society which implies that they had freedom and while making agreement or contract all of them were on the same footing. It means that all of them enjoyed equality and liberty. The concept of rights also comes out of the contract theory. How? When they took the decision there was no sign of resistance and by exercising their right to do anything for greater benefit. Hence it is quite manifest that Social Contract theory embodies these three principles of political theory. Purpose of the Three:

A close scrutiny of the three principles (many political scientists—as for example Barker— call rights, liberty and equality as principles of democracy) reveals that their purposes are same. The chief aims are the overall development of the inherent qualities of individuals and establish justice in the society. Laski’s definitions of rights and liberty are not very much different Defining rights he observes that rights are the condition of social life which is essential for the development of best self of a man. He calls liberty an atmosphere in which men will have the opportunity for the attainment of best selves. In the background of this we can reasonably say that rights and liberty are just two ways to reach the coveted goal for development of best selves How rights and liberties are protected? Laski has said that a state does not create rights, it simply recognizes them. Before the emergence or creation of state there existed rights. It is, so to say, the duty of the state is to protect the rights by enacting new laws or amending the old ones. It is to be noted here that not all rights come under the purview of the state because all the rights may not be conducive to the development of individuals’ personalities. The state is obliged (both legally and morally) to recognise those rights which are clearly helpful for the realisation of the best qualities of men. Naturally state shall proceed to their protection. Here we find that the state has a very crucial role in regard to the protection. Rights and liberties are not separate concepts. Since, liberty means the maintenance of an atmosphere in which men will have the scope to fulfill their good aim Viewed from this angle liberty can reasonably be regarded as the product of rights. He continues “without rights there cannot be liberty, because without rights, men are the subjects of law unrelated to the needs of personality”. Let us explain the relationship between rights and liberties in the following simple way. An individual has the right to pursue his own objective in his own way, to develop his noble qualities without doing any harm to others, to lead a good and peaceful life and many others. The point is, the individual concerned has rights to do all these. But rights alone are not sufficient. To have right and the scope for their implementation are two separate issues and need careful treatment. Laski and almost all political scientists are of opinion that rights require for them an atmosphere and this is liberty. So we can say that both rights and liberty are closely linked. To put it figuratively, they are the two sides of the same coin. The existence of rights practically will not carry any weight if they are not made to accompany liberty. Man can claim rights but, at the same time, he must have liberty to exercise right.

It will also lead to non-implementation of rights. However, it cannot be said definitely how much intervention by state will be helpful for rights and liberty. It depends on manifold factors. Our second point is. “The incidence of state action is unbiased”. The activities of the state must be impartial. Partiality will undoubtedly violate the basic norms of equality. Partiality means the abnegation of rule of law. Our practical experience teaches us different lesson. No state authority is hundred percent impartial. Assuming this situation, it has been suggested that the state should try to be impartial as far as practicable. Unit 3 BENTHAM’S UTILITARIANISM QUESTION FORMAT

  1. Explain and criticize Bentham’s Utilitarianism. [2007]
  2. “Greatest happiness of the greatest number.” [2006,2004]
  3. Explain the contribution of Jeremy Bentham and J.S. Mill towards utilitarianism. [2008] SYNOPSIS Bentham’s political obligation of utilitarianism Meaning of utility Pleasure-pain theory Sources of pleasure or pain Factors governing pleasure and pain Characteristics of the doctrine of utility Criticisms of the doctrine of utility Significance of Bentham’s political obligation of utilitarianism BENTHAM’S POLITICAL OBLIGATION OF UTILITARIANISM Jeremy Bentham was the father of utilitarian school of thought. He based his principle of utility on the basis of the following assumptions;
  4. All pleasures are similar and they differ only in quantity and not in quality. Push pin and poetry are capable of giving equal pleasures to a man.
  5. The pleasure of one man is as important as of another. This requires the acceptance of the principle of equality.
  6. There is no conflict between the interests of the individual and of the community as a whole, as the interest of the community is nothing or less than the sum total of the interests of the members who compose it. MEANING OF UTILITY

Bentham used the word ‘utility’ as a synonym for the word ‘good’ or ‘value’. Everything that brings happiness is good and anything that does not bring happiness is not good. The desire of every individual is to be happy and pleasant. He likes happiness and dislikes happiness. By nature man is repulsive to sorrows and miseries. Everyone wants to be happy. Bentham says,” Utility is property in any object, whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness of the greatest number”. He says, “ an adherent to the principle of utility holds the virtue to be a good thing by reasons only those of pleasures which result from the practice of it, he esteems vice to be a bad thing by reason only of the pains which follow in its train.” The doctrine of utility is therefore a hedonistic theory. When Bentham spoke of the good and bad consequences of an action, he only meant the happy or painful consequences of that action. PLEASURE-PAIN THEORY According to Bentham, human beings are creatures of feeling and sensibility. Reason is only a hand made of feeling or passion. All experiences are either pleasurable or painful. That action is good which increases pleasure, and decreases pain. That action is bad which decreases pleasure and increases pain. The yard stick to judging the goodness or badness of every individual’s actions is the pleasure-pain theory. Bentham borrowed the pleasure and pain principles from Helvetius. According to Bentham, “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of the sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one hand, the standard of right and wrong, and on the other hand, the chain of causes and effects are fastened to their throne. The principle of utility recognizes this subjection and assumes it for the foundation of that system, the object of which is to rear the fabric of felicity by the hands of reason and law system which attempts to question it, it leads in sounds instead of senses, in caprice instead of reason, in darkness instead of light”. According to Bentham, everything was to be valued, adjusted and measured only in terms of pleasure and happiness. He says, “The principle of utility consists in taking as our starting point, in every process of reasoning the calculus of comparative estimates of pains and pleasures and in not allowing any other idea to intervene. An adherent to the principle of utility holds virtue to be a good thing by reason only of the pleasures which result from the practice of it; he esteems vice to be a bad thing by reason only of the pains which follows in train.” For Bentham a man should not only aim at his own happiness but at collective happiness of the greatest number of people. SOURCES OF PLEASURE OR PAIN Bentham lists out the following four sources of pleasure or pain:

  1. Pleasure and pain which occur due to physical or natural sanction: We experience or expect them in the ordinary course of nature, not purposely modified by any human interposition.

accuracy and precision and to enable us to formulate rules encouraging one sort of behaviour and discouraging the others.

  1. That we should not only think of our own pleasures and pains but also to see to the likely effects of our actions on the happiness of others. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DOCTRINE OF UTILITY Bentham’s utilitarian doctrine has the following characteristics:
  2. It is a hedonistic (pleasure) and pragmatic. It is not egoistic and altruistic.
  3. It is based on quantity to happiness but not on the quality of happiness.
  4. It is concerned with the result but not the motive.
  5. It tells us whose pleasure or happiness is to be sought.
  6. It tells us how to regulate our conduct.
  7. It is universal.
  8. It is objective, verifiable, unequivocal and clear. CRITICISMS OF THE DOCTRINE OF UTILITY Bentham’s theory of utility has been criticized on the following grounds :
  9. It is a materialistic theory. There is no place for quality or conscience in this theory. It does not attach any importance to the moral actions of a person.
  10. He forgot about the society. He thought about the individual happiness only.
  11. It is an impracticable theory. It is impossible to measure happiness.
  12. His principle is confusing and ambiguous. We find so many alternatives for the same issue. So straight line answers are not acceptable in politics.
  13. The concept of pleasure differs from person to person and place to place. It has no universality and to give it a universal outlook is impracticable.
  14. It makes people selfish and self-centered. His theory takes it for granted that everyone is selfish which might be true with some people but cannot be universally so.
  15. Bentham’s theory of utility is considered as impracticable because it is impossible to achieve greatest happiness of the greatest number.
  16. Bentham has ignored that there could be a conflict between the self-interest of an individual and good of the community. SIGNIFICANCE OF BENTHAM’S POLITICAL OBLIGATION OF UTILITARIANISM Bentham’s straight forward statements challenging the then existing social and political institutions have universal appeal. His philosophy gave a severe blow to the social contract theory, when he said that the state was not the outcome of any contract but only because the people saw in it their advancement. His philosophy preached democracy and democratic institutions which was a bold step in those days. His utilitarianism shook many of the age-old institutions from their very foundations. His utilitarian principles which are a common sense formula of the ‘greatest happiness

of the greatest member’ had been of immense value which helped to face the problems of his day and hold good even today. It has given the legislators somewhat a measuring rod by which they could judge the utility of a particular legislation. Though the utility cannot be measured cardinally, it can be measured ordinally. Bentham treated all problems from the utilitarian point of view and all his other theories, legal, political and social are but an extension of his ethical theory. He offered practical solutions to reform the English society. He applied the principle of utility to the question of property. He contended that property was an institution which brought happiness to its owner. To achieve the end of ‘greatest happiness of the greatest number’ required that the property be equally distributed among the people. But he did not want to take away the property right from its owners but he wanted to remove the disparity by imposing limitations on inheritance. In the words of Fredric Pollock, “The utilitarian principle was made a book to put in the nostrils of Leviathan than he may be tamed and harnessed to the chariot of utility”. Bentham, unlike the idealists and the collectivists, emphasized the view that the state exists for a man and not man for the state. This the correct view of the relations between the individual and the state. The interests of the individual are primary, for whose protection the state ushers into existence. FURTHER READING

  1. Utilitarianism: From Encyclopedia Britannica
  2. Utilitarianism – John Stuart Mill
  3. Political Obligations – Dr. S.R. Myneni Question. Discuss T.H. Green’s views on idealism and explains the merits and demerits of idealism in general

THOMAS HILL GREEN – PROMINENT BRITISH IDEALIST.

T.H. Green was not only interested in giving the principles of his philosophy,

but also in participating in practical English Politics. Green came to be

acknowledged as one of the leading philosopher of the 19

th

Century.

Green’s idealism, unlike that of Hegel, is of the moderate type. He gave a liberal

interpretation to the idealism of different thinkers including Hegel and made it

acceptable.

Main principles of Green’s Thought.

1. Green believes that the stat is natural and necessary institution for

survival of mankind. State is only a means to an end. Green states that

State should perform the function of removing hindrances from the path

4. Idealists give importance to the state. they subordinate the individual to

the authority of the state.

De-merits of idealism:-

1. The extreme idealists do not distinguish the state from society.

2. Extreme idealism may prove to be dangerous, as it makes the state a

super-personality transcending the personality of its members. Such a

state becomes omnipotent and infallible.

3. Extreme idealism harms the individual by destroying his liberty and

suppressing his personality.

4. Idealism doesn’t support the growth of in-tune relationship of states and

development of international law.

Unit 4 POWER QUESTION FORMAT

  1. What is power? Explain the various types of power. Short notes Power SYNOPSIS f. Introduction g. Meaning h. Definition i. Nature of power j. Types of power k. Conclusion INTRODUCTION The term power is considered as an important subject in local, national and international level. Now days it is involved equally in economic, social, political, and religious factors. In the study of politics ‘power’ is usually regarded as a key concept. Power is central to the study of politics. It is seen as a struggle for power. It can be seen as evil or unjust but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. MEANING The word power is derived from the Greek word ‘politics’. Aristotle classified the constitution on the basis of the location of power. The study of power is concerned

with how it is obtained, exercised and controlled. Power is often used to mean control, influence, authority, force, might and domination. Power is the crux of politics. Since, the beginning of humanity power has been occupying position. Power means the strength of the body and mind. In political science power means the power of a man over the mind and actions of other men. It is the ability to control the behaviour of others in accordance with one’s own intention. DEFINITIONS

  1. Bertrand Russell – “Power is the capacity to influence the actions of others.”
  2. Hans. J. Morgantheau – “The power of man over the minds and actions of others.”
  3. Lasswell – “Power is the participation in the making of decisions.” NATURE OF POWER Ever since the ‘Leviathan’ of Hobbes appeared in 1651, the concept of power in the realms of politics has become a momentous subject of investigation so that now it is regarded as the key area of politics.
  4. Power is the psychological phenomenon. Therefore the relation between those who exercise power and those over whom it is exercised is a psychological relation with the impact derived from three sources viz,. a. the expectation of benefits, b. fear of consequences, and c. the respect or love for men or institutions
  5. Power is the capacity to influence the behaviour of others. A person when influences other persons according to his wishes, this is considered as power.
  6. Power is a certain kind of human relationship. A proper understanding of political power involves an examination of the way the relationship is conducted.
  7. Political power has to be seen as a relationship for the use of power, the presence of an actor or subject and some other individual is essential so that the actor can influence other individuals according to his capacity or wish.
  8. The principle of power is that it should be backed by sanction. Power is the capacity to affect another’s behaviour by the threat of some form of sanction. The greater the sanction, the greater will be political power.
  9. Power is not only relational but also influential. The person who exercises power affects the behaviour of the other individuals and nations. Law does not recognize bad power of undue influence, coercion, violence, etc.. TYPES OR KINDS OF POWER The classification of power is as follow
  10. DIRECT AND INDIRECT POWER – When a person or group of persons use

differences in the role of power of a state in domestic affairs and international policies. In civil societies there exist a number of alternatives to violence. Realizing that all the relations cannot be regulated by physical strength alone, a system of general rules of procedures has been adopted by each society to redress the wrongs in a non-violent way. Individuals no longer have the right to take the law into their own hands. In international relations, due to lack of generally agreed upon rules and devices, the states have to protect their rights and to rectify injuries through the use of force. CONCLUSION Politics is nothing but the struggle for power. Politics has now changed from one of being ‘a study of state and government’ to that of being ‘a study of power’. Curtis says, “Politics is an organized dispute about power and its use involving choice among competing values, ideas, persons, interests, and demands. The study of politics is concerned with the description and analyses of the manner in which power is obtained, exercised, and controlled and the purpose for which it is used, the manner in which decisions are made, the factors which influence the making of those decisions, and the context in which those decisions take place.” FURTHER READING

  1. Political Obligations – Dr. S.R. Myneni
  2. Foundations of Political Obligations – A.S. Bhagyashree Mallikarjun
  3. Wikipedia AUTHORITY QUESTION FORMAT
  4. What is authority? Explain the various types of authority and also explain how authority is legitimate? [2007,2004] Short notes Authority [2008,2006] SYNOPSIS h. Introduction i. Meaning j. Definitions k. Characteristics l. Sources m. Kinds or types of authority n. Authority and legitimacy o. Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Right to exercise powers, to implement and enforce laws; to exact obedience; to command; to judge; control over; and permission are synonymous with power. Authority is a person or persons, or a body exercising power of command as the civil and military authorities. Authority is the power or admitted right to command or act, whether original or delegated, as, the authority of a prince over subjects and of parents over children. Authority is a body having jurisdiction in certain matters of public nature. The word authority includes central and state governments. Authority means the institutionalized exercise of power backed by law or constitution and common consent. MEANING The word ‘authority’ is derived from the old Roman notion of ‘Auctor’ or Auctoritos’. The senate, the upper house in Rome gave its counsel to the popular assembly and this council was called ‘Auctor’ or Auctoritos’. Authority means the institutionalized exercise of legitimate power backed by law or constitution and common consent Although political power rests on the potentiality to invoke coercion, from historical days it has been found that coercion by way of threat of sanction is not an adequate instrument to elicit obedience. If the power is to subsist for long, it must receive general acceptance. Obedience may be obtained by the use of threat of sanctions, yet it rests upon a form of consent. It is this consent to or acceptance of power of the ruler by the ruled that strengthens the power and gives him the authority. Political authority is based on the acceptance of the right to rule. DEFINITIONS OF AUTHORITY

  1. The term authority has been defined with various shades of meaning. They are :
  2. Max Weber – “Political authority is based on the acceptance of the right to rule, and this is also called legitimacy.”
  3. Friedrich “……..authority and reason are closely linked indeed……..authority rests upon the ability to issue communications which are capable of reasoned elaboration.”
  4. McIver “Authority is often defined as being power, the power to command obedience.” NATURE OR CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTHORITY Authority is invested in a person or a body exercising power of command, having superior power. The subordinate obey the rules and regulations framed by the superior. The authority may be transferred by a principal to agent. Authority is nothing but a power to do something; it is sometimes given in words, and sometimes by writing and