The prelims is over and multiple answer keys are out, few questions and their answers, as always depends on what UPSC thinks is the right answer to those questions. Meanwhile, lets do an analysis and find out what is in store for PRELIMS 2018.
Geneal analysis of this year Prelims:-
We had a believe that UPSC will change the paper pattern this year. And it did. Whether it is good or bad – that depends and varies from aspirant to aspirant.
The good part is that:-
Many questions are conceptual and analytical rather than straight-forward, which is good for those candidates who have done in-depth study of basic books and really understand them.
The current events based question did take a hit this year, UPSC has asked few of them as compared to last year.
The last year prelims paper was “criticized” in many forums as the questions were not very UPSC like.
However this year, UPSC stuck to its standards and asked those questions that really resonates with the demand of the exam.
For upcoming prelims, there will be no more surprises ( according to our opinion) and the paper will be as analytical as this years. It might be little tougher than this years.
The reason we are certain of this fact is not based on “prediction” or “feeling”, it is based on a news report which we came across few days back (New Report)
It is in tune with the recommendations of the Alagh Committee, which observed that “the standard of testing should be raised incrementally and the questions should be designed to test a broad spectrum of knowledge”
PRELIMS 2018 Strategy
The devil is in the the details:-
Few questions this year such as those related to IPR & DIPP as nodal agency or question related to NPS were asked to check the aspirants “eye for detail”.
Irrespective of which site you follow, do an in-detail reading of the policy at least once and make a note of it (especially those points that seems “odd or out-of-the-box”)
The current events question related to policy and program will not be humongous for next year as all the policy of this government has already been launched, so how many more will be there – not much of course.
Question related to government initiatives and policy will be less going forward for the same reason that all the polices are already launched by the government and there is hardly any new policy coming out these days.
Always look out for the CATCH:-
Always look out for the CATCH, that is look out for those points that can be tricky. For example , UPSC asked a question related to bio-remediation this year, although almost all of you had prepared for the concept of bio-remediation yet the question can be tricky.
A golden rule for this kind of question is – Always find out the limitations of any technology or in-applicability of a policy. The questions are getting very specific, hence this will be very important for next year exam as well.
For example – if you read on bio-remediation, check where it is not very efficient or what are its limitations. That will go a long way in helping you eliminate the options, also as compared to applicability, shortcomings or ineligibility of a concept or policy is usually less and easy to remember.
Focus on the CATCH:-
Last year Start up India program was on the forefront, yet UPSC asked about Stand up India and its application. Similarly this year , UPSC asked about UNNAT BHARAT scheme.
The name of this kind of scheme does not resonate well with their objective. Hence they are the “CATCH” and can confuse an aspirant in real-exam.So focus more on them. The name of the schemes implies something where as their objectives are entirely different.
Don’t solely rely on Current Affairs materials-
The current affairs based question will be comparatively less going forth, so while you prepare current affairs, don’t compromise on static portion. Also if the current affairs is little analytical in nature, spend little time over it to internalize and understand.(For example-Indus water Treaty and which one belong to India exclusively etc).
The days of short-cut seems over, so do a rigorous study of static portion as well.
Substantiate your study with Map:-
Every-time you read a news that has geographical connotation, always refer a map. For example – if you read a news on Syria, check its location, check the map , and its surrounding region. Also check the periphery region as well. For example, if you read on Syria and check the map , do check Mediterranean sea in the map as well. Or if you read a news on India’s rescue mission in Gulf, add knowledge of Map to your study.
This is how all mapping question are framed by UPSC (all the time)
For Environment question- Focus more on organizations-
Environment questions were little tough this year. So prepare a list of organization and initiatives, especially those related to UN.( One should obtain full knowledge on all UN systems and programs). Also focus on few important NGOs and Initiatives that are not sponsored by any formal systems. While UN or govt initiatives are essentially top-down, NGOs and civil society initiatives are bottom-up.
A case in point is water.org , which may sound like part of UN or intergovernmental initiative but it is an initiative by group of individual (Matt Demon is part of it) and it devised the concept of water credit.
If you don’t know it, and a question is asked on water credit , one would be inclined to think that it is an UN initiative or related to some kind of protocol ( For example-Kyoto and carbon credit).
For History and Culture – Don’t miss the woods for the tree:-
For any history related question , develop a strong sense of chronology, as UPSC is asking this kind of questions. Also last year there was a question on Keshab Chandra Sen and this year it was related to Radhakant Deb, and it appears UPSC has been shifting its reference material to frame tougher question on history year after year.
Don’t loose sleep over it because if you invest a huge amount of time to get one question right, chances are that you might miss the woods for the tree. Read the standard material , but read them thoroughly.
To Sum it up , here is what you should do for PRELIMS 2018:-
- Start with basic books, read them thoroughly, solve all previous questions related to static portion. Usually 2 or 3 questions are always repeated by UPSC (Mediterranean question was asked in 2014 as well)
- Build a strong sense of chronology on History, read the standard books thoroughly. Meanwhile allow us do some research and find out the reference sources.
- Develop a strong knowledge on Map. Integrate knowledge of location in all your studies and wherever applicable.
- Culture questions were tough this year (Except the Padmapani question). Apply the golden rule for history and culture- Don’t miss the woods for the trees.
- Don’t restrict your learning to understanding the environmental concepts, do find out their limitations.
- For all policies, check where it is not applicable and the implementing agency/nodal agency.(For example Dept of Pharma is under Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizer- that’s a catch)
- Always have an eye for the “CATCH” and focus more on them. UPSC always goes for the catch.(Example- Brominated Vegetable oil in Soft drinks,NPS, Unnat Bharat, Radhakant Deb and many more)
- Follow PIB regularly (It has taken over the place of “thehindu” this time)
- Lastly, don’t miss a word from the Polity book.
Of course, there are certain other findings/pattern study with us related to PRELIMS and MAINS, we will be soon be releasing them once we finalize. Meanwhile, do remember- “The battle is not over until you win” – that should be your guiding spirit.
Thank You
UPSCTREE
Recent Posts
The United Nations has shaped so much of global co-operation and regulation that we wouldn’t recognise our world today without the UN’s pervasive role in it. So many small details of our lives – such as postage and copyright laws – are subject to international co-operation nurtured by the UN.
In its 75th year, however, the UN is in a difficult moment as the world faces climate crisis, a global pandemic, great power competition, trade wars, economic depression and a wider breakdown in international co-operation.
Still, the UN has faced tough times before – over many decades during the Cold War, the Security Council was crippled by deep tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. The UN is not as sidelined or divided today as it was then. However, as the relationship between China and the US sours, the achievements of global co-operation are being eroded.
The way in which people speak about the UN often implies a level of coherence and bureaucratic independence that the UN rarely possesses. A failure of the UN is normally better understood as a failure of international co-operation.
We see this recently in the UN’s inability to deal with crises from the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, to civil conflict in Syria, and the failure of the Security Council to adopt a COVID-19 resolution calling for ceasefires in conflict zones and a co-operative international response to the pandemic.
The UN administration is not primarily to blame for these failures; rather, the problem is the great powers – in the case of COVID-19, China and the US – refusing to co-operate.
Where states fail to agree, the UN is powerless to act.
Marking the 75th anniversary of the official formation of the UN, when 50 founding nations signed the UN Charter on June 26, 1945, we look at some of its key triumphs and resounding failures.
Five successes
1. Peacekeeping
The United Nations was created with the goal of being a collective security organisation. The UN Charter establishes that the use of force is only lawful either in self-defence or if authorised by the UN Security Council. The Security Council’s five permanent members, being China, US, UK, Russia and France, can veto any such resolution.
The UN’s consistent role in seeking to manage conflict is one of its greatest successes.
A key component of this role is peacekeeping. The UN under its second secretary-general, the Swedish statesman Dag Hammarskjöld – who was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace prize after he died in a suspicious plane crash – created the concept of peacekeeping. Hammarskjöld was responding to the 1956 Suez Crisis, in which the US opposed the invasion of Egypt by its allies Israel, France and the UK.
UN peacekeeping missions involve the use of impartial and armed UN forces, drawn from member states, to stabilise fragile situations. “The essence of peacekeeping is the use of soldiers as a catalyst for peace rather than as the instruments of war,” said then UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, when the forces won the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize following missions in conflict zones in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Central America and Europe.
However, peacekeeping also counts among the UN’s major failures.
2. Law of the Sea
Negotiated between 1973 and 1982, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) set up the current international law of the seas. It defines states’ rights and creates concepts such as exclusive economic zones, as well as procedures for the settling of disputes, new arrangements for governing deep sea bed mining, and importantly, new provisions for the protection of marine resources and ocean conservation.
Mostly, countries have abided by the convention. There are various disputes that China has over the East and South China Seas which present a conflict between power and law, in that although UNCLOS creates mechanisms for resolving disputes, a powerful state isn’t necessarily going to submit to those mechanisms.
Secondly, on the conservation front, although UNCLOS is a huge step forward, it has failed to adequately protect oceans that are outside any state’s control. Ocean ecosystems have been dramatically transformed through overfishing. This is an ecological catastrophe that UNCLOS has slowed, but failed to address comprehensively.
3. Decolonisation
The idea of racial equality and of a people’s right to self-determination was discussed in the wake of World War I and rejected. After World War II, however, those principles were endorsed within the UN system, and the Trusteeship Council, which monitored the process of decolonisation, was one of the initial bodies of the UN.
Although many national independence movements only won liberation through bloody conflicts, the UN has overseen a process of decolonisation that has transformed international politics. In 1945, around one third of the world’s population lived under colonial rule. Today, there are less than 2 million people living in colonies.
When it comes to the world’s First Nations, however, the UN generally has done little to address their concerns, aside from the non-binding UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007.
4. Human rights
The Human Rights Declaration of 1948 for the first time set out fundamental human rights to be universally protected, recognising that the “inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”.
Since 1948, 10 human rights treaties have been adopted – including conventions on the rights of children and migrant workers, and against torture and discrimination based on gender and race – each monitored by its own committee of independent experts.
The language of human rights has created a new framework for thinking about the relationship between the individual, the state and the international system. Although some people would prefer that political movements focus on ‘liberation’ rather than ‘rights’, the idea of human rights has made the individual person a focus of national and international attention.
5. Free trade
Depending on your politics, you might view the World Trade Organisation as a huge success, or a huge failure.
The WTO creates a near-binding system of international trade law with a clear and efficient dispute resolution process.
The majority Australian consensus is that the WTO is a success because it has been good for Australian famers especially, through its winding back of subsidies and tariffs.
However, the WTO enabled an era of globalisation which is now politically controversial.
Recently, the US has sought to disrupt the system. In addition to the trade war with China, the Trump Administration has also refused to appoint tribunal members to the WTO’s Appellate Body, so it has crippled the dispute resolution process. Of course, the Trump Administration is not the first to take issue with China’s trade strategies, which include subsidises for ‘State Owned Enterprises’ and demands that foreign firms transfer intellectual property in exchange for market access.
The existence of the UN has created a forum where nations can discuss new problems, and climate change is one of them. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was set up in 1988 to assess climate science and provide policymakers with assessments and options. In 1992, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change created a permanent forum for negotiations.
However, despite an international scientific body in the IPCC, and 165 signatory nations to the climate treaty, global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase.
Under the Paris Agreement, even if every country meets its greenhouse gas emission targets we are still on track for ‘dangerous warming’. Yet, no major country is even on track to meet its targets; while emissions will probably decline this year as a result of COVID-19, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will still increase.
This illustrates a core conundrum of the UN in that it opens the possibility of global cooperation, but is unable to constrain states from pursuing their narrowly conceived self-interests. Deep co-operation remains challenging.
Five failures of the UN
1. Peacekeeping
During the Bosnian War, Dutch peacekeeping forces stationed in the town of Srebrenica, declared a ‘safe area’ by the UN in 1993, failed in 1995 to stop the massacre of more than 8000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces. This is one of the most widely discussed examples of the failures of international peacekeeping operations.
On the massacre’s 10th anniversary, then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wrote that the UN had “made serious errors of judgement, rooted in a philosophy of impartiality”, contributing to a mass murder that would “haunt our history forever”.
If you look at some of the other infamous failures of peacekeeping missions – in places such as Rwanda, Somalia and Angola – it is the limited powers given to peacekeeping operations that have resulted in those failures.
2. The invasion of Iraq
The invasion of Iraq by the US in 2003, which was unlawful and without Security Council authorisation, reflects the fact that the UN is has very limited capacity to constrain the actions of great powers.
The Security Council designers created the veto power so that any of the five permanent members could reject a Council resolution, so in that way it is programmed to fail when a great power really wants to do something that the international community generally condemns.
In the case of the Iraq invasion, the US didn’t veto a resolution, but rather sought authorisation that it did not get. The UN, if you go by the idea of collective security, should have responded by defending Iraq against this unlawful use of force.
The invasion proved a humanitarian disaster with the loss of more than 400,000 lives, and many believe that it led to the emergence of the terrorist Islamic State.
3. Refugee crises
The UN brokered the 1951 Refugee Convention to address the plight of people displaced in Europe due to World War II; years later, the 1967 Protocol removed time and geographical restrictions so that the Convention can now apply universally (although many countries in Asia have refused to sign it, owing in part to its Eurocentric origins).
Despite these treaties, and the work of the UN High Commission for Refugees, there is somewhere between 30 and 40 million refugees, many of them, such as many Palestinians, living for decades outside their homelands. This is in addition to more than 40 million people displaced within their own countries.
While for a long time refugee numbers were reducing, in recent years, particularly driven by the Syrian conflict, there have been increases in the number of people being displaced.
During the COVID-19 crisis, boatloads of Rohingya refugees were turned away by port after port. This tragedy has echoes of pre-World War II when ships of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany were refused entry by multiple countries.
And as a catastrophe of a different kind looms, there is no international framework in place for responding to people who will be displaced by rising seas and other effects of climate change.
4. Conflicts without end
Across the world, there is a shopping list of unresolved civil conflicts and disputed territories.
Palestine and Kashmir are two of the longest-running failures of the UN to resolve disputed lands. More recent, ongoing conflicts include the civil wars in Syria and Yemen.
The common denominator of unresolved conflicts is either division among the great powers, or a lack of international interest due to the geopolitical stakes not being sufficiently high. For instance, the inaction during the Rwandan civil war in the 1990s was not due to a division among great powers, but rather a lack of political will to engage.
In Syria, by contrast, Russia and the US have opposing interests and back opposing sides: Russia backs the government of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whereas the US does not.
5. Acting like it’s 1945
The UN is increasingly out of step with the reality of geopolitics today.
The permanent members of the Security Council reflect the division of power internationally at the end of World War II. The continuing exclusion of Germany, Japan, and rising powers such as India and Indonesia, reflects the failure to reflect the changing balance of power.
Also, bodies such as the IMF and the World Bank, which are part of the UN system, continue to be dominated by the West. In response, China has created potential rival institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Western domination of UN institutions undermines their credibility. However, a more fundamental problem is that institutions designed in 1945 are a poor fit with the systemic global challenges – of which climate change is foremost – that we face today.