Best Political Science Books For UPSC, Check List!

Studying the Best Political Science Books for UPSC is a must if you are planning to ace the UPSC IAS exam in your first attempt. Given the vast syllabus, candidates are required to prepare for the Political Science portion, it is essential that you pick a limited, but the right 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 it is likely that several aspirants might choose this as their optional out of interest. With the best book for Political Science for UPSC in hand, one can improve their understanding of the recent political paradigms, reforms and contexts in a thorough manner. Candidates should stay away from shortcuts and rote memorization for the Political Science optional, and instead refer to the best books for Political Science for UPSC to master the subject. In this article you can find the list of political science books for UPSC.

In this article you can find the best books for Political Science for 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 bookstores.
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 on how to read the Political Science books for UPSC for maximum output.

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List of Best Political Science Books for UPSC

Choosing the right set of Political Science books for UPSC exam is crucial as they will determine what you know about your chosen optional 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 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:

UPSC Political Science Optional Books (Optional Paper-I)
Book Name	Publisher/Author Name	Book Description
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.
An Introduction To Political Theory	O.P. Gauba	Candidates can refer to this book to understand the basics of Political Theory and related concepts.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Indian Government And Politics	B L Fadia	A general guide to how Politics and the Indian government functions.
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.
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.

Also check out the complete Political Science Optional Syllabus for UPSC.

Political Science Books For UPSC - Optional Paper 2

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. One must thoroughly study Western political thought, and comparative foreign politics by using the booklist given below:

UPSC Political Science Optional Books (Optional Paper-II)
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.
International Organisations	Spectrum Books Publication	A very important book to understand about various International Organisations and its functions.
International Relations	V N Khanna	This book completely deals with India’s International Relations and provides wide knowledge in this topic.
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.
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.
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.
MPS-004 Comparative Politics: Issues And Trends	Expert Panel Of GPH	Current issues faced by Politics are covered in detail in this book.
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.

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Other Best Political Science Books to Refer for UPSC

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 Political Science optional paper in UPSC. Since, the Political Science subject 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 for answering questions in the exam. The following are some of the additional books that you can add to your reading list for the UPSC Political Science Optional Papers.

Other Recommended Political Science Books for UPSC Preparation
Book Name	Publisher/Author Name
Theories of International Relations	Palgrave Publications.
The Oxford Handbook of International Relations	Christian Reus-Smit and Duncan Snidal.
Theoretical Aspects of International Politics	Mahendra Kumar
Understanding International Relations	Chris Brown and Kirsten Ainley.
Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches	Georg Sorenson and Robert Jackson.
Our Parliament: An Introduction to Parliament of India	Subhash C. Kashyap
Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers	M. P. Singh and Himanshu Roy
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 for the UPSC exam, it is essential to clear your fundamentals. Read the topics given below to know and understand the basic terminology and theories that you must know to ace this optional subject in the UPSC IAS exam:

Important Political Science Topics for UPSC
Preamble	Judiciary
Constitution of India	State Government- State Executive
Citizenship	State Legislature
Fundamental Rights	Administration of Special Areas
Fundamental Duties	Emergency Provisions
Directive Principles of State Policy	Panchayat Raj and Municipalities
Union	Constitutional Bodies
Parliament	Caste System and Panchayati Raj System
Federalism in India	New Development Banks

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UPSC Political Science Books - FAQs

Which book is best for Political Science optional UPSC?

An Introduction to Political Theory by O. P. Gauba and An Introduction To Constitution by D.D. Basu are considered to be best for Political Science optional UPSC.

Which Political Science books are recommended by toppers for UPSC?

The list of topper-recommended books for UPSC are listed along with their description in this article.

Which are some of the Best Political Science Books for UPSC preparation with last year's questions and answers?

Apart from referring to the Political Science NCERTs, from which are frequently asked in the UPSC exam, candidates must read through to Bipin Chandra’s India’s Struggle for Independence and O.P. Gauba’s An Introduction to Political Theory as questions from these books have appeared in last year’s papers.

What should I study first in Political Science for UPSC?

You must first study the Static syllabus given in the Political Science syllabus for UPSC then move to prepare the International Relations and the Current Affairs.

Is Political Science a scoring optional in the UPSC exam?

For several UPSC toppers of previous years, Political Science has been a preferable choice for the optional subject. However, it is advised that only candidates with a background or extensive knowledge in the subject must opt for Pol. Science as their optional paper.

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