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Predicted Questions with Model Answers
Q1 (5 marks — 50 words): What is meant by a "unipolar world"? When and why did it emerge?
Answer (EN): A unipolar world has one dominant power controlling international order. It emerged with the dissolution of the USSR on 25 December 1991, leaving the United States as the sole superpower. Charles Krauthammer called it the "unipolar moment." US dominance rested on unrivalled military power, dollar-based global economy, NATO expansion, and control of international institutions like IMF and World Bank.
Q2 (5 marks — 50 words): Write a short note on the 9/11 terrorist attacks and their global impact.
Answer (EN): On 11 September 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes in the US, killing 2,977 people in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Consequences: NATO invoked Article 5 (first ever); US invaded Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003); UNSC Resolution 1373 mandated global counter-terrorism cooperation; surveillance powers expanded globally; FATF strengthened terror-financing controls.
Q3 (5 marks — 50 words): What is multipolarity? Name the major power centres in today's world.
Answer (EN): Multipolarity refers to an international order with multiple roughly equal power centres — unlike unipolarity (one) or bipolarity (two). Major power centres today: United States (military and technology), China (manufacturing, BRI, economic weight), European Union (normative power), Russia (nuclear and energy), India (fastest-growing economy, Global South voice), and emerging regional powers like Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
Q4 (10 marks — 150 words): Assess the rise of China as a global power and its challenge to US hegemony.
Answer (EN): China's rise from a developing country to a near-superpower is the defining geopolitical story of the early 21st century. Its economic trajectory — GDP growing from $1.2 trillion (2000) to $17.8 trillion (2023) — was driven by SEZs, export-led manufacturing, WTO membership (2001), and massive infrastructure investment.
Military dimension: China has modernised the PLA, launched aircraft carriers, deployed hypersonic missiles, and militarised the South China Sea, creating security concerns among neighbours and the US.
Diplomatic challenge: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, 2013) spans 140+ countries, offering infrastructure finance as an alternative to Western-led development. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB, 2016) competes with World Bank. BRICS expansion (2024: 10 members) gives China a multilateral platform.
Limits to Chinese power: Demographic decline (aging population, shrinking workforce after one-child policy), real estate crisis (Evergrande collapse), slowing growth (2023: 5.2%), and diplomatic isolation over COVID-19 origins and Taiwan threats constrain China's rise. US-led semiconductor export controls (CHIPS Act, 2022) target China's technology gap.
Conclusion: The China-US rivalry defines 21st-century geopolitics — variously called "Thucydides Trap" (Graham Allison), "new Cold War," or "great power competition." A full military confrontation is unlikely given economic interdependence ($575 billion bilateral trade), but strategic competition will intensify over Taiwan, the South China Sea, and technology supremacy.
Q5 (5 marks — 50 words): Explain the concept of "Strategic Autonomy" in India's foreign policy.
Answer (EN): Strategic autonomy means India maintains an independent foreign policy, engaging all major powers without binding alliance commitments. Post-1991, India replaced strict non-alignment with strategic autonomy — joining QUAD (with US, Australia, Japan) while purchasing Russian S-400 missiles, abstaining on UN votes condemning Russia's Ukraine invasion, and maintaining strong ties with Iran and Israel simultaneously.
Q6 (10 marks — 150 words): Discuss the major challenges to global security in the post-Cold War era.
Answer (EN): The post-Cold War world replaced the structured bipolar deterrence with a complex, multi-dimensional security environment characterised by six major challenges.
1. Terrorism: Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks (2001) demonstrated non-state actors' capacity for mass violence. ISIS's caliphate (2014–19) and ISIS-K's ongoing threat in Central Asia show terrorism has mutated into a global, ideologically-driven phenomenon that conventional military power cannot fully defeat.
2. Nuclear Proliferation: NPT's credibility is strained — North Korea became a nuclear power (tested 2006); Iran's nuclear ambitions remain unresolved; India, Pakistan, and Israel never joined NPT. The risk of nuclear terrorism (theft of fissile material) adds another layer.
3. Cyber Warfare: Stuxnet (2010), Russian election interference (2016), SolarWinds (2020), and Chinese APT operations demonstrate states weaponising cyberspace. Critical infrastructure — power grids, financial systems, hospitals — is vulnerable.
4. Regional Conflicts and State Fragility: Civil wars in Syria (500,000+ dead), Yemen, Libya, and Sudan; the Russia-Ukraine War (2022–present) destabilise regions and generate refugee crises.
5. Climate Security: Climate change as a "threat multiplier" — resource conflicts, climate refugees, and state fragility in climate-vulnerable nations pose medium-term security risks.
6. Technology and Space: Hypersonic missiles, autonomous weapons (lethal autonomous weapon systems — LAWS), and competing satellite constellations in low Earth orbit create new deterrence challenges without adequate arms control frameworks.
India's response: India addresses these through NIA (terrorism), cyber agencies, multilateral forums (FATF, UNSC membership), and strategic partnerships while maintaining strategic autonomy.