CUET UG 2027 / Political Science syllabus

CUET UG 2027 · Paper 323

CUET Political Science Syllabus 2027: Units, Chapters and Books

The official CUET UG Political Science syllabus (paper 323), unit by unit, with the book chapter each unit comes from, what changed from 2025 to 2026, and where to practise.

Practise CUET Political Science in the Study OS Official NTA syllabus PDF

2027 status: NTA has not released the CUET UG 2027 syllabus. This page shows the official CUET UG 2026 Political Science syllabus, the latest available, and will be updated when NTA publishes the 2027 version.

CUET Political Science at a glance

Paper code: 323 (Political Science)
Questions: 50 multiple-choice questions, all compulsory
Time: 60 minutes
Marking: +5 for a correct answer, minus 1 for a wrong answer; 250 maximum
Syllabus: 16 units, 15 chapters in our chapter map

How the CUET Political Science paper is structured

CUET Political Science (paper 323) has two courses: Politics in India Since Independence (9 units) and Contemporary World Politics (7 units). There are no options.

The unit titles follow an older CBSE list, but every topic sits in the two current NCERT class 12 books. Units 8 and 9 of the first course both map to the last chapter of Politics in India since Independence.

CUET Political Science syllabus, unit by unit

Unit titles and topics as printed in NTA’s CUET UG 2026 syllabus PDF.

Politics in India Since Independence

PISI 1

Era of One-Party Dominance

First three general elections, nature of Congress dominance at the National level, uneven dominance at the state level, coalitional nature of Congress.
Major opposition parties.

PISI 2

Nation - Building and Its Problems

Nehru's approach to nation-building: Legacy of partition: challenge of 'refugee' resettlement, the Kashmir problem.
Organisation and reorganisation of states; Political conflicts over language.

PISI 3

Politics of Planned Development

Five year plans, expansion of state sector and the rise of new economic interest.

PISI 4

India's External Relation

Nehru's foreign policy.
Sino-Indian war of 1962, Indo-Pak war of 1965 and 1971.
India's nuclear programme and shifting alliance in world politics.

PISI 5

Challenge to and Restoration of Congress System

Political succession after Nehru.
Non-Congressism and electoral upset of 1967, Congress split and reconstitution, Congress' victory in 1971 elections, politics of 'garibi hatao'.

PISI 6

Crises of the Constitutional Order

Search for 'committed' bureaucracy and judiciary.
Navnirman movement in Gujarat and the Bihar movement.
Emergency: context, constitutional and extra-constitutional dimensions, resistance to emergency.
1977 elections and the formation of Janata Party.
Rise of civil liberties organisations.

PISI 7

Regional Aspiration and Conflicts

Rise of regional parties.
Punjab crisis and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
The Kashmir situation.
Challenges and responses in the North East.

PISI 8

Democratic Upsurge and Coalition Politics

Participatory upsurge in 1990s.
Rise of the JD and the BJP.
Increasing role of regional parties and coalition politics.
UF and NDA governments.
Elections 2004-2019 and UPA government with addition of NDA government.

PISI 9

Recent Issues and Challenges

Challenge of and responses to globalization: new economic policy and its opposition.
Rise of OBCs in North Indian politics.
Dalit politics in electoral and non-electoral arena.
Challenge of communalism: Ayodhya issue.

Contemporary World Politics

CWP 1

Disintegration of the 'Second World' and the Collapse of Bipolarity

New entities in world politics: Russia, Balkan states and, Central Asian states,
Introduction of democratic politics and capitalism in post-communist regimes.
India's relations with Russia and other post-communist countries.

CWP 2

Alternative Centers of Economic and Political Power

Rise of China as an economic power in post-Mao era, creation and expansion of European Union, ASEAN.
India's changing relations with China, Japan and South Korea.

CWP 3

South Asia in the Post Cold War Era

Democratisation and its reversals in Pakistan and Nepal.
Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
Impact of economic globalization on the region.
Conflicts and efforts for peace in South Asia.
India's relation with its neighbours.

CWP 4

International Organisations in a Unipolar World

Restructuring and the future of the UN.
India's position in the restructured UN.
Rise of new international actors: new international economic organisations, NGOs.
How democratic and accountable are the new institution of global governance?

CWP 5

Security in Contemporary World

Traditional concerns of security and politics of disarmament.
Non-traditional of human security: global poverty, health and education.
Issues of human rights and migration.

CWP 6

Environment and Natural Resources in Global Politics

Environment movement and evolution of global environmental norms.
Conflicts over traditional and common property resources.
Right of indigenous people.
India's stand in global environmental debates.

CWP 7

Globalisation and its critics

Economic, cultural and political manifestations.
Debates on the nature of consequences of globalization.
Anti-globalisation movements.
India as an arena of globalization and struggles against it.

Chapter map

Each row is one chapter of study, with the book it comes from. Where a syllabus topic is missing from that book, the row says so.

Challenges of Nation BuildingNCERT Politics in India since Independence, chapter 1
Era of One-party DominanceNCERT Politics in India since Independence, chapter 2
Politics of Planned DevelopmentNCERT Politics in India since Independence, chapter 3
India's External RelationsNCERT Politics in India since Independence, chapter 4
Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress SystemNCERT Politics in India since Independence, chapter 5
The Crisis of Democratic OrderNCERT Politics in India since Independence, chapter 6
Regional AspirationsNCERT Politics in India since Independence, chapter 7
Recent Developments in Indian PoliticsNCERT Politics in India since Independence, chapter 8
The End of BipolarityNCERT Contemporary World Politics, chapter 1
Contemporary Centres of PowerNCERT Contemporary World Politics, chapter 2
Contemporary South AsiaNCERT Contemporary World Politics, chapter 3
International OrganisationsNCERT Contemporary World Politics, chapter 4
Security in the Contemporary WorldNCERT Contemporary World Politics, chapter 5
Environment and Natural ResourcesNCERT Contemporary World Politics, chapter 6
GlobalisationNCERT Contemporary World Politics, chapter 7

What changed from 2025 to 2026

No change (one hyphenation difference: 'postcommunist' -> 'post-communist').

Compared against NTA’s CUET UG 2025 syllabus PDF. When the 2027 syllabus is out, this section will compare 2027 with 2026.

Books to study from

NCERT Politics in India since Independence (class 12)
NCERT Contemporary World Politics (class 12)

NCERT books are on ncert.nic.in; NIOS course material is on nios.ac.in.

Practise CUET Political Science chapter by chapter

The Study OS CUET track follows the chapter map above. Choose Political Science as one of your papers, revise a chapter, then test it with exam-style questions and read the explanation after every answer.

Practise CUET Political Science

Frequently asked questions

What is the exam pattern of the CUET Political Science paper?

CUET UG Political Science (paper code 323) has 50 compulsory multiple-choice questions to be answered in 60 minutes. A correct answer earns 5 marks and a wrong answer costs 1 mark, so the paper is out of 250. This is the CUET UG 2026 pattern; NTA has not announced any change for 2027.

Has NTA released the CUET Political Science syllabus for 2027?

Not yet. The syllabus on this page is the official CUET UG 2026 Political Science syllabus, which is the latest one NTA has published. This page will be updated when the 2027 syllabus is released.

Which books should I study for CUET Political Science?

Study from: NCERT Politics in India since Independence (class 12); NCERT Contemporary World Politics (class 12).

What changed in the CUET Political Science syllabus?

No change from 2025 apart from one hyphenation. This compares the 2025 and 2026 syllabi; the 2027 syllabus is not out yet.

Are The Cold War Era and US Hegemony in CUET Political Science?

No. Those chapters were removed from NCERT Contemporary World Politics in 2023 and are not in the 2026 CUET syllabus.

Which books are needed for CUET Political Science?

The two NCERT class 12 books: Politics in India since Independence and Contemporary World Politics.