Grade 12 Humanities: Political science

In this unit, 'Contemporary world politics', you learn to describe the cold war and globalisation. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Contemporary world politics' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: describe the cold war and globalisation. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Describe the Cold War as a rivalry between two superpowers, the USA and the USSR, that lasted from about 1945 to 1991, so 1991 - 1945 = 46 years. They never fought each other directly. The world split into a capitalist bloc led by the USA and a communist bloc led by the USSR, and both built huge nuclear arsenals.
2. Step 2, Place key events in order. 1948 to 1949: the Berlin blockade. 1949 and 1955: two rival military alliances formed, one western and one eastern. 1950 to 1953: the Korean War. 1961: the Berlin Wall built. October 1962: the Cuban missile crisis, which lasted 13 days (16 to 28 October) and came close to nuclear war.
3. Step 3, Describe the third path. Many newly independent states, including India, did not want to join either bloc and followed non-alignment: judging each issue on its merits and keeping independent foreign policy. They wanted development and an end to colonial rule, and they pressed both superpowers to reduce nuclear danger.
4. Step 4, Trace the end. The Berlin Wall was opened in November 1989, Germany reunited in October 1990, and in December 1991 the USSR dissolved into 15 independent republics. The bipolar world became unipolar, with the USA as the strongest power, though new centres of power such as China and the European Union soon grew.
5. Step 5, Describe globalisation: growing flows of goods, money, people, ideas and technology across borders, driven by trade liberalisation and the internet. India's 1991 reforms opened its economy. A shirt may be designed in one country, made from cotton grown in a second and stitched in a third. Benefits: choice and jobs. Concerns: unequal gains and cultural pressure.
6. Step 6, Your turn: order these events: Korean War begins, Berlin Wall opens, Berlin Wall built, USSR dissolves. Then give one benefit and one concern of globalisation. Answer: 1950, 1961 (built), 1989 (opens), 1991 (USSR dissolves); benefit: cheaper goods; concern: local workers losing jobs to cheaper imports.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Describe the cold war and globalisation: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Politics in India since independence', you learn to trace key political developments. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Politics in India since independence' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: trace key political developments. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Trace the start. India became independent on 15 August 1947 along with the painful partition of the subcontinent, which displaced millions. The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950. The first general election in 1951 to 1952 covered over 170 million eligible voters, many unable to read, so parties were given symbols to help them.
2. Step 2, Trace nation building. Over 500 princely states were brought into the Union by 1950. In 1956 the States Reorganisation Act redrew many state boundaries on linguistic lines, because people wanted administration in their own language. This showed that India could accept diversity inside one federal nation.
3. Step 3, Trace the economy. Five Year Plans began in 1951 and favoured heavy industry in a mixed economy. From the mid-1960s the Green Revolution raised wheat and rice yields. A balance of payments crisis led to the 1991 reforms, which cut licensing, lowered import taxes and opened trade. From 1947 to 1991 is 44 years of planned economy.
4. Step 4, Trace politics. One party dominated until 1967, when it lost power in several states. The Emergency ran from 25 June 1975 to 21 March 1977, about 21 months, with rights suspended and the press censored. The 1977 election brought the first change of ruling party at the Centre, and from 1989 coalition governments became common.
5. Step 5, Trace deepening democracy. In 1992 the 73rd and 74th Amendments strengthened local government. Later laws gave citizens the right to information (2005) and the right to education (2009). Link cause and effect: each crisis was followed by a correction, such as stronger courts and elections after the Emergency.
6. Step 6, Your turn: put in order and give the decade: the Emergency, liberalisation, language-based reorganisation, the first general election. Answer: first general election (1951 to 52, the 1950s), reorganisation (1956, 1950s), Emergency (1975 to 77, 1970s), liberalisation (1991, 1990s).

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Trace key political developments: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'International organisations and security', you learn to describe the UN and global security. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'International organisations and security' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: describe the UN and global security. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Describe the UN's origin. It was founded on 24 October 1945 by 51 states after the Second World War, to maintain peace and security, protect human rights and promote development. It now has 193 members (check the current figure) and its headquarters is in New York. Every member state belongs to the General Assembly with one vote each.
2. Step 2, Name the six principal organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, the Economic and Social Council, and the Trusteeship Council, which suspended operations in 1994 when the last trust territory became independent. The Secretary-General heads the Secretariat and is the chief administrative officer.
3. Step 3, Describe the Security Council. It has 15 members: 5 permanent (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the USA) with a veto, and 10 elected for two-year terms. A resolution needs 9 of 15 votes and no veto. If 12 vote yes but one permanent member votes no, the resolution fails: 12 is enough, the veto is not.
4. Step 4, Describe peacekeeping. Soldiers and police wearing blue helmets are sent, usually with the consent of the parties, to monitor ceasefires, protect civilians and help build peace. Other tools are sanctions and, in rare cases, authorised force. Member states pay for operations and many, including India, contribute troops.
5. Step 5, Describe current security challenges: nuclear weapons, terrorism, civil wars, cyber attacks and pandemics. Arms-control treaties and regional bodies help. Critics say the Council still reflects the 1945 power balance, so India and others ask for reform and a permanent seat. Veto use can block action even when most members agree.
6. Step 6, Your turn: a resolution gets 10 yes votes, 3 no votes from elected members and 2 abstentions, with no veto. Does it pass? Answer: yes. It needs 9 votes, it has 10, and no permanent member voted no; an abstention is not a veto.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Describe the UN and global security: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Environment, resources and human rights', you learn to link politics to environmental and human rights issues. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Place it: find where and when 'Environment, resources and human rights' happens, on a map, a timeline or in a local example.
• Gather: read or listen to two short sources and note who is speaking and why.
• Use it: link politics to environmental and human rights issues. Give a reason and one piece of evidence for every point.
• Weigh it: say what another person might think, and why, before you decide.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Link politics to resources: governments decide who owns, uses and pays the costs of water, forests, land, fuel and clean air. A dam may bring electricity and irrigation but submerge villages, so those displaced often protest and ask for fair compensation. These are political choices about who gains and who loses.
2. Step 2, Link politics to global environment issues. The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio began a series of climate talks, and the 2015 Paris Agreement aims to hold warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursue 1.5. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities says all states must act but rich states, which emitted more, should do more.
3. Step 3, Compare totals with fairness using invented numbers. Country A emits 1,000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide with 100 million people: 1,000 / 100 = 10 tonnes each. Country B emits 600 million tonnes with 1,000 million people: 600 / 1,000 = 0.6 tonnes each. B emits less in total and far less per person.
4. Step 4, Link to conflict and cooperation. Rivers cross borders, so states negotiate sharing treaties. Forest-dwelling communities depend on the commons and may lose access when land is leased for mines. India's Forest Rights Act (2006) recognises such claims. Show how resource scarcity can lead to dispute and how rules can prevent it.
5. Step 5, Link to human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, has 30 articles. Indian courts have read the right to life under Article 21 to include a clean environment. Pollution and drought usually hit poor families hardest, so environmental protection and human rights are linked.
6. Step 6, Your turn: Country C emits 200 million tonnes with 20 million people. Find emissions per person and compare with Country A above. Answer: 200 / 20 = 10 tonnes per person, equal to A's 10, though C's total is much smaller, so total and per-person figures can tell different stories.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Link politics to environmental and human rights issues: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

On the slide: L1 Basic · What government does

Notes: Name what a government does and give one rule that affects daily life. Notes: use the school as a model; learners list who makes the rules, who enforces them and who can ask for a change.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Rights, duties and voting

Notes: Explain a right, a duty and why people vote. Notes: learners hold a class vote on one real choice and note who did not vote and why; discuss whether a result is fair if only half take part.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Constitutions and electoral systems

Notes: Describe separation of powers and compare plurality and proportional voting. Notes: three parties win 40, 35 and 25 per cent; proportional voting in 100 seats gives 40, 35 and 25, whereas a seat can be won with 40 per cent under plurality.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Comparing political systems

Notes: Compare parliamentary and presidential systems and measure disproportionality. Notes: votes of 45, 35 and 20 per cent with seats of 55, 30 and 15 give gaps of 10, 5 and 5; half the sum is 10 points; learners say which system helps small parties.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Power, ideology and coalitions

Notes: Analyse sovereignty, ideology and a coalition problem in a 100-seat house. Notes: parties hold 48, 30 and 22 seats and need 51; every pair has a majority, so the 30 and 22 seat parties could together exclude the largest.

This course: Grade 12 Humanities Political science is at this level. Its units include Contemporary world politics; Politics in India since independence; International organisations and security; Environment, resources and human rights.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Institutions and party systems

Notes: Evaluate how institutions shape the number of parties and policy stability. Notes: vote shares 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 give an effective number of parties of about 2.63; learners compare it with a two-party case and discuss veto players.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Causal inference in comparative politics

Notes: Design a comparative study and defend an estimate of a policy effect. Notes: treated turnout moves from 50 to 58 and control from 52 to 55, so the difference in differences is 5 points; test the parallel-trends assumption and list threats.