SPI Polity · Free notes
World Polity, Democracy and International Relations: SPI Polity
World Polity, Democracy and International Relations has 11 questions in the SPI bank, all from the LWS mock tests and none from the 2022 paper. Despite the long name, every one of them is about how countries are governed and how political parties work, and most follow the NCERT Class 10 chapter Political Parties closely. Two are "which is NOT" questions built from a list, and the options of the rest sit close together, so the page teaches each NCERT list whole rather than one item at a time.
The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.
Subtopic notes
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 4 reference tables · 10 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 4 reference tables · 10 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Reference tables (4)
The State and forms of government6 rows
| Form | Who holds power |
|---|---|
| Democracy | The people, through elected representatives |
| Monarchy | A king or queen, usually by birth |
| Oligarchy | A small group of people |
| Dictatorship | One person, not elected |
| Federal | Shared between the centre and the states |
| Unitary | One central government |
One-party, two-party and multi-party systems3 rows
| System | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One-party | One single party runs the government | China |
| Two-party | Power moves between two main parties | United States, United Kingdom |
| Multi-party | Many parties; coalitions are common | India |
What a party is made of, what it does, and where it falls short4 rows
| List | Items |
|---|---|
| Components | Leaders, active members, followers |
| Functions | Contest elections, offer policies, make laws, run governments, act as opposition, shape public opinion, give access to welfare schemes |
| Lack of internal democracy | Power at the top, no membership registers, no meetings, no regular internal elections |
| Other challenges | Dynastic succession, money and muscle power, lack of meaningful choice |
India's main national parties5 rows
| Party | Founded | One line |
|---|---|---|
| Indian National Congress | 1885 | The oldest party |
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 1980 | Cultural nationalism in its idea of the nation |
| CPI(M) | 1964 | A communist party |
| Bahujan Samaj Party | 1984 | Founded under Kanshi Ram |
| Nationalist Congress Party | 1999 | Formed after a split in the Congress; in the UPA from 2004 |
Watch out for (10)
- Federal is not a form of rule by the people→ The State and forms of government
- Government and State are not the same→ The State and forms of government
- A few is oligarchy, one is dictatorship→ The State and forms of government
- India is multi-party→ One-party, two-party and multi-party systems
- One party, not one person→ One-party, two-party and multi-party systems
- Public opinion, not private→ What a party is made of, what it does, and where it falls short
- Registers are a good sign→ What a party is made of, what it does, and where it falls short
- Citizens are not a component→ What a party is made of, what it does, and where it falls short
- Nationalism, not secularism→ India's main national parties
- Led by the Congress, joined by the NCP→ India's main national parties
Question weightage by concept
4 concepts · 11 questions — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
Question weightage by concept
4 concepts · 11 questions — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
| Concept | Qs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The State and forms of government | 3 | 27% |
| One-party, two-party and multi-party systems | 3 | 27% |
| What a party is made of, what it does, and where it falls short | 3 | 27% |
| India's main national parties | 2 | 18% |
Test yourself on a real paper
Sit a past SPI paper, timed and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.