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CSS written syllabus
CSS Current Affairs Syllabus
Current Affairs is a 100-mark compulsory subject in the CSS written exam, examined in one three-hour paper. Below is FPSC's official syllabus, word for word: every section, topics and suggested readings.
- Marks
- 100
- Papers
- 1
- Time
- 3 hours a paper
- Group
- Compulsory
- Subject code
- 4
The paper
100 marksCandidates will be expected to display such general knowledge of history, politics and International Affairs, as deemed necessary to interpret current affairs.
- I.Pakistan's Domestic Affairs (20)
- •Political
- •Economic
- •Social
- II.Pakistan's External Affairs (40)
- •Pakistan’s relations with its Neighbors (India, China, Afghanistan, Russia)
- •Pakistan’s relations with the Muslim World (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey)
- •Pakistan’s relations with the United States
- •Pakistan’s relations with Regional and International Organizations (UN, SAARC, ECO, OIC, WTO, GCC)
- III.Global Issues (40)
- •International Security
- •International Political Economy
- •Human Rights
- •Environment: Global Warming, Kyoto Protocol, Copenhagen Accord
- •Population: world population trends, world population policies
- •Terrorism and Counter Terrorism
- •Global Energy Politics
- •Nuclear Proliferation and Nuclear Security
- •Nuclear Politics in South Asia
- •International Trade (Doha Development Round and Bali Package)
- •Cooperation and Competition in Arabian Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
- •Millennium Development Goals, Current Status
- •Globalization
- •Middle East Crisis
- •Kashmir Issue
- •Palestine Issue
Suggested readings
- 1.Pakistan Foreign Policy 1947-2005: A Concise History, 2011Abdul Sattar
- 2.Issue in Pakistan’s Economy, 2010Akbar S. Zaidi
- 3.Pakistan: A Hard Country, 2012Anatol Lieven
- 4.Government & Politics in South Asia, 6th ed., 2009Baxter, Malik, Kennedy & Oberst,
- 5.Introduction to International Political Economy, 2010David Balaam & Bradford Dillman
- 6.International Organization (Second Edition) 2012Volker Rittberger, Bernhard Zangl and Andress Kruck
- 7.The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times (2011)Mohamed Elbaradei
- 8.International Relations, 2012Joshua Goldstein
- 9.World Politics: Trends & Transformation, 2014-2015Kegley & Blanton
- 10.Pakistan Beyond the Crisis, 2011Maleeha Lodhi
- 11.Globalization in Question, 2009Paul Hirst
- 12.International Political Economy: Interests & Institutions in the Global Economy, 2010Thomas Oatley
- 13.Politics and Change in the Middle East, 10th Ed., Pearson, 2012Andersen, Seibert, and Wagner
- 14.Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb, (2012)Feroz Khan
- 15.Pakistan and World AffairsShamshad Ahmad (Edition-2015)
- 16.World Times Magazine…
Past papers
FPSC's Current Affairs papers from 2016 to 2026, as text. Open a year, or see them all.