All Free Political Science MCQs with Answers

Every Political Science question in the bank, across all chapters, each with the correct answer and a written explanation. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

100 questions · page 3 of 5

  • A. Influence a target's conduct through economic pressure
  • B. Guarantee immediate military defeat of the target
  • C. Create a permanent customs union among allies
  • D. Replace all diplomatic communication with trade restrictions

Explanation: Sanctions restrict trade, finance or other economic activity to pressure a state or organisation to change its behaviour.

Correct answer: Influence a target's conduct through economic pressure
  • A. The survival and welfare of individuals
  • B. The expansion of a state's territory
  • C. The size of a state's armed forces
  • D. The protection of diplomatic buildings

Explanation: Human security broadens the focus of security from the state alone to the safety and well-being of people.

Correct answer: The survival and welfare of individuals
  • A. A government formed after a military coup
  • B. A set of principles, norms and rules for a specific issue area
  • C. A secret agreement between two intelligence agencies
  • D. A single country's constitutional system

Explanation: An international regime consists of agreed principles, norms, rules and decision procedures within an issue area, such as trade or the…

Correct answer: A set of principles, norms and rules for a specific issue area
  • A. Manage the global monetary system
  • B. Maintain international peace and security
  • C. Administer national elections in member states
  • D. Set uniform tax rates for international companies

Explanation: The Security Council has primary responsibility within the United Nations system for maintaining international peace and security.

Correct answer: Maintain international peace and security
  • A. Political and economic cooperation in South Asia
  • B. Military integration among European states
  • C. A common currency across the Middle East
  • D. Worldwide regulation of private corporations

Explanation: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation promotes cooperation among South Asian countries in areas such as economic and social…

Correct answer: Political and economic cooperation in South Asia
  • A. States can achieve cooperation through institutions and interdependence
  • B. States mainly seek security through military competition
  • C. International politics is shaped only by material capabilities
  • D. Domestic culture has no effect on foreign policy

Explanation: Liberalism holds that institutions, economic interdependence and repeated cooperation can reduce conflict among states.

Correct answer: States can achieve cooperation through institutions and interdependence
  • A. Treaties must be performed in good faith
  • B. Treaties must be approved by every state
  • C. Treaties must apply only during wartime
  • D. Treaties must be reviewed by the United Nations

Explanation: Pacta sunt servanda means that agreements must be kept, so states must perform their treaty obligations in good faith.

Correct answer: Treaties must be performed in good faith
  • A. Joining or aligning with the stronger power
  • B. Remaining neutral during an international crisis
  • C. Forming a coalition against the strongest power
  • D. Using trade restrictions to change another state's policy

Explanation: Bandwagoning occurs when a weaker state aligns with a powerful state, often to gain protection or avoid becoming its target.

Correct answer: Joining or aligning with the stronger power
  • A. Jus ad bellum concerns entering war, while jus in bello concerns conduct during war
  • B. Jus ad bellum concerns diplomacy, while jus in bello concerns economic sanctions
  • C. Jus ad bellum concerns treaties, while jus in bello concerns state recognition
  • D. Jus ad bellum concerns peacekeeping, while jus in bello concerns refugee protection

Explanation: Jus ad bellum examines whether resorting to force is legally or morally justified.

Correct answer: Jus ad bellum concerns entering war, while jus in bello concerns conduct during war
  • A. Administering rules for international trade
  • B. Providing military protection to member states
  • C. Managing global monetary reserves
  • D. Prosecuting individuals for international crimes

Explanation: The World Trade Organization provides a framework for trade rules and handles disputes between its members.

Correct answer: Administering rules for international trade
  • A. Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah
  • B. The Muqaddimah
  • C. The Republic
  • D. The Reconstruction of Religious Thought

Explanation: Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah explains the caliphate, judicial authority, administration and other public offices in Islamic governance.

Correct answer: Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah
  • A. Virtuous City
  • B. Covenant Community
  • C. Caliphal Province
  • D. Balanced Kingdom

Explanation: Al-Farabi calls the ideal political community Al-Madinah al-Fadilah, commonly translated as the Virtuous City.

Correct answer: Virtuous City
  • A. Asabiyyah
  • B. Shura
  • C. Ijtihad
  • D. Bay'ah

Explanation: Ibn Khaldun uses asabiyyah, or group solidarity, to explain how ruling groups gain power and why their cohesion later weakens.

Correct answer: Asabiyyah
  • A. Loses its group solidarity
  • B. Adopts written law
  • C. Consults religious scholars
  • D. Expands judicial offices

Explanation: For Ibn Khaldun, a dynasty declines when luxury and dependence weaken the solidarity that originally brought it to power.

Correct answer: Loses its group solidarity
  • A. Consultation in public affairs
  • B. Allegiance to a ruler
  • C. Independent legal reasoning
  • D. Collection of public revenue

Explanation: Shura means consultation and indicates that public decisions should involve deliberation and advice.

Correct answer: Consultation in public affairs
  • A. A pledge of allegiance
  • B. A system of taxation
  • C. A legal analogy
  • D. A military campaign

Explanation: Bay'ah is a pledge of allegiance through which political support or recognition is given to a leader.

Correct answer: A pledge of allegiance
  • A. Maslahah
  • B. Asabiyyah
  • C. Futuwwah
  • D. Hijrah

Explanation: Maslahah refers to public benefit or welfare and is used in legal and political reasoning to consider the interests of society.

Correct answer: Maslahah
  • A. Restore moral and social balance
  • B. Separate religion from public life
  • C. Replace law with tribal custom
  • D. Reject all forms of interpretation

Explanation: Shah Waliullah sought religious renewal and social balance by addressing moral decline, political disorder and economic injustice.

Correct answer: Restore moral and social balance
  • A. A means of legal renewal
  • B. A rejection of legislative authority
  • C. A fixed medieval procedure
  • D. A purely mystical experience

Explanation: Iqbal treats ijtihad as a principle that allows Islamic legal and political thought to respond to changing circumstances.

Correct answer: A means of legal renewal
  • A. The former concerns historical institutions, while the latter concerns contemporary political design
  • B. The former rejects law, while the latter creates law without religion
  • C. The former is purely economic, while the latter is purely military
  • D. The former concerns local tribes, while the latter concerns only foreign policy

Explanation: Classical caliphate theory addresses institutions such as the caliph, allegiance and delegated offices within historical Muslim…

Correct answer: The former concerns historical institutions, while the latter concerns contemporary political design