Introduction to International Relations MCQs 2026

Customary international law arises from

1. A random opinion polls only ✓
2. B domestic traffic rules only ✓
3. C UN press statements alone ✓
4. D general and consistent practice accepted as law (opinio juris) ✓

The United Nations was established in

1. A 1919 ✓
2. B 1945 ✓
3. C 1648 ✓
4. D 1991 ✓

The League of Nations was created after

1. A World War II ✓
2. B the Cold War ✓
3. C World War I ✓
4. D the Thirty Years' War ✓

Hedley Bull is associated with

1. A neorealist balance of power only ✓
2. B the concept of international society ✓
3. C Marxist dependency theory ✓
4. D postmodern deconstruction only ✓

Martin Wight classified IR traditions as

1. A liberalism, fascism and anarchism only ✓
2. B economics, sociology and biology ✓
3. C only behavioural science ✓
4. D realism, rationalism and revolutionism ✓

Levels of analysis in IR include

1. A only molecular chemistry ✓
2. B only urban planning ✓
3. C individual, state and system levels ✓
4. D only grammar ✓

State-centric IR assumes

1. A NGOs replace all states ✓
2. B only individuals matter ✓
3. C markets eliminate governments ✓
4. D states are the primary actors in world politics ✓

Transnational relations involve

1. A actors operating across state boundaries ✓
2. B only domestic village councils ✓
3. C only intra-provincial trade ✓
4. D only census data ✓

A great power is typically defined by

1. A small population only ✓
2. B superior military, economic and diplomatic capacity ✓
3. C landlocked status only ✓
4. D absence of foreign policy ✓

Middle powers are states that

1. A dominate the entire system militarily ✓
2. B have no foreign policy ✓
3. C exercise influence disproportionate to size through diplomacy and niche roles ✓
4. D are always microstates ✓

The Concert of Europe (19th century) was

1. A a UN specialized agency ✓
2. B a colonial trade cartel only ✓
3. C a Cold War alliance ✓
4. D a great-power management arrangement after Napoleon ✓

The Congress of Vienna (1815) aimed to

1. A start World War I ✓
2. B dissolve all monarchies ✓
3. C restore stability and balance after the Napoleonic Wars ✓
4. D create NATO ✓

Imperialism in IR refers to

1. A equal sovereign cooperation only ✓
2. B complete free trade without coercion ✓
3. C domination of weaker territories by stronger powers ✓
4. D domestic federalism only ✓

Nationalism affects IR by

1. A mobilizing identity and claims to self-determination ✓
2. B eliminating all borders instantly ✓
3. C banning all languages ✓
4. D ending diplomacy ✓

The English School in IR emphasizes

1. A only quantitative data mining ✓
2. B international society, norms and history ✓
3. C only rational choice micro-models ✓
4. D only neuroscience ✓

International Relations (IR) is primarily concerned with

1. A politics among sovereign states and other actors in the international system ✓
2. B only domestic electoral campaigns ✓
3. C only microeconomic pricing ✓
4. D only cultural anthropology of tribes ✓

The scope of International Relations includes

1. A only family law and inheritance ✓
2. B war, diplomacy, trade, international law and global governance ✓
3. C only village council disputes ✓
4. D only classroom pedagogy ✓

A nation-state is best characterized by

1. A a defined territory, a permanent population, a government and sovereignty ✓
2. B only a shared language without territory ✓
3. C only a religious community abroad ✓
4. D only a multinational corporation ✓

Sovereignty in the Westphalian sense means

1. A unlimited power to violate all treaties always ✓
2. B membership in the United Nations only ✓
3. C control of all global markets ✓
4. D supreme authority within a territory and legal independence externally ✓

The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is significant in IR because it

1. A abolished all European monarchies ✓
2. B helped establish the modern state system based on territorial sovereignty ✓
3. C created the League of Nations ✓
4. D ended the Cold War ✓

The Westphalian system emphasized

1. A territorial states as the primary units of international politics ✓
2. B tribal confederations as the only actors ✓
3. C a single world empire under the Pope ✓
4. D city-states without borders only ✓

International society refers to

1. A a community of states bound by shared norms, rules and institutions ✓
2. B only the domestic society of one country ✓
3. C only global civil society NGOs ✓
4. D only military alliances without norms ✓

The evolution of international society since Westphalia has seen

1. A complete elimination of diplomacy ✓
2. B expansion of state membership and growth of international organizations ✓
3. C end of all wars permanently ✓
4. D replacement of states by tribes ✓

Anarchy in IR theory means

1. A complete lawlessness with no rules ever ✓
2. B domestic anarchy within every state ✓
3. C economic autarky only ✓
4. D absence of a world government, not chaos or disorder necessarily ✓

A non-state actor in IR includes

1. A only presidents of states ✓
2. B only provincial governors ✓
3. C only municipal mayors ✓
4. D international organizations, NGOs and multinational corporations ✓

The state remains central in IR because

1. A it controls all global media always ✓
2. B it has eliminated all NGOs ✓
3. C it monopolizes legitimate force and represents members internationally ✓
4. D it is the only actor with culture ✓

Diplomacy is defined as

1. A only propaganda warfare ✓
2. B only espionage without dialogue ✓
3. C only domestic legislation ✓
4. D the management of international relations through negotiation and representation ✓

Foreign policy is

1. A only domestic tax policy ✓
2. B only municipal zoning rules ✓
3. C a government's strategy toward other states and international issues ✓
4. D only party manifestos without action ✓

The international system refers to

1. A only the solar system ✓
2. B only the domestic party system ✓
3. C the pattern of relationships among units (mainly states) at a given time ✓
4. D only the UN building in New York ✓

Bipolarity describes a system with

1. A many equal great powers ✓
2. B one hegemon only ✓
3. C no great powers at all ✓
4. D two dominant powers ✓

Multipolarity describes a system with

1. A exactly two superpowers ✓
2. B several major powers of comparable influence ✓
3. C no states at all ✓
4. D only NGOs ✓

Unipolarity describes a system with

1. A two equal superpowers ✓
2. B fifty equal microstates only ✓
3. C one dominant superpower ✓
4. D no hierarchy ✓

Globalization in IR context means

1. A increasing interconnectedness across borders in economics, culture and politics ✓
2. B complete isolation of all states ✓
3. C end of sovereignty always ✓
4. D only local self-sufficiency ✓

Interdependence in IR means

1. A mutual dependence among states such that actions affect each other ✓
2. B complete independence from all partners ✓
3. C zero trade or contact ✓
4. D only military occupation ✓

The Treaty of Westphalia ended

1. A World War I ✓
2. B the Thirty Years' War in Europe ✓
3. C the Napoleonic Wars only ✓
4. D the Peloponnesian War ✓

Extraterritoriality historically allowed

1. A states to annex neighbours automatically ✓
2. B foreign nationals to be tried under their own laws abroad ✓
3. C universal voting in all states ✓
4. D abolition of borders ✓

Colonial empires challenged the Westphalian order by

1. A strengthening sovereignty everywhere equally ✓
2. B ending all trade ✓
3. C creating world government ✓
4. D denying equal sovereignty to colonized peoples ✓

Decolonization after WWII

1. A reduced UN membership ✓
2. B ended state sovereignty ✓
3. C greatly increased the number of sovereign states in the UN ✓
4. D created a single world state ✓

International law primarily governs

1. A relations among states and other subjects of international law ✓
2. B only domestic criminal trials ✓
3. C only private family disputes ✓
4. D only corporate accounting rules ✓

A treaty in international law is

1. A a binding agreement between subjects of international law ✓
2. B only a domestic statute ✓
3. C only a press release ✓
4. D only a moral sermon ✓