CSS International Relations chapter 1: Foundations MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

46 exam-style questions on Foundations, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

46 questions · 3 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 1 covers

Ten Foundations questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

1. Hans Morgenthau defined national interest as

  1. A
    interest defined in terms of shared norms
  2. B
    the sum of private interests of the citizens
  3. C
    interest defined in terms of power
  4. D
    the wishes of the international community
Show answer

Answer: C. Morgenthau held that statesmen think and act in terms of interest defined as power, which gives realism a rational guide to foreign policy.

2. According to the Montevideo Convention of 1933, a state should possess a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and

  1. A
    the capacity to enter into relations with other states
  2. B
    a permanent seat on the Security Council of the United Nations
  3. C
    a standing army equipped with nuclear weapons
  4. D
    recognition by every one of the great powers
Show answer

Answer: A. The fourth criterion of the Montevideo Convention is the capacity to enter into relations with other states; recognition by all states is not required.

3. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 brought to an end which conflict?

  1. A
    The Hundred Years' War
  2. B
    The Thirty Years' War
  3. C
    The Napoleonic Wars
  4. D
    The Seven Years' War
Show answer

Answer: B. The Westphalian treaties closed the Thirty Years' War in Europe. The Hundred Years' War ended in the fifteenth century and the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.

4. Which assumption is typical of the rational actor model?

  1. A
    The state has clear, ranked goals and picks the option with the best expected result
  2. B
    Policy is a compromise reached by bargaining among departments with rival interests and unequal power
  3. C
    Decisions follow the routines and standard procedures that organisations have inherited from earlier practice
  4. D
    Misperceptions and emotions held by individual leaders are the main cause of what a state does
Show answer

Answer: A. The rational actor model assumes purposeful, goal-seeking choice. The other options describe the bureaucratic politics, organisational process and psychological approaches.

5. Which major power, whose president had proposed the League of Nations, never became a member of it?

  1. A
    The United States
  2. B
    Britain
  3. C
    France
  4. D
    Italy
Show answer

Answer: A. The US Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles that contained the League Covenant, so the United States stayed out. Britain, France and Italy were members.

6. Which statement about multinational corporations is correct?

  1. A
    They are non-state actors that can influence states through investment and trade
  2. B
    They are sovereign entities with the right to seek membership of the United Nations
  3. C
    They are classed as intergovernmental organisations because they work in many states
  4. D
    They have no effect on the foreign policies of the states where they operate
Show answer

Answer: A. Large firms shape the policies of governments through investment, jobs and lobbying, but they are private bodies and have neither sovereignty nor UN membership.

7. Which element of national power is generally the most stable and least changeable in the short term?

  1. A
    Geography
  2. B
    Quality of leadership
  3. C
    National morale
  4. D
    Diplomatic skill
Show answer

Answer: A. A state's location, size and terrain change very slowly, while leadership, morale and diplomacy can change quickly.

8. Which statement best tells diplomacy apart from international relations as a field of study?

  1. A
    Diplomacy is one means by which states conduct relations, while IR is the wider subject studying all such interactions
  2. B
    Diplomacy is the academic discipline that studies world politics, while IR is the craft practised by ambassadors and foreign ministries
  3. C
    Diplomacy deals only with contacts made during wartime, while IR is concerned only with relations between states in times of peace
  4. D
    Diplomacy deals only with matters of trade and finance between states, while IR deals only with questions of security and war
Show answer

Answer: A. Diplomacy is an instrument of statecraft practised by officials; IR is the academic study of everything that happens between states and other actors, of which diplomacy is only a part.

9. An analyst explains a war mainly by the personality and beliefs of a particular leader. At which level of analysis is the explanation placed?

  1. A
    The system level
  2. B
    The individual level
  3. C
    The regional level
  4. D
    The global-institutional level
Show answer

Answer: B. Explanations built on a decision-maker's psychology, perceptions and character belong to the individual level.

10. Explaining a state's foreign policy by its regime type, domestic politics and public opinion is analysis at the

  1. A
    system level
  2. B
    state level
  3. C
    individual level
  4. D
    bureaucratic level
Show answer

Answer: B. Features of the state itself, such as its political system and domestic pressures, make up the state (or unit) level.

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Ways to practise this chapter

Foundations: questions students ask

How many Foundations MCQs are there?

46, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 3 topics: Nature, scope and development of IR, Actors, power and national interest, Levels of analysis and foreign policy making. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the CSS International Relations chapter 1 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

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