CSS Political Science MCQs with answers
Practise CSS Political Science (Optional) with 259 exam-style MCQs, each with the answer and a short explanation. Every test is marked the moment you finish and shows your score chapter by chapter, so you know what to revise next. It is free and needs no sign-up.
259 questions · 5 chapters
What each chapter covers 5 chapters
The questions follow the syllabus chapter by chapter. You can test the whole subject or one chapter at a time.
- Foundations of political science 47 questionsNature, scope and approaches, The state: elements, origin and sovereignty, Power, authority, legitimacy and key concepts
- Political thought 60 questionsAncient and medieval thought, Machiavelli and the social contract thinkers, Montesquieu, Bentham, Mill, Hegel and Marx, Muslim political thought
- Ideologies and political concepts 46 questionsLiberalism, conservatism and socialism, Communism, fascism and anarchism, Democracy, nationalism and secularism
- Government and institutions 60 questionsForms of government, Constitutions and separation of powers, Legislature, executive and judiciary, Elections, parties and pressure groups
- Comparative politics and political change 46 questionsComparative government: UK, USA, France, Switzerland, Political culture, socialisation and development, Bureaucracy, civil-military relations and revolution
Sample CSS Political Science MCQs with answers 12 questions
12 questions from the test, one or two from each chapter. Try each one, then open the answer.
1. The behavioural approach asks political scientists to study mainly
- A
the observable behaviour of individuals and groups, using empirical evidence
- B
the wording of the written constitution and the legal powers of each office
- C
the moral ideals that a perfect state ought to follow
- D
the family history of ruling dynasties
Show answer
Answer: A. Behaviouralists such as Charles Merriam, Robert Dahl and David Easton wanted to explain what people actually do in politics, with surveys and measurable data. Constitutions and ideals belong to the traditional approach.
2. Maududi's idea of a 'theo-democracy' means a state in which
- A
scholars alone make every decision on behalf of the people
- B
the people act as agents of God, whose sovereignty is supreme
- C
sovereignty belongs to an elected monarch for life
- D
religion and politics are kept entirely apart from each other
Show answer
Answer: B. Maududi held that sovereignty belongs to God and that Muslims act as His vicegerents, choosing rulers and legislating within divine limits.
3. Marxists and anarchists both hope for a stateless society, but anarchists differ in that they
- A
accept a long period of dictatorship by a party of professional revolutionaries
- B
believe that an aristocracy should rule permanently over the workers
- C
defend the free market as the only sound basis of social order
- D
want the state abolished at once, without a transitional workers' state
Show answer
Answer: D. Marx foresaw a transitional proletarian state that would wither away, whereas anarchists such as Bakunin feared that any state, even a revolutionary one, would become a new tyranny.
4. Lobbying is
- A
the secret counting of the ballots after a general election
- B
the drafting of a new constitution by a special assembly
- C
the appointment of judges by a ruler without any consultation
- D
an attempt to influence legislators and officials on policy
Show answer
Answer: D. The word comes from the lobbies of legislatures, where those with interests approached members.
5. The 'civic culture' of Almond and Verba is a
- A
mixture of participant, subject and parochial orientations, balancing activity and deference
- B
pure participant culture, in which all citizens are active in politics and none defers to authority
- C
purely subject culture, in which citizens simply obey the government
- D
culture in which only a small elite takes any interest in politics
Show answer
Answer: A. The authors found that a stable democracy needs citizens who participate, but also keep a degree of deference and loyalty, so that government can act.
6. According to the force theory, the state originated from
- A
an agreement among free and equal individuals living in a state of nature
- B
a gift of authority from God to the ruler
- C
war and the domination of the strong over the weak
- D
the natural growth of the family into the tribe
Show answer
Answer: C. The force theory says that conquest produced rulers and ruled. Agreement is the contract view, divine gift the divine view and family growth the patriarchal-evolutionary view.
7. Which description fits Hobbes's state of nature, as set out in 'Leviathan'?
- A
A peaceful condition in which everyone enjoys equal rights and the few disputes that arise are settled by reason alone
- B
A golden age of innocent freedom, later corrupted by private property
- C
A war of every man against every man, in which life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short
- D
A society governed by the elected representatives of a free assembly
Show answer
Answer: C. Hobbes saw people as driven by fear and desire for power, so without a common authority there is constant insecurity. The peaceful and innocent versions belong to Locke and Rousseau.
8. Which Russian thinker clashed with Marx in the First International over authoritarian organisation?
- A
Vladimir Lenin
- B
Mikhail Bakunin
- C
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
- D
Leon Trotsky
Show answer
Answer: B. Bakunin opposed Marx's belief in a centralised party and a workers' state, and the quarrel contributed to the break-up of the International.
9. Which arrangement most helps to protect the independence of judges?
- A
Appointment for a short term by the executive, which may renew it
- B
Salaries that are fixed afresh each year by the Prime Minister
- C
Promotion decided by the ministry of law at its own discretion
- D
Security of tenure, with removal only by a special procedure
Show answer
Answer: D. Judges who cannot easily be dismissed or punished by the executive can decide cases without fear. Short terms and discretionary pay weaken independence.
10. For Marxists, revolutions arise mainly from
- A
the personal ambition of a few leaders who wish to seize power
- B
contradictions between the growing forces of production and the old class structure
- C
errors in the foreign policy of the government of the day
- D
the influence of foreign ideas and of outside agitators alone
Show answer
Answer: B. Marx held that when the property relations hold back the productive forces, a period of social revolution begins.
11. Equal access for everyone to education and jobs, whatever the family background, is called
- A
equality of opportunity
- B
equality of outcome
- C
equality before the law
- D
political equality
Show answer
Answer: A. Equality of opportunity opens the same chances to all. Equality of outcome would aim at equal results regardless of effort.
12. In whose account did inequality and corruption arise only after the rise of private property and organised society?
- A
Rousseau's
- B
Hobbes's
- C
Machiavelli's
- D
Bodin's
Show answer
Answer: A. Rousseau's 'Discourse on Inequality' portrays natural man as free and innocent and traces inequality to property. Hobbes's natural man is in constant conflict.
Try 247 more questions
Ways to practise 5 ways
- Quick check. 10 questions drawn fresh each time, about 10 minutes.
- By chapter. 10 questions from one chapter, for the topic you are revising now.
- Full paper. A full-length timed paper across the whole syllabus.
- Practice mode. See the right answer and an explanation after every question, with no clock.
- Exam mode. Timed like the real paper, with no going back.
When you get a question wrong, a short note called "The idea behind this" explains the topic it belongs to, with the rules to remember and a worked example.
Common questions
Is this CSS Political Science test free?
Yes. Every test and every explanation is free, and you do not need an account. If you sign in, your results are kept across your devices.
Are these past paper questions?
The 259 MCQs are our own, written to the syllabus in the style of the exam.
How is the test marked?
Instantly. You get your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and a list of the topics to work on.
More help with CSS Political Science
