Unit 7: Optional theme — Political philosophy

Topic 7.1: The state Questions

Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Philosophy Topic 7.1. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.

1State1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.2
Fill the gap: Ibn Khaldun argued that what really holds a state together is ______ — the shared 'we-feeling' or group solidarity of a people.
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2Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.3
'Theocracy' is a form of government where:
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3Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.2
Ibn Khaldun's idea of asabiyya is:
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4Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.3
The anarchist challenge to the state is best understood as the claim that:
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5Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.2
The 'state of nature' is a thought experiment that imagines:
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6Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.2
Rousseau's 'general will' is:
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7Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.1
A 'nation' is best described as:
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8State1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.4
Fill the gap: openly and peacefully breaking an unjust law and accepting the penalty, to change that one law, is called ______ disobedience.
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9State1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.3
Fill the gap: a government seized in a coup may hold all the power, but it can still lack ______ — the accepted RIGHT to rule.
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10Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.3
Legitimacy differs from a government's power because legitimacy is:
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11Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.4
A key feature that distinguishes civil disobedience from ordinary law-breaking is that it is:
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12Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.2
Locke differs from Hobbes because Locke's state:
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13Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.1
The key difference between the 'state' and the 'government' is that:
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14Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.1
'Civil society' refers to:
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15Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.1
Authority differs from raw power because authority is:
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16Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.1
True or false? The state and the government are two names for the same thing.
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17Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.1
Sovereignty means:
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18Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.2
For Hobbes, people would agree to a strong state in order to:
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19Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.2
True or false? The social contract means people once literally sat down and signed a contract to create the state.
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20Choose1 mark
2025Aimnova original Paper 1 practice — 7.1.3
A government where the many choose their rulers, usually by voting, is a:
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