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100+ Free Maharashtra HSC Political Science Practice Questions

Maharashtra Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC / Class 12) Political Science (subject code 42) under the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), Balbharati Standard XII Political Science practice questions are available now; exam metadata is being verified.

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Maharashtra HSC Political Science Exam

3 hours

Typical Maharashtra HSC Political Science theory paper duration

MSBSHSE HSC exam pattern reporting for Political Science

~35%

Common minimum pass floor for Maharashtra HSC subjects including Political Science

MSBSHSE HSC passing practice

80 + 20

Common theory + project/oral/internal mark split for HSC Political Science (subject code 42)

Maharashtra HSC subject-wise mark distribution reporting

English MCQ adaptation

This free local bank is not the official HSC paper format

OpenExamPrep practice policy

Maharashtra MSBSHSE HSC Political Science (code 42) is a Class 12 public-exam theory subject of about 3 hours theory (commonly 80+20) with ~35% pass floor, covering Balbharati’s six Std XII chapters from the post-1991 world through India’s foreign policy — not a pure MCQ board paper. This free 2026 bank is an English MCQ study adaptation for Balbharati/MSBSHSE-aligned Political Science concepts and events.

Sample Maharashtra HSC Political Science Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Maharashtra HSC Political Science exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1The Cold War bipolar order effectively ended with which major event in 1991?
A.Formation of the European Union
B.Disintegration of the Soviet Union
C.Creation of the United Nations
D.Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
Explanation: The Soviet Union’s disintegration in 1991 ended one of the two superpower poles and marked the close of the Cold War bipolar order that had structured international politics since 1945.
2After the Cold War, the term ‘unipolar world’ most commonly referred to dominance by which power?
A.China
B.Russia
C.The United States
D.The European Union as a single superpower state
Explanation: With the Soviet Union gone, the United States emerged as the sole superpower, producing a unipolar moment in which American political, military, and economic leadership shaped the ‘New World Order’ discourse of the early 1990s.
3Joseph Nye’s concept of ‘soft power’ emphasises a state’s ability to:
A.Coerce others through military force alone
B.Attract others so they want the outcomes you want
C.Control the UN Security Council veto permanently
D.Impose colonial rule on weaker states
Explanation: Soft power, as developed by Joseph Nye, is the capacity to achieve preferred outcomes through attraction—culture, values, and institutions—rather than coercion or payment alone.
4The 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States are widely treated in the Balbharati syllabus as a turning point for:
A.The creation of SAARC
B.Modern transnational terrorism and the global ‘war on terror’
C.The founding of the Non-Aligned Movement
D.The start of the Cold War
Explanation: 9/11 demonstrated a new scale of transnational terrorist violence against civilian and symbolic targets and reshaped global security agendas around counter-terrorism.
5Which of the following is an example of a new state created after the Cold War through ethnic/national self-determination processes discussed in the textbook?
A.South Sudan (later independence) and states emerging from Yugoslavia’s breakup
B.Canada
C.Japan
D.Brazil
Explanation: Post-Cold War state creation included the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union and later cases such as South Sudan (2011), illustrating ethnic nationalism and self-determination claims.
6President George H. W. Bush’s phrase ‘New World Order’ in the early 1990s was closely associated with:
A.Soviet military victory in Afghanistan
B.US-led multinational action against Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and American leadership after bipolarity
C.India’s first nuclear test in 1974
D.Formation of the Warsaw Pact
Explanation: After Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, a US-led multinational coalition reversed the occupation. Bush framed this cooperation and post-Cold War US leadership as a ‘New World Order’.
7Hard power, in contrast to soft power, primarily relies on:
A.Cultural attraction and educational exchange only
B.Coercion through military force, threats, or economic inducements/sanctions
C.Voluntary imitation of a country’s cuisine alone
D.Abolishing all international organisations
Explanation: Hard power is the capacity to get others to act against their preferences through coercion—military force, threats, or carrots/sticks such as economic pressure.
8Francis Fukuyama’s ‘End of History’ thesis after the Cold War argued, in essence, that:
A.All historical calendars would stop in 1991
B.Liberal democracy and market-oriented systems had triumphed as the dominant political-economic model
C.Only monarchy would remain worldwide
D.The United Nations would dissolve immediately
Explanation: Fukuyama claimed that with communism’s collapse, liberal democracy and associated economic models faced no serious ideological rival—an ‘end of history’ as ideological evolution, not literal time.
9Which feature is characteristic of liberal democracy as described in the textbook context?
A.One-party rule without elections
B.Universal suffrage, free and fair elections, competitive parties, and rule of law
C.Hereditary absolute monarchy only
D.Military rule without civilian institutions
Explanation: Liberal democracy combines representative institutions with individual liberty protections: competitive elections, multi-party politics, universal adult franchise, and constitutional rule of law.
10Humanitarian intervention in the 1990s typically meant:
A.States intervening abroad mainly to protect human rights and prevent mass atrocities, often via UN-authorised missions
B.Closing all embassies permanently
C.Ending all foreign trade
D.Abolishing domestic constitutions
Explanation: The 1990s saw increased emphasis on intervening—often through UN peacekeeping or coalitions—to stop severe human-rights abuses and protect civilians in conflict zones (e.g., parts of the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Cambodia).

About the Maharashtra HSC Political Science Practice Questions

Verified exam format metadata for Maharashtra Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC / Class 12) Political Science (subject code 42) under the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), Balbharati Standard XII Political Science is pending. The practice questions above remain available while official exam length, timing, passing score, fee, and administrator details are reviewed.