Daily Prelims MCQs - International Relations - 26th September 2025
- TPP
- Sep 26
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 27
Welcome to your Daily UPSC Prelims Current Affairs MCQs – 26th September 2025. This is part of our subject-wise daily series where Friday is dedicated to International Relations—strengthening your command over global organisations, regional geopolitics, treaties, and India’s external engagements with exam-style precision.
Today’s set of 5 curated MCQs blends static–dynamic linkages to help you:
Locate Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and connect it with the geopolitics of US–Taliban tensions.
Analyse the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as a UN specialised agency, while eliminating membership-related traps.
Revisit the framework of NATO Air Policing and understand the role of SACEUR in Allied air defence.
Map landlocked countries of Central Asia, with focus on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Decode the collapse of the French government, linking political instability to fiscal crisis and comparative governance themes.
Stay consistent with these daily quizzes to sharpen Prelims 2026 IR recall, while mastering elimination on tricky geography, organisation, and global governance questions UPSC frequently tests.
Click Here to read the Monthly Current Affairs Pointers (CAP).
QUESTION 1
Bagram Air Base was recently in the news. It is located in:
(a) Iran
(b) Syria
(c) Afghanistan
(d) Iran
Answer (c)
Explanation:
US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Afghanistan, stating that “bad things” would happen if Kabul doesn’t return the control of Bagram air base back to America, while declining to rule out sending in the military to retake the air base from Taliban-led Afghanistan.
Trump had earlier suggested that he is trying to reestablish US presence at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, four years after America withdrew from the country in a chaotic manner and handed over the control of the air base to Taliban.
QUESTION 2
With reference to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), consider the following statements:
It is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
The African Union is a member of the FAO.
The first session of the FAO was held in the United States.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Answer (a)
Explanation:
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to eradicate hunger. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
The goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 members in 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
FAO membership does not include the African Union. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
In Quebec City, Canada, the first session of the newly created United Nations establishes the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as a specialised UN agency. Washington D.C., is designated as a temporary FAO headquarters. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
QUESTION 3
With reference to the NATO Air Policing, consider the following statements:
It is a temporary peacetime mission of the Alliance.
The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is responsible for the conduct of the NATO Air Policing mission.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer (b)
Explanation:
France called Russian warplane incursions into Estonia a blatant violation of international law. “This incursion into Estonia is unprecedented for more than 20 years,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
The UK also expressed similar sentiments and called the incursion of Russian military jets into NATO member Estonia’s airspace ‘the latest dangerous activity by Russia.’
Italian F-35 fighter jets, currently deployed as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission, responded to the incident quickly, Estonia summoned a Russian diplomat to protest the unprecedentedly brazen violation, the Foreign Ministry said.
NATO Air Policing is a peacetime mission that aims to preserve the security of Allied skies. It is a collective task and involves the continuous presence – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – of fighter aircraft and crews, which are ready to react quickly to possible airspace violations.
NATO Air Policing is a permanent peacetime mission of the Alliance, conducted within the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) framework. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is responsible for the conduct of the NATO Air Policing mission. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
QUESTION 4
Which of the following Central Asian countries are completely landlocked?
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Azerbaijan
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3, 4 and 5
(d) 1, 3 and 5
Answer (b)
Explanation:
Geography shapes and limits Central Asia’s economic potential. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are landlocked states with some of the highest trading expenses in the world.
Limited connection, reliance on a small range of goods, and fragmented regional markets all impede economic diversification and resilience measures. On average, trade expenses in the region are 1.4 times greater than those in coastal developing countries.
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan border the Caspian Sea.
The completely landlocked nations in Central Asia include – Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
QUESTION 5
The government of this country has collapsed due to chronic political instability and an incapacity to confront its growing financial crisis. With four prime ministers in the past 20 months, and a fifth likely to be appointed soon, the fall of this government, once unusual, has become almost mundane.
The above-mentioned lines refer to:
(a) Australia
(b) Sudan
(c) Thailand
(d) France
Answer (d)
Explanation:
The government of François Bayrou, a centrist prime minister who has been in office for just nine months, collapsed in the latest sign of a France reduced to chronic political instability and an incapacity to confront its growing financial crisis.
The National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, voted overwhelmingly against Bayrou in a confidence motion he had called with the aim of setting out the gravity of France’s ballooning debt and budget deficit, and the need to confront them by finding annual savings of at least $51 billion.
The vote was 364 against Bayrou’s government and 194 in favor in the 577-seat lower house, a crushing defeat for the prime minister. Abstentions and absences accounted for the remaining lawmakers.
With four prime ministers in the past 20 months, and a fifth likely to be appointed now, the fall of French governments, once unusual, has become close to mundane.
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