This prescribed subject addresses international relations from 1918 to 1936 with emphasis on the Paris Peace Settlement—its making, impact and problems of enforcement—and attempts during the period to promote collective security and international cooperation through the League of Nations and multilateral agreements (outside the League mechanism), arms reduction and the pursuit of foreign policy goals without resort to violence. The prescribed subject also requires consideration of the extent to which the aims of peacemakers and peacekeepers were realized and the obstacles to success. Areas on which the source-based questions will focus are:

• aims of the participants and peacemakers: Wilson and the Fourteen Points
• terms of the Paris Peace Treaties 1919-20: Versailles, St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Sèvres/ Lausanne 1923
• the geopolitical and economic impact of the treaties on Europe; the establishment and impact of the mandate system
• enforcement of the provisions of the treaties: US isolationism —the retreat from the Anglo– American Guarantee; disarmament— Washington, London, Geneva conferences
• the League of Nations: effects of the absence of major powers; the principle of collective security and early attempts at peacekeeping (1920-25)
• the Ruhr Crisis (1923); Locarno and the “Locarno Spring” (1925)
• Depression and threats to international peace and collective security: Manchuria (1931-33) and Abyssinia (1935-36)

Students are required to study two topics from the following list.

Topic 5: The Cold War

The topics should be studied through a selection of case studies drawn from different regions. Knowledge of topics beyond 2000 is not required.
The syllabus specifications for every topic include major themes and material for detailed study. Students should study a selection from the material for detailed study using the themes to guide them. It is important to ensure that examples selected for detailed study cover two regions as outlined by the map provided. In the examination that tests this component (SL/HL paper 2) questions will be set on major themes. Named questions will be confined to the material in major themes and detailed study. When answering open-ended questions students can use examples from the list and/or alternative examples.

War was a major feature of the 20th century. In this topic the different types of war should be identified, and the causes, practices and effects of these conflicts should be studied.

The 20th century produced many authoritarian and single-party states. The origins, ideology, form of government, organization, nature and impact of these regimes should be studied.

This topic addresses East–West relations from 1945. It aims to promote an international perspective and understanding of the origins, course and effects of the Cold War—a conflict that dominated global affairs from the end of the Second World War to the early 1990s. It includes superpower rivalry and events in all areas affected by Cold War politics such as spheres of interest, wars (proxy), alliances and interference in developing countries.

• Ideological differences
• Mutual suspicion and fear
• From wartime allies to post-war enemies

• Ideological opposition
• Superpowers and spheres of influence
• Alliances and diplomacy in the Cold War

• Global spread of the Cold War from its European origins
• Cold War policies of containment, brinkmanship, peaceful coexistence, détente
• Role of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement
• Role and significance of leaders
• Arms race, proliferation and limitation
• Social, cultural and economic impact

• Break-up of Soviet Union: internal problems and external pressures
• Breakdown of Soviet control over Central and Eastern Europe

• Wartime conferences: Yalta and Potsdam
• US policies and developments in Europe: Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO
• Soviet policies, Sovietization of Eastern and Central Europe, COMECON, Warsaw Pact
• Sino–Soviet relations
• US–Chinese relations
• Germany (especially Berlin (1945-61), Congo (1960-64), Afghanistan (1979-88), Korea , Cuba , Vietnam , Middle East
• Castro, Gorbachev, Kennedy, Mao, Reagan, Stalin, Truman

This option covers major trends in Europe and the Middle East in the period from the mid 18th century to the end of the 20th century. Europe and the Middle East are geographically close, and their similarities and differences have resulted in periods of cooperation and enmity. Major developments included revolutions; the decline of empires and the establishment of nation states; political, social and economic reforms; and the emergence of dictatorships and the re-emergence of democracy. Although the focus is on major countries, developments in other states can be studied through case studies.
Within the sections there will be, where appropriate, a case study approach in which students will have the opportunity to study their own or another national history of the region.
Only people and events named in the guide will be named in the examination questions.
In some bullets, suitable examples are shown in brackets. These examples will not be named in the examination questions as any appropriate examples could be used.
Three sections must be selected for in-depth study.

2. Unification and consolidation of Germany and Italy 1815-90

This section deals with the emergence and growth of nationalism in the German states and the Italian peninsula, and the foundation and consolidation of power in these newly established nation states. It requires consideration of the social, economic and political factors involved in the unification process, the role of individuals as well as the significance of foreign involvement in that process. The changing balance of power after 1870-71 and relations with existing European Powers should be considered along with the main domestic policies and problems of the new states.

• Revolutions in Italy and the significance of Rome; Austrian Empire and the German states between 1815 and 1848
• Unification of Italy: growth of power of Piedmont-Sardinia; Mazzini, Cavour and Garibaldi; foreign involvement and its effects
• The rise of Prussia 1815-62: political and economic factors including the German Confederation, the Zollverein; Prussian–Austrian relations to 1866
• Decline of Austrian influence: Crimean War; Italy ; Austro–Prussian War 1866; Dual Monarchy of Austria Hungary; challenge of nationalism
• Bismarck, Prussia and unification: diplomatic, economic, military reorganization; wars of unification; 1871 Constitution
• Comparison of Italian and German unification
• Bismarck’s Germany: domestic and foreign policy

This section deals with the decline of imperial power in Tsarist Russia and the emergence of the Soviet State. It requires examination and consideration of the social, economic and political factors that inaugurated and accelerated the process of decline. Attempts at domestic reform and the extent to which these hastened or hindered decline should be studied, together with the impact of war and foreign entanglements.

• Alexander II (1855-81): emancipation of the serfs; military, legal, educational, local government reforms; later reaction
• Policies of Alexander III (1881-94) and Nicholas II (1895-1917): backwardness and attempts at modernization; nature of tsardom; growth of opposition movements
• Significance of the Russo-Japanese War; 1905 Revolution; Stolypin and the Duma; the impact of the First World War (1914-18) on Russia
• 1917 Revolutions: February/March Revolution; Provisional Government and Dual Power (Soviets); October/November Bolshevik Revolution; Lenin and Trotsky
• Lenin’s Russia (1917-24): consolidation of new Soviet state; Civil War; War Communism; NEP; terror and coercion; foreign relations

This section deals with the longer- and shorter-term origins of the First World War, its course and consequences. The breakdown of European diplomacy pre-1914 and the crises produced in international relations should be examined. It covers how the practice of war affected the military and home fronts. The section also investigates reasons for the Allied victory/Central Powers’ defeat plus a study of the economic, political and territorial effects of the post-war Paris Peace Settlement.

• European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1870
• Aims, methods, continuity and change in German foreign policy to 1914; global colonial rivalry
• Relative importance of: the Alliance System; decline of the Ottoman Empire; Austria Hungary and Balkan nationalism; arms race; international and diplomatic crises
• Effects on civilian population; impact of war on women socially and politically
• Factors leading to the defeat of Germany and the other Central Powers (Austria Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria); strategic errors; economic factors; the entry and role of the United States
• Post-war peace treaties and their territorial, political and economic effects on Europe: Versailles (St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Sèvres/Lausanne)

This section deals with the period between the two World Wars and the attempts to promote international cooperation and collective security. Obstacles to cooperation, such as post-war revisionism, economic crises and challenges to democracy and political legitimacy in Italy, Germany and Spain respectively, all require examination and consideration. The policies of the right-wing regimes and the responses of democratic states are also the focus of this section.

• Germany 1919-33: political, constitutional, economic, financial and social problems
• Italy 1919-39: Mussolini’s domestic and foreign policies
• The impact of the Great Depression (case study of its effect on one country in Europe )
• Spanish Civil War: background to the outbreak of the Civil War; causes and consequences; foreign involvement; reasons for Nationalist victory
• Hitler’s domestic and foreign policy (1933-39)
• Search for collective security; appeasement in the interwar years; the failure of international diplomacy; the outbreak of war in 1939

This section deals with the consolidation of the Soviet state from 1924 and the methods applied to ensure its survival, growth and expansion inside and outside the borders of the Soviet Union. Bolshevik rule under Lenin, the rise and nature of the rule of Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and the policies and practice of Sovietization (post-1945) in Central and Eastern Europe are areas for examination. East–West relations post-1945 in relation to Soviet aims and leadership should also be considered.

• Stalin (1924-53): power struggle; collectivization and industrialization; Five Year Plans; constitution; cult of personality; purges; impact on society; foreign relations to 1941
• The Great Patriotic War: breakdown of wartime alliance; Cold War; policies towards Germany: Berlin; Eastern European satellite states; Warsaw Pact
• Khrushchev (1955-64): struggle for power after Stalin’s death; destalinization; peaceful coexistence; domestic policies: economic and agricultural; foreign relations: Hungary, Berlin, Cuba, China
• Brezhnev: domestic and foreign policies
• Case study of one Sovietized/satellite state: establishment of Soviet control; the nature of the single-party state; domestic policies; opposition and dissent (suitable examples could be East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland but all relevant states are valid)
• Transformation of Soviet Union: political developments and change (1982-2000)

This section deals with the Second World War, post-war recovery and the effects of the Cold War in the second half of the 20th century and, in some cases the transition from authoritarian to democratic government. It requires examination of the social, political and economic issues facing states and the methods used to cope with the challenges, either within individual states or in the move towards a system of European integration, in pursuit of mutually acceptable political, economic and foreign policy goals.

• Second World War in Europe; Cold War: impact on Germany, NATO and military cooperation
• Post-war problems and political and economic recovery in Western Europe: devastation; debt 1945-49
• Establishment and consolidation of the Federal Republic of Germany to German reunification
• Moves towards political and economic integration, cooperation and enlargement post-1945: EEC, EC, EU
• Spain: Franco’s regime and the transition to, and establishment of, democracy under Juan Carlos
• Case study of one Western European state between 1945 and 2000 (excluding Germany and Spain ): the nature of the government; domestic policies; opposition and dissent