route 2 topics
Students are required to study two topics from the following list.
Topic 1: Causes, practices and effects of wars
Topic 2: Democratic states—challenges and responses
Topic 3: Origins and development of authoritarian and single-party states
Topic 4: Nationalist and independence movements in Africa and Asia and post-1945 Central and Eastern European states
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.
Figure 1
World map showing regional divisions of the IB history course (map shows borders as of 2000)
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.
Different types and nature of 20th century warfare
Civil
Guerrilla
Limited war, total war
Origins and causes of wars
Long-term, short-term and immediate causes
Economic, ideological, political, religious causes
Nature of 20th century wars
Technological developments, tactics and strategies, air, land and sea
Home front: economic and social impact (including changes in the role and status of women)
Resistance and revolutionary movements
Effects and results of wars
Peace settlements and wars ending without treaties
Attempts at collective security pre- and post-Second World War
Political repercussions and territorial changes
Post-war economic problems
First World War (1914‑8)
Second World War (1939‑45)
Africa: Algerian War (1954‑62), Nigerian Civil War (1967‑70)
Americas: Falklands/Malvinas war (1982), Nicaraguan Revolution (1976‑9)
Asia and Oceania: Indo-Pakistan wars (1947‑9, 1965, 1971), Chinese Civil War (1927‑37 and 1946‑9)
Europe and Middle East: Spanish Civil War (1936‑9), Iran–Iraq war (1980‑88), Gulf War (1991)
The 20th century witnessed the establishment, survival, destruction and re-emergence of democratic states. Democratic systems faced threats to their existence from internal and external sources. In some cases the system coped successfully, in other cases the pressures proved difficult to withstand. The performance of democratic states in relation to such pressures—economic, political and social—form the basis for this topic.
Nature and structure of democratic (multiparty) states
Constitutions (written and unwritten)
Electoral systems, proportional representation, coalition governments
Role of political parties: role of an opposition
Role of pressure (interest/lobby) groups
Economic and social policies
Employment
Gender
Health, education
Social welfare
Political, social and economic challenges
Political extremism
Ethnicity, religion, gender
Movements for the attainment of civil rights
Inequitable distribution of wealth/resources
Africa: South Africa 1991‑2000, Mandela; Nigeria 1961‑6
Americas: Argentina 1983‑95, Alfonsin and Menem; Canada 1968‑84, Trudeau; United States 1953‑73, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon
Asia and Oceania: India 1947‑64, Nehru; Japan 1945‑52, post-war reconstruction; Australia 1965‑75
Europe and Middle East: France 1958‑69, de Gaulle; Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1967‑90; Weimar Germany 1919‑33
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.
Origins and nature of authoritarian and single-party states
Conditions that produced authoritarian and single-party states
Emergence of leaders: aims, ideology, support
Totalitarianism: the aim and the extent to which it was achieved
Establishment of authoritarian and single party states
Methods: force, legal
Form of government, (left- and right-wing) ideology
Nature, extent and treatment of opposition
Domestic policies and impact
Structure and organization of government and administration
Political, economic, social and religious policies
Role of education, the arts, the media, propaganda
Status of women, treatment of religious groups and minorities
Africa: Kenya—Kenyatta; Tanzania—Nyerere
Americas: Argentina—Perón; Cuba—Castro
Asia and Oceania: China—Mao; Indonesia—Sukarno
Europe and the Middle East: Germany—Hitler; USSR—Stalin; Egypt—Nasser
An important development of the 20th century, especially in the post-Second World War period, was the decline of imperial rule and the emergence of new states. This topic covers decolonization in Africa and Asia. It also covers the break-up of Soviet control in Eastern Europe, as well as the emergence of new states elsewhere in Europe. Emphasis should be placed on the origins and development of the nationalist and independence movements, the formation of post-colonial governments/new states, the problems facing new governments (both internal and external pressures) and attempts to solve them.
Please note that students will not be asked to compare and contrast the nationalist and independence movements in Africa and Asia with the new states in Europe post‑1945.
Origins and rise of nationalist/independence movements in Africa and Asia
Anti-colonialism (opposition to Belgian, British, Dutch, French and Portuguese colonial rule)
Nationalism, political ideology, religion
Impact of the two world wars and the Cold War
Other factors fostering growth of nationalist and independence movements
Methods of achieving independence in Africa and Asia
Armed struggle
Non-violent movements, elite and mass movements
Role and importance of leaders of nationalist/independence movements
Political organization
Challenges to Soviet or centralized control in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans
Origins and growth of movements challenging Soviet or centralized control
Role and importance of leaders, organizations and institutions
Methods of achieving independence from Soviet or centralized control
Formation of, and challenges to, post-colonial governments/new states
Colonial legacy, neo-colonialism and Cold War
Conflict with neighbours
Lack of political experience
Economic issues
Social, religious and cultural issues
Ethnic, racial and separatist movements
Movements: Africa—Algeria, Angola, Belgian Congo/Zaire, Ghana, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe; Asia—India and Pakistan, Indochina
Leaders: Ben Bella (Algeria), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Jinnah (Pakistan), Gandhi (India), Mugabe (Zimbabwe), Nkrumah (Ghana)
Movements: Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia and its dissolution and successor states
Leaders: Walesa (Poland), Havel (Czechoslovakia)
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.
Origins of the Cold War
Ideological differences
Mutual suspicion and fear
From wartime allies to post-war enemies
Nature of the Cold War
Ideological opposition
Superpowers and spheres of influence
Alliances and diplomacy in the Cold War
Development and impact of 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
End of the Cold War
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