Paper 1, Section A: International Relations, 1919-89

▪ How many questions do I answer?
You will choose two questions to answer (40 minutes for each).
There are eight to choose from, but you will only have covered perhaps four of the topics on the paper.

▪ What will the format of the questions be?
Each question consists of a piece of evidence followed by a three-part question following a standard markscheme:
Describe [5] [practice questions]
Explain [7] [practice questions]
Assess [8] [practice questions]

Topic

Focus Points

Specified Content

Interactive Exercises

What Caused the First World War?

Did the Alliance System make war more or less likely?
How far did colonial problems create tensions between the Great Powers?
Why were problems in the Balkans so difficult for the Great Powers to solve?
How did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand lead to war?

The origins of the First World War, 1890-1914; the Alliance System, Colonial Rivalries, developments in the Balkans, the crisis of June-July 1914 and the outbreak of war.
Factual Quiz
Cartoon Analysis

Were the Peace Treaties of 1919-23 fair?

What were the motives and aims of the Big Three at Versailles?
Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted?
What was the impact of the peace treaty on Germany up to 1923?
Could the treaties be justified at the time?
The peace treaties of 1919-23: the roles of individuals such as Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George in the peacemaking process, the impact of the treaties on the defeated countries, contemporary opinions about the treaties.
Factual Quiz
Cartoon Analysis

To what extent was the League of Nations a success?

How successful was the League in the 1920s?
How far did weaknesses in the League's organisation make failure inevitable?
How far did the Depression make the work of the League more difficult?
How successful was the League in the 1930s?
The League of Nations: strengths and weaknesses in its structure and organisation, successes and failures in peacekeeping during the 1920s, the impact of the World Depression on the work of the League after 1929, the failures of the League in the 1930s, including Manchuria and Abyssinia.
Factual Quiz
Cartoon Analysis

Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?

What were the long-term consequences of the peace treaties of 1919-23?
What were the consequences of the failures of the League in the 1930s?
How far was Hitler's foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939?
Was the policy of appeasement justified?
How important was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
Why did Britain and France declare war on Germany in September 1939?
The collapse of international order in the 1930s: the increasing militarism of Germany, Italy and Japan; Hitler's foreign policy to 1939: the Saar, remilitarisation of the Rhineland, Anschluss with Austria, appeasement, crises over Czechoslovakia and Poland, the outbreak of war.
Factual Quiz
Cartoon Analysis 1 | 2

Who was to blame for the Cold War?

Why did the USA-USSR alliance begin to break down in 1945?
How had the USSR gained control of Eastern Europe by 1948?
How did the USA react to Soviet expansionism?
What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade?
Who was the more to blame for starting the Cold War, the USA or the USSR?
The origins of the Cold War: the 1945 summit conferences and the breakdown of the USA-USSR alliance in 1945-6; Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe to 1948, and American reactions to it; occupation of Germany and the Berlin Blockade.
Factual Quiz
Cartoon Analysis

Past Questions (you need to answer TWO of these three-part questions).

Observations:

There has always been a question on the origins of World War One.
There has always been a question on International Relations 1919-39.
There is usually a question both on the 1920s and on the 1930s (but sometimes two questions from the same decade!).

Advice:

It makes sense to revise the Origins of World War One very thoroughly. Practice as many questions as you can on this - especially as "The Origins of World War One " will be your first option in Paper 2!
Make sure you can answer questions on BOTH the 1920s AND the 1930s - especially as "The Origins of World War Two" will be your alternative option in Paper 2!

 

 
Summer 2006

Autumn 2005

Summer 2005

Autumn 2004

Summer 2004

Autumn 2003

Summer 2003

Autumn 2002

Summer 2002

Autumn 2001

Summer 2001

Causes of World War One

(a)

5 marks

Describe the colonial rivalry that existed between Germany and other powers by 1900.

Describe the Balkan Wars of 1912-13.  

Describe the Alliance System which existed among European powers before 1914.

Describe the Anglo-German naval rivalry that existed in the early years of the twentieth century.

What was the Entente Cordiale?

Describe the Moroccan Crisis of 1905.

Describe the Balkan Wars of 1908-1913.

Describe assassination of 1914.

Describe the French alliances which existed prior to World War One.

Describe the French preparations for war in 1914.

Describe the Anglo-German naval race.

(b)

7 marks

Why did the Kaiser become involved in Morocco between 1905-1911?

Why were the tensions between the Great Powers increased by the Bosnian Crisis of 1908?

Why did the Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911 increase tension between Germany and Britain?

Why did France begin to mobilise its forces in early August 1914?

Why was there a crisis over Morocco in 1911?

Why did the crisis over Bosnia-Herzegovina not bring war to Europe?

Why were the Balkans a source of international tension in the years before WWI?

Explain why Austria wanted to take action against Serbia

Explain Anglo-German rivalry.

Explain why France mobilised its army in 1914.

Explain why colonial rivalry developed before 1914.

(c)

10 marks

"The Anglo-German naval race was the most important cause of war in 1914" - Discuss.

How far was German militarism the most important cause of war in 1914? Explain your answer.

‘The most important reason why Britain went to war in 1914 was the German invasion of Belgium’. How far do you agree with this statement?

'In August 1914 a German army marched into Belgium.' Was this action the main reason for the First World War?

Naval rivalry was the main cause of the First World War’. How far do agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

How far was Germany to blame for the coming of war in 1914? Explain your answer.

Why did the 1914 Balkan crisis cause European war, but earlier crises did not?

Evaluate whether the assassination of 1914 made war inevitable

Evaluate the view that alliances encouraged countries to act in warlike manner.

Evaluate the view that nationalism caused World War One.

Evaluate the view that Germany caused World War One.

International Relations 1919-39

(Q1)

(a)

5 marks

What were the main aims of the League of Nations when it was set up in 1920?

Describe the successes of the League of Nations in the 1920s.

 

What military restrictions were imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles?

Describe what Clemenceau and Lloyd George each wanted to achieve in the Treaty of Versailles.

What were Germany’s main territorial losses under the Treaty of Versailles?

How did the League of Nations hope to prevent future wars between nations?

In what ways did the Treaty of Versailles weaken the German economy?

Describe two successes of the League of Nations in the 1920s.

Describe how the peace treaties affected France.

Describe mandates and plebiscites.

Describe how German armaments were limited by the Treaty of Versailles.

(b)

7 marks

Why did its structure and membership weaken the League?

Why did the League fail to deal with Japanese aggression against Manchuria?

Why did the aims of the ‘Big Three’ differ?

Why did the Treaty of Versailles cause problems for Germany in the years up to 1923?

Why was Germany dissatisfied with the Versailles peace treaty?

 

Why did the League of Nations fail to restrict the aggression of Japan in the 1930s?

Why did Germany dislike the Treaty of Versailles?

Explain why the League was quite successful in the 1920s.

Explain why some countries viewed setting up the League of Nations with suspicion

 

Explain why the Versailles treaty was harsh on Germany.

Explain why the disarmament conference 1932-3 failed.

(c)

10 marks

How far was the League of Nations a success?

It was the Abyssinian crisis that destroyed the League of Nations as an effective peacekeeping body’ How far do you agree with this statement?

  How successful was the League of Nations in the 1920s?

Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?

How successful was the League of Nations in dealing with disputes during the 1920s? Explain your answer.

How far was the League of Nations a failure? Explain your answer.

To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles a sensible treaty in the circumstances of the time? Explain your answer.

Evaluate how far League of Nations failed because of the Depression.

Evaluate the view that structural weaknesses caused failure of League of Nations in 1920s

Evaluate how far Germany accepted the Versailles treaty by end of 1923.

Evaluate how far the disarmament conference showed that League of Nations was a failure.

International Relations 1919-39

(Q2)

(c)

5 marks

When Hitler came to power, what did he aim to achieve in foreign policy?

Describe the events in the Saar in 1935.

What were the aims of Hitler’s foreign policy?

What were the aims of the League of Nations?

How did the 1935 plebiscite change the situation in the Saar?

When Hitler came to power, what did he hope to achieve in foreign policy?

What was the Hoare-Laval Pact?

Describe the Manchurian crisis.

Describe the way Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles from 1933 to end of 1938.

Describe the events leading to Anschluss.

Describe the Munich agreement.

(b)

7 marks

Explain how Hitler destroyed the Treaty of Versailles.

Why did Britain and France allow Germany to remilitarise the Rhineland in 1936?

 

Why was Hitler’s foreign policy successful up to 1938?

 

Why did the League of Nations have some success during the 1920s?

 

Explain why Hitler wanted the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939?

 

Why did Britain go to war over Poland in 1939?

 

Why was the conquest of Abyssinia by Italy not prevented by the League of Nations?

 

Explain why Italy defeated Abyssinia.

 

Explain why UK and France followed policy of appeasement.

 

Explain why Britain and France allowed Anschluss.

 

Explain why the Nazi-Soviet pact was important.

 

(c)

10 marks

How far was appeasement justified? - Explain your answer.

‘Hitler’s desire for lebensraum was the most important reason for the outbreak of the war in 1939.’ How far do you agree with this statement?

How far was the Nazi-Soviet Pact responsible for causing war in Europe?

How far can the failure of the League of Nations in the 1930s be blamed on the Great Depression?

‘The policy of appeasement was justified’. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

How far was the Treaty of Versailles to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939? Explain your answer.

To what extent can the outbreak of war in 1939 be blamed upon the failure of the League of Nations? Explain your answer.

Evaluate the importance of Hitler’s pacts with Italy and Japan.

Evaluate the view that ‘Hitler was a gambler rather than a planner’ in foreign affairs.

Evaluate the view that Hitler’s policies in Austria and Czechoslovakia were complete success.

Evaluate the view that WWII was caused by British and French mistakes 1938-9.

Cold War

(c)

5 marks

What was agreed at the Potsdam Conference?

Who were the Vietcong?

 

What was the iron curtain?

 

Describe how the Berlin Wall affected the people living in Berlin.

What was decided at the Yalta Conference, 1945?

What was decided at the Yalta Conference?

What was the Ho Chi Minh Trail?

Describe the role of the Vietcong.

Describe the Yalta Agreement.

Describe how Poland and Czechoslovakia became communist after 1945.

Describe relations between USA and Cuba 1959-62.

(b)

7 marks

Why was there continuing tension over Berlin, 1945-49?

Why did the USA get involved in Vietnam?

 

 

Why was Marshall Aid offered to countries in Europe?

 

 

Why was the Berlin Wall built?  

 

Explain why the Soviet Union blockaded Berlin.

 

Why was Eastern Europe largely in the hands of the USSR by 1946?

Why did the USA find it impossible to defeat the Vietcong?

 

Explain why the Vietnam war became increasingly unpopular.

 

Explain why the West were suspicious of the USSR 1945-7.

Explain why the wartime alliance broke down 1945-7.

 

Explain why the Cuban Missile Crisis caused so such alarm.

 

(c)

10 marks

"It was Truman, not Stalin, who brought about the Cold War" - Discuss

How far can the American withdrawal from Vietnam be blamed on military failure? Explain your answer.

‘The Berlin Blockade brought Europe close to war’. How far do you agree with statement?

How far can the decline of Soviet Power in Eastern Europe be blamed on the Solidarity movement? Explain your answer.

‘The Soviet Union was to blame for the Cold War.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.  

Only Stalin of the Allies achieved what he wanted as a result of the war with Germany'. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

How far was US public opinion the most important reason for the America's withdrawal from Vietnam? Explain your answer.

Evaluate the success of the US in Vietnam 1963-1975.

Evaluate the view that the attitudes of Churchill and Truman, not Stalin, caused the Cold War

Evaluate who had more successful policies in Europe 1945-9: the USA or the USSR?

Evaluate whether Kennedy or Khrushchev handled the Cuban Missile Crisis better.

UNO / Cold War

(a)

5 marks

Describe how the Soviet Union reacted to events in Hungary in 1956.

Describe the structure of the UNO.

 

 

Describe the USA’s response up to 1961 to Castro’s takeover of Cuba.

 

Describe relations between Cuba and the USA in the period 1959-1961.

Describe the events in Hungary in 1956.

Describe the Bay of Pigs incident.

 

Describe the work of any two of the agencies of the UNO.

Describe the structure of UNO.

Describe the effects of Berlin Wall.

Describe Glasnost.

Describe the aims of UNO.

(b)

7 marks

Why was the Soviet Union worried by developments in Czechoslovakia in Spring 1968?

Why has the way the UNO is organised made it hard for it to be effective?

 

 

Why was the USA concerned about Soviet missiles in Cuba?

 

 

Why was the USA concerned about Soviet missiles in Cuba? 

 

Why did the USSR invade Czechoslovakia in 1968?

 

Why did the USSR install missile bases in Cuba?

 

Why have most countries become members of the UNO?

 

Explain why UNO became involved in Congo.

 

Explain why the Berlin Wall was built.

 

Explain why Solidarity was formed.

 

Explain why the UNO intervened in Korea.

 

(c)

10 marks

How important was "Solidarity" in the decline of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe? Explain your answer.

How successful was the UNO in the Congo crisis?

 

‘There was never any real risk of war over Cuba’. How far do you agree with this statement?

Khrushchev claimed that the Cuban Missile Crisis was a victory for the Soviet Union. Do you agree with this view? Explain your answer.

‘Gorbachev was responsible for the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

'The Cuban Missile Crisis was not as serious as it appeared at the time'. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

How far has the importance of the UNO increased since 1945? Explain your answer. 

Evaluate importance of UNO in the Korean War.

Evaluate whether there was a serious chance of a ‘hot war’ breaking out in Europe.

Evaluate the view that Communism collapsed because of Gorbachev.

Evaluate the view that Congo crisis demonstrated success of UNO.