Menu
Dictators: Rise of 20thC Dictators | Rule of 20thC Dictators
Wars: Origins of Wars | WW1 / WW2: origins compared
Tsar Alexander II
Tsar Alexander III
IGCSE Revision and Study Skills •IGCSE Paper 1 Model Answers
IBDP Essay/Sourcework Skills •IB Historiography / TOK •IB Internal Assessment • IB Extended Essay •30+ Model Essays •IB Curriculum Map •IB Revision
Early Modern British:
Henry VII | Henry VIII 1509-1529 | Henry VIII 1529-1547 | Edward VI | Mary I | Elizabeth I
Lutheran Reformation | Zwingli/Calvin/ Radicals | Counter-Reformation | Ferdinand/Isabella | Charles I/Phillip II | Ottoman Empire | French Revolution / Napoleon
Please fill in the following form to contact the author, Russel Tarr
ActiveHistory provides entertaining, educational award-winning interactive simulations, decision-making games, self-marking quizzes, high-quality worksheets and detailed lesson plans for teachers and students. View the top 75 activities here.
Introductory Historiography and Research Task Each student chooses one dictator from the IB Syllabus Africa: Kenya-Kenyatta; Tanzania-Nyerere Americas: Argentina-Peron; Cuba-Castro Europe and the Middle East: Germany-Hitler; USSR-Stalin; Egypt-Nasser Asia and Oceania: China-Mao; Indonesia-Sukarno
Research Template Students use this template to record their findings about the key "Methods" and "Conditions" which led to the rise to power of the dictator they have researched. A completed sample project can be downloaded here.
Feedback Process In this lesson, students start to compare and contrast the different methods and conditions used by different dictators to obtain power. Working in pairs, small groups and then as a class, they identify the most prevalent methods and conditions. They then identify exactly which dictators match these criteria and makes notes from the research templates as appropriate.
Historiography - Why do dicators emerge? This activity encourages students to investigate the theories of six different historians (Marx, Davies, Huntington, Gurr, Tilly, Skocpol) whom have formulated theories regarding the causes for the rise of dictators. These theories are compared, contrasted and linked: structuralists are separated from intentionalists. Finally, students consider which of the dictators most effectively illustrate each of these different theories.
Essay Planning task Students now have two possible approaches to the essay question: Approach 1 Produce an essay that looks at Methods in the first half, then Conditions. Bring in references to historians at appropriate points (e.g. Marx focuses on economic conditions).
Approach 2 Produce an essay which looks at the Intentionalist historians first, then the Structuralists. For each historian, try to refer to at least two dictators.
It is a good idea to revisit this topic by completing the ActiveHistory study unit on the Rise of Fidel Castro.
Directly following the completion of the in-depth case study of one rise, or after a suitable interval later in the course, students should proceed to compare and contrast two separate dictators from different regions.
To do this, they should base their investigation around the ActiveHistory interactive simulation “Which 20th Century Dictator are YOU?”. This is a stand-alone simulation to help students compare and contrast how single-party state rulers ROSE TO power. It guides students through 10 key issues explaining how and why dictatorships are able to survive. Students complete the accompanying self-study workpack to turn their findings into a rigorous essay. It also provides a great way of revising and developing their earlier essay focusing on one dictator.
© 1998-2021 Russel Tarr, ActiveHistory.co.uk Limited (Reg. 6111680) High Park Lodge, Edstaston Wem, Shropshire, England, SY4 5RD. Telephone/Fax: 01939 233909 All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Contact
Events (1050 years ago today): 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
Events (450 years ago today): 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
Births (50 years ago today): 1971 – Scott Gibbs, Welsh-South African rugby player and sportscaster
Deaths (100 years ago today): 1921 – Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer and conductor (b. 1877)
Deaths (50 years ago today): 1971 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (b. 1871)
RSS Feed | Full week | Get Widget