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    • Paper 1
    • Paper 2 >
      • Topic 10: Authoritarian States
      • Topic 12: The Cold War >
        • 1. Causes of the Cold War >
          • 1. What role did ideology play in the Grand Alliance?
          • 2. How did wartime disagreements affect the alliance?
          • 3. Did Soviet expansionism end the alliance?
          • 4. Was US exceptionalism to blame?
          • 5. Did events in Asia exacerbate tensions?
          • 6. Were tensions over Germany the final straw?
          • 7. Summary: Who was to blame for the Cold War?
        • 2. Conflict & Confrontation >
          • 1. How did competition unfold in Asia?
          • 2. What conflicts emerged in Europe?
          • 3. How did the Cold War shape the Middle East?
          • 4. Were tensions in the Americas unexpected?
          • 5. Why did the Cold War spread to Africa?
          • 6. How did scientific change drive the conflict?
          • 7. Summary: Who won the global struggle?
        • 3. Detente and Coexistence >
          • 1. Did peaceful coexistence work?
          • 2. What did detente achieve?
          • 3. Why did detente fail?
          • 4. Summary: Was detente a failure?
        • 4. China and the Cold War >
          • 1. Why were Sino-Soviet relations so turbulent?
          • 2. How did Sino-American relations change?
          • 3. What other relations did China cultivate?
          • 4. Summary: When did China become a global power?
        • 5. End of the Cold War >
          • 1. Did the USSR decay from within?
          • 2. Did Ronald Reagan win the war?
          • 3. Was Mikhail Gorbachev to blame?
          • 4. What role did people power play?
          • 5. Why did the USSR finally collapse?
          • 6. Summary: Who, or what, ended the Cold War?
        • 6. Leaders, Crises and Nations >
          • 1. What was the impact of leaders?
          • 2. How significant were Cold War crises?
          • 3. In what ways were nations affected?
          • 4. Summary: What was the role of leaders, crises and nations?
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 3 - Asia/Oceania >
      • Topic 9: Imperial Decline in East Asia 1860-1912
      • Topic 11: Japan 1912-1990
      • Topic 12: China and Korea 1910-1950
      • Topic 14: The People's Republic of China 1949-2005
      • Topic 15: Cold War Conflicts in Asia >
        • 1. The Malayan Emergency >
          • 1. What triggered conflict in Malaya?
          • 2. How did the Emergency evolve?
          • 3. Why was the insurgency defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Emergency?
          • 5. Summary: Why was communism defeated?
        • 2. The Korean War >
          • 1. What caused the Korean War?
          • 2. How did the Korean War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Korean War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Korean War?
          • 5. Summary: Was the Korean War a turning point?
        • 3. The French Indochina War >
          • 1. What caused the French Indochina War?
          • 2. How did the French Indochina War evolve?
          • 3. How was the war in Indochina resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Indochina War?
          • 5. Summary: What accounts for the French defeat?
        • 4. The Vietnam War >
          • 1. What caused the Vietnam War?
          • 2. How did the Vietnam War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Vietnam War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Vietnam War?
          • 5. Summary: Was the Vietnam War inevitable?
        • 5. The Cambodian Civil War >
          • 1. What caused the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 2. How did the Cambodian Civil War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Civil War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 5. Summary: Who can be blamed for events in Cambodia?
        • 6. The Soviet Afghan War >
          • 1. Why did the USSR invade Afghanistan?
          • 2. How did the Soviet-Afghan war evolve?
          • 3. How was the Soviet Union defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Soviet-Afghan war?
          • 5. Summary: Why did the USSR withdraw?
        • Exam Questions
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    • is humanities

1. What was the impact of leaders?

Activity 1 - Which Cold War leaders?


  1. Select - Pick two Cold War leaders, each from a different region. Select from the options on this worksheet. Remember which option you choose - you will continue with this option for crises and nations:
    1. Option 1 - Early Cold War - Joseph Stalin vs. Harry S. Truman
    2. Option 2 - Early Cold War - Joseph Stalin vs. Harry S. Truman
    3. Option 3 - Mid Cold War - Nikita Khrushchev vs. John F. Kennedy
    4. Option 4 - Mid Cold War - Dwight D. Eisenhower vs. Mao Zedong
    5. Option 5 - Late Cold War - Leonid Brezhnev vs. Jimmy Carter
    6. Option 6 - Late Cold War - Mikhail Gorbachev vs. Ronald Reagan
  2. Biographies - Begin researching your Cold War leaders by examining their early lives. Complete the first part of this worksheet by researching at least five biographical details about the lives of your leaders before they gained power.
  3. Supporters - In many cases, the foreign policies of Cold War leaders were influenced by the roles and ideas of other significant politicians in their governments. Complete the second part of your worksheet by researching and identifying at least two other significant individuals or groups that influenced or worked for your leader.

Activity 2 - What were their aims?


  1. Key Policies - Complete the third row of your table by researching and making note of the key foreign policies, doctrines, strategies and other aims your leader had in the Cold War.
  2. Key Events - Consider next the key events that your leader was involved in and how they put their policies into practice. Which events could be considered successes, and which could be considered failures?

Activity 3 - What impact did they have?


  1. Impact - Now complete the last row of your table by reflecting on the impact that your leader had on the course and development of the Cold War. Consider the following questions for each leader:
    1. Severity - Did they escalate or de-escalate tensions?
    2. Scope - Did they increase or decrease the scale of the conflict?
    3. Nature - Did they change the nature of the conflict?
    4. Range - Did they change the geographic reach of the conflict?
    5. Dynamics - Did the solve or increase underlying tensions?
  2. Summarise - Write a summary for the impact that each leader had on the course and development of the Cold War. Use page two of this connectives mat to find words to help you explain their impact. 

Activity 4 - How do they compare?


  1. Examine - What were the main similarities between the two leaders? Consider at least three ways in which you can compare the two leaders for similarities in terms of their impact on the course and development of the Cold War.
  2. Explore - Now consider the main differences between the two leaders in terms of their impact on the course and development of the Cold War. Add these to your worksheets.
  3. Discuss - Who was the more effective Cold War leader? Discuss this question as a class before noting down your answer with at least three reasons.
  4. Research - Finally, complete the second page of your worksheet by recording different historical viewpoints and perspectives on your two leaders. You can include contemporary accounts, and the views of historians.

Further Reading


OBLIGATORY READING
  1. Mamaux, A. (2015). Oxford IBDP Programme - The Cold War, pp. 53 (Truman/Stalin); 128 (Eisenhower/Khrushchev); 171 (Mao/Nixon); 215 (Brezhnev/Castro)
RECOMMENDED READING
  1. Rogers, K., & Thomas, J. (2015). Pearson Baccalaureate: History the Cold War, pp. 241-249 (Truman, Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao, Brezhnev, Brandt, Nixon, Reagan, Gorbachev)
SUPPLEMENTAL READING
  1. Olofson, S. (2017). OSC IBDP Study & Revision Guides: IB History Paper 2: The Cold War, pp. 45 (Stalin); Truman (46); Eisenhower (62); Khrushchev (77); Reagan (110); Gorbachev (111)

UNIT 6 MENU - LEADERS, CRISES AND NATIONS
NEXT LESSON - HOW SIGNIFICANT WERE COLD WAR CRISES?
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  • Home
  • Shop
  • iGCSE
  • IBDP
    • Paper 1
    • Paper 2 >
      • Topic 10: Authoritarian States
      • Topic 12: The Cold War >
        • 1. Causes of the Cold War >
          • 1. What role did ideology play in the Grand Alliance?
          • 2. How did wartime disagreements affect the alliance?
          • 3. Did Soviet expansionism end the alliance?
          • 4. Was US exceptionalism to blame?
          • 5. Did events in Asia exacerbate tensions?
          • 6. Were tensions over Germany the final straw?
          • 7. Summary: Who was to blame for the Cold War?
        • 2. Conflict & Confrontation >
          • 1. How did competition unfold in Asia?
          • 2. What conflicts emerged in Europe?
          • 3. How did the Cold War shape the Middle East?
          • 4. Were tensions in the Americas unexpected?
          • 5. Why did the Cold War spread to Africa?
          • 6. How did scientific change drive the conflict?
          • 7. Summary: Who won the global struggle?
        • 3. Detente and Coexistence >
          • 1. Did peaceful coexistence work?
          • 2. What did detente achieve?
          • 3. Why did detente fail?
          • 4. Summary: Was detente a failure?
        • 4. China and the Cold War >
          • 1. Why were Sino-Soviet relations so turbulent?
          • 2. How did Sino-American relations change?
          • 3. What other relations did China cultivate?
          • 4. Summary: When did China become a global power?
        • 5. End of the Cold War >
          • 1. Did the USSR decay from within?
          • 2. Did Ronald Reagan win the war?
          • 3. Was Mikhail Gorbachev to blame?
          • 4. What role did people power play?
          • 5. Why did the USSR finally collapse?
          • 6. Summary: Who, or what, ended the Cold War?
        • 6. Leaders, Crises and Nations >
          • 1. What was the impact of leaders?
          • 2. How significant were Cold War crises?
          • 3. In what ways were nations affected?
          • 4. Summary: What was the role of leaders, crises and nations?
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 3 - Asia/Oceania >
      • Topic 9: Imperial Decline in East Asia 1860-1912
      • Topic 11: Japan 1912-1990
      • Topic 12: China and Korea 1910-1950
      • Topic 14: The People's Republic of China 1949-2005
      • Topic 15: Cold War Conflicts in Asia >
        • 1. The Malayan Emergency >
          • 1. What triggered conflict in Malaya?
          • 2. How did the Emergency evolve?
          • 3. Why was the insurgency defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Emergency?
          • 5. Summary: Why was communism defeated?
        • 2. The Korean War >
          • 1. What caused the Korean War?
          • 2. How did the Korean War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Korean War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Korean War?
          • 5. Summary: Was the Korean War a turning point?
        • 3. The French Indochina War >
          • 1. What caused the French Indochina War?
          • 2. How did the French Indochina War evolve?
          • 3. How was the war in Indochina resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Indochina War?
          • 5. Summary: What accounts for the French defeat?
        • 4. The Vietnam War >
          • 1. What caused the Vietnam War?
          • 2. How did the Vietnam War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Vietnam War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Vietnam War?
          • 5. Summary: Was the Vietnam War inevitable?
        • 5. The Cambodian Civil War >
          • 1. What caused the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 2. How did the Cambodian Civil War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Civil War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 5. Summary: Who can be blamed for events in Cambodia?
        • 6. The Soviet Afghan War >
          • 1. Why did the USSR invade Afghanistan?
          • 2. How did the Soviet-Afghan war evolve?
          • 3. How was the Soviet Union defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Soviet-Afghan war?
          • 5. Summary: Why did the USSR withdraw?
        • Exam Questions
  • Links
    • is globalpolitics
    • is history
    • is humanities