Activity 1 - What caused the Civil War?

  1. Think/Pair/Share - Locate Afghanistan on Google Maps. What can you infer from the map about the strategic importance of Afghanistan during the Cold War?
  2. Examine - Read and make notes from Slides 1-8 of the Lesson Presentation on the causes of the Afghan Civil War. Why did war break out in 1978? 
  3. Analyse - Read the source and complete the five questions that appear under Task 1 on this worksheet. To what extent can the USSR be blamed for causing the Afghan Civil War?
  4. Extend - Explore this article which discusses the significance of the Herat Uprising of 1979. From the article, what can you discover about the reasons why people were upset with the communist government of the PDPA?

Activity 2 - What triggered intervention?

  1. Identify - Read and make notes from Slides 9-12 of the Lesson Presentation on the reasons for Soviet intervention. From what you’ve learnt so far, what do you believe was the main reason why the Soviets invaded?
  2. Discuss - Examine the reasons for Soviet intervention under Task 2 on this worksheet. Rank them in order of importance, from most important to least. What do you think were the main reasons for Soviet intervention?
  3. Analysis - Read the source under Task 3. With reference to origin, purpose and content, assess the value and limitations of this source for historians studying the reasons for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
  4. Watch - Watch the following video from the CNN cold war series and make notes under these headings. The first 15 mins deal with the causes of Soviet intervention:
    1. Reasons for the Soviet intervention
    2. Reasons for the American support of the Mujahideen
    3. Reasons why the USSR was not able to win the war quickly
    4. The nature of US reaction to the Soviet invasion and the nature of their support for the Mujahideen
    5. The role of Pakistan and the USA's relationship with Pakistan
    6. The nature and effectiveness of the Mujahideen as a fighting force
    7. The reasons for a failure of a peaceful settlement
    8. The results of the war for the USSR

Activity 3 - Was intervention legitimate?

  1. Reflect - Was Soviet intervention in Afghanistan legitimate? Read through the arguments on Slide 13 of the Lesson Presentation. Were they justified in their actions?
  2. Examine - Read through the different historical perspectives under Task 4. Compare and contrast what the sources reveal about Soviet understanding of the internal conditions in Afghanistan in 1979. To what extent was the USSR naive in believing its invasion of Afghanistan would be successful?
  3. Discuss - Examine Task 5 on the worksheet. Which historical perspective do you agree with the most? What are the flaws in each perspective?

Further Reading

OBLIGATORY READING
  1. Mamaux, A. (2015). Oxford IB Diploma Programme - The Cold War, pp. 163-167
RECOMMENDED READING
  1. Williamson, D.G. (2015). Access to History for the IB Diploma - The Cold War, pp. 250-253
SUPPLEMENTAL READING
  1. Fremont-Barnes, G. (2012). Osprey Essential Histories: The Soviet-Afghan War 1979-89, pp. 7-12, 18-21, 31-36
MRBUDDHISTORY.COM was created in 2012 in order to support the learning of students in History. The site is devoted to creating high-quality and accessible teaching and learning resources for history education and other humanities subjects.