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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

4. Summary: What was the role of leaders, crises and nations?

Activity 1 - Which events should we revise?


  1. Identify - Review the notes you’ve made for this unit on the two leaders, crises and nations you’ve studied. Refer to the additional sources in this document if you still need to complete your research.
  2. Mind-Map - Create a concept-map using Padlet, Mindmup or any other similar mind-mapping tool (or create a sketchnote by hand!). In the middle write ‘What was the role of leaders, crises and nations?’.
  3. Summarise - Now fill in your mind-map with key historical information and facts about the main events of the unit. Use this timeline, review your notes and summarise.
  4. Revise - Use your mind maps to help you revise the historical content for your upcoming assessment and final exams. Make sure you store a copy with your other revision materials.

Activity 2 - What was our inquiry?


  1. Recall -  Examine the statement of inquiry for this unit again and consider how it applies to what you’ve studied:
    1. “Global conflicts and crises can provide both opportunities and challenges to the agency of individual leaders and nations”
  2. Analyse - With a partner, discuss how this statement of inquiry could be applied to the role of leaders, crises and nations in the Cold War. Consider the following questions:
    1. Connect - How is the SOI connected to what you have studied?
    2. Extend - Does the SOI extend your thinking about the role of leaders, crises and nations in the Cold War in any way?
    3. Challenge - What is challenging or confusing about the SOI?
    4. Discuss - Does the SOI apply to the role of leaders, crises and nations? What other events in history might it also apply to?
  3. Reflect - The key concept of this unit was perspective. Try gathering different viewpoints from people today about the Cold War. What do people know about it and what affects their perspective?

Activity 3 - How might we be assessed?


  1. Essay Plan - Try practicing for your end of unit review by essay planning previous questions on this topic. Use this essay mark-scheme to help:
    1. Examine the economic impact of the Cold War on two countries, each chosen from a different region - Nov 2020
    2. “Ideology was the most important cause of Cold War crises.” Discuss with reference to two Cold War crises, each from a different region - Nov 2019
    3. "The actions of individual leaders had a significant impact on the development of the Cold War." Discuss with reference to two leaders, each from a different region - May 2019
    4. Discuss the impact of two Cold War crises, each from a different region, on the development of superpower tensions - Nov 2018
    5. Compare and contrast the impact of two leaders, each from a different region, on the development of the Cold War - May 2018
    6. Evaluate the impact of two leaders, each from a different region, on the course of the Cold War - Nov 2017
    7. Evaluate the impact of Cold War tensions on two ​countries (excluding the USSR and the US) - May 2017
    8. Evaluate the impact upon the course of the Cold War of two crises, each chosen from a different region - Spec Paper

Further Reading for Revision


obligatory reading
  1. Leaders - Mamaux, A. (2015). Oxford IBDP Programme - The Cold War, pp. 53 (Truman/Stalin); 128 (Eisenhower/Khrushchev); 171 (Mao/Nixon); 215 (Brezhnev/Castro)
  2. Crises - The Cold War Was Hot When It Was Young | The Edge
  3. Nations - Edward, O. (2011). The USA and the Cold War, 1945-63, pp. 142-165
  4. Nations - Lynch, M. (2010). Stalin's Russia 1924-53 - Access to History
recommended reading
  1. Leaders - Rogers, K., & Thomas, J. (2015). Pearson Baccalaureate: History the Cold War, pp. 241-249 (Truman, Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao, Brezhnev, Brandt, Nixon, Reagan, Gorbachev)
  2. Crises - Crisis Points of the Cold War | Boundless World History
  3. Nations - Sanders, V. (2008). Politics, Presidency and Society, 1968-2001
  4. Nations - ​Lee, S.J. (1999). Stalin and the Soviet Union
supplemental reading
  1. Leaders - 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)
  2. Crises - Resources for The major crises of the Cold War - The major crises of the Cold War
  3. Nations - Sanders, V. (2012). The Cold War and the Americas 1945-1981 - Access to History for IBDP
  4. Nations - Todd, A. (2012). The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 1924-2000

previous lesson - in what ways were nations affected?
topic 12 menu - the cold war
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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