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      • 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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6. How did scientific change drive the conflict?

Activity 1 - What was the nuclear arms race?


  1. Think/Pair/Share - What was the nuclear arms race? Make notes on your own before sharing your ideas.
  2. Watch - Watch this video. What does it indicate about the nuclear arms race?
  3. Analyse - Now watch ex-US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in this documentary entitled ‘Fog of War’. What message is he making about nuclear weapons?
  4. Identify - Using this worksheet, match the concepts related to the nuclear arms race to their correct definitions.

Activity 2 - What was the impact?


  1. Analysis - Examine Sources A-C on this worksheet and then answer the following questions:
    1. What is the message of each of the sources with regard to the arms race between the superpowers?
    2. What conclusions can you draw about the characteristics of the arms race up to 1985? Give evidence from all three sources to support your answer.
  2. Read - Read and make notes from pages 201-207 of Rogers, K., & Thomas, J. (2015). Pearson Baccalaureate: History the Cold War on how the nuclear arms race developed. What were the key turning points of the arms race?
  3. Examine - As a class, examine each of the following quotes to work out what they mean and discuss in pairs how far you agree with each one:
    1. Nuclear weapons 'exchanged destruction for duration'. (John Lewis Gaddis)
    2. 'Mutually Assured Destruction is the foundation of deterrence' (McNamara)
  4. Explore - Using google image search or any other resource, locate one political cartoon from the Cold War about the nuclear arms race. Paste it onto a blank google doc and then annotate it, answering the following questions:
    1. Which political figures are shown in the cartoon?
    2. What event/issue is the cartoon referring to?
    3. Are there symbols or other items in the cartoon that have significance?
    4. Are there any labels or writing in the cartoon that help explain what is going on?
    5. Do you have any knowledge about the cartoonist, or the country from which he or she comes from?
    6. What was happening in the Cold War regarding the arms race, at the time the cartoon was drawn?
  5. Write - Using your annotations, write a paragraph explaining the message of your cartoon. 
  6. Discuss - What was the most important impact of the nuclear arms race on the Cold War? 

Activity 3 - What was the space race?


  1. Watch - Watch this short video about the space race. Make a note of the specific events that occurred. 
  2. Discuss - What conclusions can you draw about the significance of the space race for the Cold War?
  3. Examine - Arguably, the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 kickstarted the space race. In pairs, read the following source and answer these questions:
    1. What is the tone of this press release?
    2. What is the message that the US government is trying to give to the US public?
    3. How useful is this source for evidence of the US reaction to the launching of Sputnik?
  4. Research - Conduct some research into the key events of the space race. What factors allowed the Soviets to get ahead in this area? What factors allowed the Americans to take the lead by the end of the 1960s and get the first man to the moon? Why do you think that this area of Cold War conflict was followed with such interest by the populations in both East and West?
  5. Create - Make your own timeline of the nuclear arms race and space race. Research and include the following events on your timeline. Be sure to include a brief description of each event:
    1. The first atomic bombs
    2. First Soviet/Chinese atomic bombs
    3. First hydrogen bombs
    4. The Baruch Plan
    5. First ICBM
    6. Sputnik 1
    7. Invention of SLBMs
    8. Cuban Missile Crisis
    9. Test Ban Treaty
    10. Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty
    11. SALT 1 - ABM Treaty/Interim Agreement on Offensive Arms
    12. SALT 2
    13. START Talks
    14. Euromissiles Crisis
    15. Reagan’s SDI Project
    16. Chernobyl Incident
    17. INF Treaty
    18. START 1 Treaty

Further Reading


OBLIGATORY READING
  1. Rogers, K., & Thomas, J. (2015). Pearson Baccalaureate: History the Cold War, pp. 201-207
RECOMMENDED READING
  1. Mamaux, A. (2015). Oxford IBDP Programme - The Cold War, pp. 146-152
SUPPLEMENTAL READING
  1. Gaddis, J.L. (2006). The Cold War: Chapter 2 - Deathboats and Lifeboats, pp. 48-82

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NEXT LESSON - SUMMARY: WHO WON THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE?
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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