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Section IV (Change in the Modern World): The Cold War 1945-1991

14 dot points across 14 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did the communist victory in China in 1949 globalise the Cold War?

The extension of the Cold War to Asia, including the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War (October 1949), the Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1950, and the impact on American policy in Asia

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the extension of the Cold War to Asia, the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War (1 October 1949), the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance (14 February 1950), NSC-68 (April 1950), and the impact on American policy that produced rearmament and the Korean War.

8 min answer →

How did the Korean War 1950 to 1953 militarise the global Cold War?

The Korean War (June 1950 to July 1953), including the role of the United Nations, the intervention of the People's Republic of China, and the impact on superpower relations and the militarisation of containment

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the Korean War (25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953), the United Nations response under American command, the Chinese intervention (October 1950), the stalemate at the 38th parallel, and the militarisation of containment under NSC-68 that produced a tripled American defence budget and rearmed West Germany.

9 min answer →

Why was the Berlin Wall built in August 1961?

The Berlin Crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall (13 August 1961), including the role of Khrushchev, the Kennedy administration's response, and the consolidation of the German division

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the Berlin Wall (13 August 1961): the refugee haemorrhage that produced the crisis, Khrushchev's failed 1958 ultimatum and the Vienna Summit of June 1961, the Kennedy administration's accommodation through the three essentials, and the Wall as the de facto solution to the German question.

9 min answer →

How was nuclear war avoided in the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962?

The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), including the origins of the crisis, the role of Kennedy and Khrushchev, the resolution, and the impact on superpower relations

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the Cuban Missile Crisis (16 to 28 October 1962), the Soviet decision to deploy missiles in Cuba, the U-2 discovery, the naval quarantine, the secret deal on Jupiter missiles in Turkey, and the impact on superpower relations through the Moscow hotline and the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty.

9 min answer →

Why did the superpowers pursue detente in the 1970s and why did it collapse?

Detente in the 1970s, including the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I 1972, SALT II 1979), the Helsinki Accords (August 1975), and the collapse of detente by the end of the decade

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on detente, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I, 26 May 1972; SALT II, 18 June 1979), the Helsinki Final Act (1 August 1975), the role of Nixon, Kissinger, Brezhnev, Carter, and the collapse of detente by the late 1970s through the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (December 1979) and the failure of SALT II ratification.

9 min answer →

How did the Soviet Union dissolve in 1991?

The dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991), including the rise of nationalism in the republics, the August 1991 coup attempt, the rise of Yeltsin, and the formal end of the USSR on 25 December 1991

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the rise of nationalism in the Baltics, Russia, and Ukraine, the Novo-Ogaryovo process, the August 1991 coup attempt against Gorbachev, the rise of Boris Yeltsin, the Belavezha Accords (8 December 1991), and the formal end of the USSR on 25 December 1991.

9 min answer →

How did Gorbachev's reforms end the Cold War?

The end of the Cold War, including Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika, the New Thinking in foreign policy, the INF Treaty (December 1987), and the changing superpower relationship

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on Gorbachev's accession (11 March 1985), the reform programmes of glasnost and perestroika, New Thinking in foreign policy, the Reykjavik Summit (October 1986), the INF Treaty (8 December 1987), the Sinatra Doctrine replacing the Brezhnev Doctrine, and the bilateral process that brought the Cold War to a managed end.

9 min answer →

How did the Eastern European revolutions of 1989 dismantle the Soviet bloc?

The revolutions of 1989, including the fall of the Berlin Wall (9 November 1989), the round-table negotiations in Poland and Hungary, and the collapse of communist regimes across Eastern Europe

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the revolutions of 1989, the Polish round-table elections (June 1989), the Hungarian opening of the Austrian border (10 September), the fall of the Berlin Wall (9 November), the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia (November), and the Romanian revolution (December) that ended communist rule across Eastern Europe.

9 min answer →

How have historians debated the causes and conduct of the Cold War?

Historical interpretations of the Cold War, including the orthodox, revisionist, and post-revisionist schools, and the impact of post-1991 archival access

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on historical interpretations: the orthodox school blaming Stalin, the revisionist school blaming American economic imperialism, the post-revisionist synthesis treating the Cold War as structural, and the post-1991 archival reassessment that returned primary responsibility to Stalin while keeping structural and global dimensions.

8 min answer →

How did the Berlin Blockade and the formation of NATO militarise the Cold War?

The Berlin Blockade (June 1948 to May 1949) and Airlift, the formation of NATO (April 1949), and the division of Germany into the Federal Republic (May 1949) and the German Democratic Republic (October 1949)

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 to 12 May 1949), the Berlin Airlift, the formation of NATO (4 April 1949), and the division of Germany into the FRG (23 May 1949) and the GDR (7 October 1949) as the moment the Cold War became militarised in Europe.

9 min answer →

How did the Iron Curtain rhetoric and the doctrine of containment frame the early Cold War?

The rhetoric and ideology of the early Cold War, including Kennan's Long Telegram (February 1946), Churchill's Iron Curtain speech (March 1946), and the doctrine of containment

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the rhetoric and ideology of the early Cold War, George Kennan's Long Telegram from Moscow (22 February 1946), Churchill's Iron Curtain speech at Fulton, Missouri (5 March 1946), Novikov's parallel Soviet telegram (September 1946), and the development of containment as American grand strategy.

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How did the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan formalise containment?

The development of the Cold War, including the Truman Doctrine (March 1947), the Marshall Plan (June 1947), the response of the USSR through Cominform and Comecon, and the consolidation of the two blocs

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on the Truman Doctrine (March 1947) and the Marshall Plan (June 1947), the doctrine of containment derived from Kennan's Long Telegram and X article, the Soviet response through Cominform and Comecon, and the consolidation of the Western and Eastern blocs.

9 min answer →

How did the wartime alliance break down at Yalta and Potsdam to produce the Cold War?

The origins of the Cold War, including ideological differences, the wartime conferences at Yalta (February 1945) and Potsdam (July to August 1945), and the breakdown of the Grand Alliance

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on origins, the wartime conferences at Yalta (February 1945) and Potsdam (July to August 1945), and the breakdown of the Grand Alliance through ideological, strategic, and personal divisions between the United States, Britain, and the USSR.

9 min answer →

How did proxy wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan shape the Cold War?

Proxy wars and the Cold War in the Third World, including the Vietnam War (1965 to 1973) and the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979 to 1989), and their impact on the superpowers

A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Cold War dot point on proxy wars in the Third World, the Vietnam War (American escalation 1965, Tet 1968, withdrawal 1973, fall of Saigon 1975), the Soviet war in Afghanistan (invasion 24 December 1979, withdrawal 15 February 1989), and the symmetrical strategic damage the two wars caused to American confidence and Soviet capacity.

8 min answer →