Unit 4: International experiences in the Modern World (The Cold War 1945 to 1991)

8 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

Inquiry topic 1: The origins of the Cold War (1945 to 1949)

Explain the origins of the Cold War, including the wartime alliances and tensions between the USA and USSR, the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the division of Germany and Berlin

Origins of the Cold War. Wartime alliance and tensions, Yalta and Potsdam, the atomic bomb, Iron Curtain, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin Blockade, NATO, and the formal division of Europe.

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Inquiry topic 3: Cold War conflicts in Asia

Explain the causes, course and consequences of the Korean War (1950 to 1953) as the first major military conflict of the Cold War, including United Nations involvement, Chinese intervention, and the entrenchment of the division at the 38th parallel

Korean War. Causes (division at 38th parallel, communist victory in China 1949), course (North Korean invasion June 1950, UN counteroffensive, Chinese intervention October 1950), and consequences (stalemate, armistice July 1953, continued division).

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Explain the causes, course and consequences of the Vietnam War (1955 to 1975), including the failures of French colonialism, the partition at the 17th parallel, US escalation in the 1960s, the Tet Offensive, anti-war movements, and the final fall of Saigon

Vietnam War. French defeat at Dien Bien Phu (1954), Geneva Accords, US escalation under Johnson, Tet Offensive (1968), anti-war movement, Nixon's Vietnamization, fall of Saigon (April 1975), and the war's significance for American Cold War strategy.

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Inquiry topic 5: The end of the Cold War

Examine the end of the Cold War, including the Reagan-Gorbachev relationship, Gorbachev's reforms (glasnost and perestroika), the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe (1989), the reunification of Germany (1990), and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (December 1991)

End of the Cold War. The second Cold War under Reagan, Gorbachev's accession (1985) and reforms (glasnost, perestroika), the INF Treaty (1987), the revolutions of 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall (9 November 1989), German reunification (1990), and the dissolution of the USSR (December 1991).

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Inquiry topic 4: Cold War crises and the threat of nuclear war

Examine the period of detente (1969 to 1979), including the SALT I and SALT II treaties, the Helsinki Accords (1975), Nixon's opening to China (1972), and the eventual breakdown of detente by the end of the 1970s

Detente. Brezhnev-Nixon-Ford era of relaxation in Cold War tensions, the SALT arms control agreements, Nixon's 1972 visit to China, the Helsinki Accords (1975), and the breakdown after Soviet involvement in Africa and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (December 1979).

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Examine the causes, course and outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), including the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba, the thirteen-day standoff, and the resolution of the crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Revolution (1959), Bay of Pigs (April 1961), Soviet deployment of missiles, US response and naval quarantine, ExComm decision-making, the secret Jupiter missile deal, and the legacy in nuclear restraint.

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Inquiry topic 2: The Cold War in Europe (1948 to 1962)

Examine the major crises of the Cold War in Europe between 1948 and 1962, including the formation of the Warsaw Pact, the Hungarian uprising of 1956, the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, and Soviet responses to Western policy

Cold War in Europe between 1948 and 1962. Warsaw Pact (1955), Hungarian uprising (1956), the U-2 incident and Vienna summit, and the construction of the Berlin Wall (August 1961) as the symbolic and physical entrenchment of the divide.

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Inquiry topic 6: Interpreting the Cold War

Evaluate the nature and historiography of the Cold War, including the orthodox, revisionist and post-revisionist interpretations of its causes and conduct, and apply these to historical evidence in IA3 and EA contexts

Historiography of the Cold War. The three main schools (orthodox, revisionist, post-revisionist), how each interprets causes and key events, the use of historiography in IA3 source investigation and EA short response, and the writing moves that signal historiographical awareness.

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