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VICModern HistoryQuick questions
Unit 2: The changing world order (1945 to 2010)
Quick questions on Challenges of the 21st century 2001-2010: VCE Modern History Unit 2 Year 11
15short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is afghanistan?Show answer
US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban regime (which had harboured Osama bin Laden) and destroy al-Qaeda. Taliban government overthrown within weeks. Bin Laden escaped (killed in Pakistan, 2011).
What is iraq?Show answer
US-led "coalition of the willing" (including Britain, Australia, Poland and others) invaded Iraq. Justifications: alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and alleged links to al-Qaeda. Neither claim was supported by the evidence; WMDs were not found.
What is domestic implications?Show answer
- USA PATRIOT Act (2001): expanded government surveillance and detention powers. - Guantanamo Bay detention facility (from 2002): controversial detention of suspected combatants. - Enhanced interrogation programs revealed (2007-2014): waterboarding and other practices condemned as torture.
What is long-term impact?Show answer
The War on Terror remained the dominant US foreign policy frame for two decades. Cost: trillions of dollars; approximately 7,000 US military deaths; estimated 1 million+ Iraqi and Afghan civilian deaths. The 9/11 attacks ended the 1990s optimism.
What is origins?Show answer
US housing bubble (2003-2006) and subprime mortgage lending. When housing prices fell from 2007, mortgage-backed securities lost value.
What is crisis?Show answer
Lehman Brothers collapsed (15 September 2008). Global credit markets froze. Major financial institutions in the US, UK, Iceland and elsewhere required government bailouts.
What is recession?Show answer
Global recession 2008-2009. Unemployment soared. Sovereign debt crisis in Europe (Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy) followed.
What is response?Show answer
G20 emerged as the major international economic forum. Major fiscal and monetary stimulus. Tighter banking regulations (Dodd-Frank Act 2010, Basel III).
What is political impact?Show answer
The GFC fuelled populism. Tea Party movement in USA (2009); rise of far-right and far-left parties in Europe. Occupy movement (2011).
What is economic growth?Show answer
Average growth of 9 to 10 percent per year through the 1990s and 2000s. By 2010, China was the world's second-largest economy (overtaking Japan).
What is trade?Show answer
Joined the WTO (2001). Became the world's leading manufacturer and exporter.
What is political model?Show answer
One-party state combined with state-managed capitalism. Different from the Western model; some Chinese commentators argued for a "Beijing Consensus" alternative to the "Washington Consensus".
What is foreign relations?Show answer
Increased influence in Africa, Latin America, Asia. Belt and Road Initiative (from 2013, after 2010 but relevant context).
What is concerns?Show answer
Trade imbalances, intellectual property practices, treatment of minorities (Tibet, Uighurs), Hong Kong, Taiwan. By the 2010s, US-China rivalry was the central great-power dynamic.
What is scientific consensus?Show answer
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established 1988. Successive assessment reports (1990, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2014) increased confidence in anthropogenic climate change.