§-Unit

VICModern History← Modern History syllabus

Unit 2: The changing world order (1945 to 2010)

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

What challenges defined the world order in the early 21st century, between 2001 and 2010?

Challenges to the world order in the 21st century, including the September 11 attacks (2001), the War on Terror (Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003), the Global Financial Crisis (2007-2008), the rise of China, and the emergence of climate change as an international issue

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the early 21st century. The September 11 attacks (2001), the War on Terror (Afghanistan, Iraq), the Global Financial Crisis (2007-2008), the rise of China as a global economic power, and the emergence of climate change as a major international issue.

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What challenges to existing political, social and economic orders emerged in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s?

Challenges to existing orders in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including the civil rights movement, second-wave feminism, decolonisation in Africa and Asia, the counterculture, and economic crises (oil shocks 1973 and 1979)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on challenges to existing orders in the 1950s through 1970s. Civil rights movement, second-wave feminism, decolonisation completing across Africa and Asia, counterculture, and the economic crises (oil shocks) that ended the postwar boom.

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How did Cold War crises between 1956 and 1962 bring the superpowers closest to nuclear war?

Cold War crises in the era of peaceful coexistence, including the Hungarian Uprising (1956), the U-2 incident (1960), the Berlin Wall (1961), and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Major Cold War crises between 1956 and 1962. The Secret Speech, the Hungarian Uprising, the U-2 incident, the Berlin Wall, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Moscow-Washington hotline, and the verdicts of Robert Service and Michael Dobbs.

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How did the European empires in Asia and Africa come to an end between 1947 and 1980?

decolonisation in Asia and Africa (1947 to 1980), including the independence of India and Pakistan (1947), the Algerian War (1954 to 1962), the Suez Crisis (1956), the Year of Africa (1960), and the consequences for the post-war world

Decolonisation in Asia and Africa. Indian partition, Indonesia, Dien Bien Phu, the Suez Crisis, the Algerian War, Ghana, the Year of Africa, the Congo Crisis, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the verdicts of Frederick Cooper and Odd Arne Westad.

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How did apartheid in South Africa come to an end between 1948 and 1994?

the end of apartheid in South Africa (1948 to 1994), including the National Party victory (1948), the Sharpeville Massacre (1960), the Soweto Uprising (1976), the role of the ANC and Nelson Mandela, international sanctions, the FW de Klerk reforms (1989 to 1990), and the 1994 election

End of apartheid in South Africa. The 1948 National Party victory, Sharpeville, the Rivonia Trial, Soweto, Steve Biko, international sanctions, the de Klerk reforms, the 1994 election, the TRC, and the verdicts of Saul Dubow and Hermann Giliomee.

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How did the Cold War end, and what new global order emerged in the 1980s and 1990s?

The end of the Cold War (1985 to 1991), the collapse of the Soviet Union (December 1991), the emergence of a unipolar US-led world order in the 1990s, and the acceleration of globalisation

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the end of the Cold War and the emergence of globalisation. Gorbachev's reforms (1985 onwards), the revolutions of 1989, German reunification (October 1990), the dissolution of the USSR (December 1991), the unipolar 1990s, and the growth of globalisation (NAFTA 1994, WTO 1995, EU expansion).

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Why did the Cold War end peacefully between 1985 and 1991?

the end of the Cold War, including the role of Gorbachev (glasnost and perestroika), the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe (1989), the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany (1990), and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)

End of the Cold War. Gorbachev's reforms, the Reykjavik summit, the INF Treaty, the Sinatra Doctrine, the 1989 revolutions, the fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification, the 1991 August coup, and the verdicts of Gaddis, Sarotte and Zubok.

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How did the wartime alliance break down into a divided Europe and a global Cold War between 1945 and 1949?

the origins of the Cold War 1945 to 1949, including the wartime conferences (Yalta, Potsdam), the division of Germany and Europe, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade and Airlift, and the formation of NATO

Origins of the Cold War. Yalta and Potsdam, the iron curtain, Kennan's Long Telegram, the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, Cominform, the Czech coup, the Berlin Blockade and Airlift, NATO, and the verdicts of John Lewis Gaddis and Melvyn Leffler.

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How was the postwar international order constructed between 1945 and 1949, and what were its central features?

The shaping of the postwar world, including the formation of the United Nations (1945), the Bretton Woods institutions, the start of the atomic age (Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 1945), the beginning of the Cold War, and the start of decolonisation

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the shaping of the postwar world. The United Nations (June 1945), Bretton Woods (1944), the atomic age and Hiroshima / Nagasaki (August 1945), the emergence of the Cold War from the wartime alliance, and the start of European decolonisation (India 1947).

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Why did the Vietnam War (1954 to 1975) become a defining Cold War conflict, and why did the United States lose?

the Vietnam War (1954 to 1975) as a Cold War conflict, including the partition at Geneva (1954), American escalation under Johnson, the Tet Offensive (1968), Vietnamisation, the Paris Peace Accords (1973), and the fall of Saigon (1975)

Vietnam War. Dien Bien Phu, Geneva, Diem and the Republic of Vietnam, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the air war and search-and-destroy, the Tet Offensive of 1968, Vietnamisation, the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, and the verdicts of Fredrik Logevall and Lien-Hang Nguyen.

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How did the US civil rights movement challenge segregation and change American law and society between 1954 and 1968?

the US civil rights movement (1954 to 1968), including Brown v Board of Education (1954), the Montgomery bus boycott (1955 to 1956), the role of Martin Luther King Jr and the SCLC, the SNCC and direct action, the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and the rise of Black Power

US civil rights movement. Brown v Board, the Montgomery bus boycott, Little Rock, the SCLC and SNCC, the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, the Watts riot, Black Power, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, and the verdicts of Taylor Branch and Manning Marable.

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How did the women's liberation movement change Western societies between 1960 and 1980?

the women's liberation movement (1960 to 1980), including The Feminine Mystique (1963), the Equal Pay Act (1963), the founding of NOW (1966), the contraceptive pill, Roe v Wade (1973), and the consequences for work, law and culture

Women's liberation movement. Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, the contraceptive pill, the Equal Pay Act, the Civil Rights Act Title VII, NOW, consciousness-raising, the women's strike, Title IX, Roe v Wade, the ERA, and the verdicts of Sara Evans and Ruth Rosen.

9 min read →

How did the Cold War extend into Asia between 1949 and 1953, and what were the consequences?

the extension of the Cold War to Asia, including the Chinese Communist victory (1949), the Sino-Soviet Treaty (1950), the Korean War (1950 to 1953), and the consequences for the global Cold War

Extension of the Cold War to Asia. The Chinese Civil War, Mao's victory, the Sino-Soviet Treaty, the Korean War, Inchon, Chinese entry, the Panmunjom Armistice, and the verdicts of Odd Arne Westad and Bruce Cumings.

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How did the Middle East become a centre of post-1945 conflict?

Analyse Middle East conflicts in the post-1945 period, including the creation of Israel (1948), the major Arab-Israeli wars, the Iranian Revolution (1979), and the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on Middle East conflicts. UN Partition Plan (1947), creation of Israel (May 1948), the Suez Crisis (1956), Six-Day War (1967), Yom Kippur War (1973), Camp David Accords (1978), Iranian Revolution (1979), Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), and Gulf War (1991).

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How has China's rise reshaped the post-Cold War order?

Analyse the rise of China as a global power from 1978, including Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening (1978), the Tiananmen Square crackdown (1989), WTO membership (2001), and the assertive foreign policy under Xi Jinping (from 2012)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the rise of China. Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening (1978), Special Economic Zones, Tiananmen Square (June 1989), WTO membership (2001), the global financial crisis as Chinese opportunity (2008), Xi Jinping (from 2012), Belt and Road Initiative (2013), and the growing US-China rivalry.

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Why did the United States lose the Vietnam War?

Analyse the Vietnam War (1955-1975), including the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu (1954), the Geneva Accords, the Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964), the Tet Offensive (1968), the gradual American withdrawal (1969-1973), and the fall of Saigon (April 1975)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the Vietnam War, framed for Year 11 SAC writing. For the fuller treatment (more historiography, more named historians, more evidence), see the sister page vietnam-war-1954-1975.

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How did decolonisation reshape the post-1945 world?

Analyse the process of decolonisation after 1945, including Indian independence (1947), the wave of African independence (Ghana 1957 to the Year of Africa 1960), and the Algerian War (1954-1962)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on decolonisation. Indian independence (Gandhi, partition August 1947), African decolonisation (Ghana 1957, Year of Africa 1960), the Algerian War (1954-1962), and the long-term consequences (Non-Aligned Movement, Bandung 1955).

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How did the Cold War begin?

Analyse the origins of the Cold War 1945-1949, including the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the division of Germany, the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (1947-1948), the Berlin Blockade (1948-1949), and the formation of NATO (1949)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the origins of the Cold War. Yalta and Potsdam, division of Germany, Iron Curtain speech (1946), Truman Doctrine (March 1947), Marshall Plan (June 1947), Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-1949), and the formation of NATO (April 1949).

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How did 9/11 reshape global politics?

Analyse the rise of transnational terrorism and the post-9/11 global response, including the September 11 attacks (2001), the war in Afghanistan (2001-2021), the Iraq War (2003), and the rise of Islamic State (2014-2019)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on 21st-century terrorism. The September 11 attacks (2001), the war in Afghanistan (2001-2021), the Iraq War (2003-2011), Abu Ghraib, the rise of Islamic State (2014-2019), and the geopolitical consequences for the US-led international order.

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Why did the Soviet Union collapse?

Analyse the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, including Gorbachev's reforms (glasnost and perestroika from 1985), the revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, German reunification (October 1990), and the dissolution of the USSR (December 1991)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the fall of the USSR. Gorbachev's reforms (glasnost, perestroika from 1985), Solidarity in Poland, fall of the Berlin Wall (9 November 1989), Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, Romanian Revolution, German reunification (October 1990), the August 1991 coup attempt, and the dissolution of the USSR (December 1991).

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How did the Cold War spread to Asia?

Analyse the extension of the Cold War to Asia, including the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), the Korean War (1950-1953), and the formation of regional alliances

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the Asian Cold War. Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), Mao's victory, the Korean War (June 1950 - July 1953), UN intervention led by the US, Chinese intervention, MacArthur's dismissal, and the armistice at the 38th parallel.

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Why did the Cold War alternate between crisis and detente?

Analyse the high-tension period of the Cold War (Berlin 1961, Cuba 1962) and the subsequent move to detente (SALT 1972, Helsinki Accords 1975)

VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the Cuban Missile Crisis and detente. The Berlin Wall (August 1961), Bay of Pigs (April 1961), Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), the establishment of the hotline (1963), partial test ban treaty (1963), Vietnam-era pressures, and detente under Nixon-Brezhnev (SALT I 1972, Helsinki Accords 1975).

6 min read →