VICModern History

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

13 dot points across 13 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions 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
A focused answer to the 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.
8 min answer →

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)
A focused answer to the 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.
8 min answer →

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)
A focused answer to the 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).
6 min answer →

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)
A focused answer to the 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 answer →

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)
A focused answer to the 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).
6 min answer →

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
A focused answer to the 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).
8 min answer →

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)
A focused answer to the 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).
6 min answer →

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
A focused answer to the 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.
6 min answer →

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)
A focused answer to the 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).
6 min answer →

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)
A focused answer to the 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.
6 min answer →

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
A focused answer to the 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).
8 min answer →

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)
A focused answer to the 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.
6 min answer →

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)
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 2 key knowledge point on the Vietnam War. French defeat at Dien Bien Phu (1954), Geneva Accords, US advisory deployment, Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964), Operation Rolling Thunder, Tet Offensive (January 1968), Nixon's Vietnamisation (1969), Paris Peace Accords (1973), and the fall of Saigon (30 April 1975).
6 min answer →