AS History₇₀₄₁

This option provides for the study in depth of the evolving course of international relations during an era of tension between communist and capitalist powers which threatened nuclear Armageddon. It explores concepts such as communism and anti-communism, aggression and détente and also encourages students to reflect on the power of modern military technology, what hastens confrontation and what forces promote peace in the modern world.

To the Brink of Nuclear War: International Relations, c1945–1963

The Origins of the Cold War, c1945–1949

• US, British and USSR relations in 1945: conflicting ideologies; tensions at Yalta; relations between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill; the breakdown of the Grand Alliance at Potsdam; relations between Stalin, Truman and Attlee
• Developing tensions: the Soviet Union occupation/control of eastern and southern Europe; Kennan's Long Telegram; the Iron Curtain speech; Cominform; the Greek Civil War and the Truman Doctrine on containment
• The USA’s involvement in Europe: policy towards Britain and Europe; the launch of the Marshall Plan; US attitudes to Germany and Berlin
• Conflict over Germany: developments within the sectors, including Bizonia and currency reform; the Berlin blockade; the creation of East and West Germany; formation of NATO

The Widening of the Cold War, 1949–1955

• US containment in action in Asia: the reconstruction of Japan and US-Japanese relations; support for Jiang Jieshi and policy towards China and Taiwan; the defensive perimeter strategy; support for South Korea; NSC-68
• The Korean War: causes, position and aims of Kim ll Sung and Syngman Rhee; attitudes and actions of the UN, USA, USSR and China; military involvement and settlement
• Increasing Cold War tensions: McCarthyism in the USA and its influence in Britain and Europe; US dominance in the UN and role as 'world policeman'; the isolation of China
• Alliances and shifts: FRG and NATO; the Warsaw Pact; SEATO; Eisenhower, Dulles and 'brinkmanship'; the domino theory; attitude to French struggle in Indo-China; the Geneva Conference

The Global War, 1955–1963

• Khrushchev and East-West relations: impact of risings in Poland and Hungary and Soviet intervention; the degree of 'peaceful coexistence', including exchange of visits and Paris summit
• Cold War rivalries: the extension of the arms race including ICBMs; the space race; sputnik and space flight; the Berlin Crisis and the U2 affair; the significance and impact of the Berlin Wall
• Conflict in Asia: Indo-China under Ho Chi-Minh in the North and Diem in the South; formation of NLF; Kennedy's policies towards Indo-China and Diem's assassination
• Confrontation between the superpowers: US attitudes to Cuba and developments leading to the missile crisis; the 13 days; the significance of the crisis