A world divided: superpower relations, 1943-72 is the period study that investigates the origins of the Cold War, three of the key Cold War Crises and the attempts to ease the tensions of the Cold War. You will study the role key individuals played during the Cold War, as well as how the Cold War impacted specific countries. You will focus on crucial events during this period, and study the different political, economic and military changes that occurred.

This study will help you to understand the complexities of the Cold War. You will investigate themes such as communism, capitalism, sphere of influence, satellite states, containment and the arms race. This course will enable you to develop the historical skills of identifying key features of a time period, and encourages you to analyse and compare sources and evaluate interpretations.

A world divided: superpower relations, 1943-72 is split into 5 enquiries:

• ❖ Enquiry 1 looks at the origins of the Cold War and why it occurred. You will investigate the long-term conflict between the superpowers. You will study the collapse of the Grand Alliance and its impact on Europe.
• ❖ Enquiry 2 looks at the early years of the Cold War conflict from 1945 to 1959. You will investigate how tension mounted over the future of Germany and how the divisions between the USSR and the USA deepened politically, economically and militarily.
• ❖ Enquiry 3 looks at the development of the Cold War in the 1950s. You will study the impact of the Korean War and the arms race on the relationship between the US and the USSR. You will investigate why the Hungarian Uprising occurred, the key events and its impact.
• ❖ Enquiry 4 looks at the three key Cold War crises. You will study the Berlin Crisis of 1958 to 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Czechoslovakian Crisis of 1968. For each case study, you will investigate the causes, the main events and the consequences of the crisis on international relations.
• ❖ Enquiry 5 looks at the period of Détente. You will study how and why the superpowers moved towards easing of tension between 1963 and 1972. You will investigate key events such as the introduction of a hotline after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and SALT 1. You will study the reasons for détente and how it had developed by 1972.

Some of the key individuals studied on this course include:

• ❖ President Roosevelt.
• ❖ Prime Minister Churchill.
• ❖ Premier Stalin.
• ❖ President Truman.
• ❖ Premier Khrushchev.
• ❖ Premier Brezhnev.
• ❖ Fidel Castro.
• ❖ President John F Kennedy.

Some of the key events you will study on this course include:

• ❖ The three wartime conferences.
• ❖ The Soviet takeover of eastern Europe.
• ❖ The Berlin Blockade and Airlift.
• ❖ The Arms Race.
• ❖ The Cuban Missile Crisis.
• ❖ The Prague Spring.
• ❖ Détente.

A world divided: superpower relations, 1943-72 forms part of paper 1 where you have a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete. You should spend 45 minutes on this section of the paper. There will be 1 exam question on A world divided: superpower relations, 1943-72. The question will be broken down into 4 sections; a, b, c(i) and c(ii). You will answer a, b and either c(i) or c(ii).

• ❖ Question a is worth 6 marks. This question will require you to examine an extract and assesses your ability to analyse and evaluate a historical interpretation. You will need to identify the author's opinion or perspective by analysing the language the author uses and what they have chosen to comment on. You will explain how valid the overall impression is by using your own knowledge to evaluate that impression.
• ❖ Question b is worth 8 marks. This question will require you to explain two effects of an event on something else by using your contextual knowledge and looking at the consequences. You will need to identify two effects and then demonstrate how the event led to the effect you have identified.
• ❖ Question c(i) and c(ii) are worth 16 marks. This question will require you to construct an argument to support and challenge an interpretation stated in the question. You will be given two pieces of information to help jog your memory but you must use information of your own. You will have the opportunity to show your ability to explain and analyse historical events using 2nd order concepts such as causation, consequence, change, continuity, similarity and difference.