History (H2)

This syllabus focuses on key forces and developments shaping the latter half of the 20th century. It equips students with historical knowledge to understand contemporary geopolitical and economic shifts. The syllabus comprises two papers, offering breadth and depth in global, regional, and local developments and their interconnections.

Paper 1: The Changing International Order (1945-2000)

This paper explores interactions between historical actors and the Cold War environment, influencing the international security and economic order. Superpower rivalry significantly impacted nation-states, leading to profound political and economic changes. These responses, in turn, shaped the international order. Even after the Cold War's end, aspects of this order persisted. The paper aims to help students appreciate changes and continuities, Cold War legacies, and developments in the global order.

Theme I: The Development of the Cold War (1945-1991) (Source-Based Case Study)

This theme examines the Cold War's emergence from ideological opposition between the USA and USSR after World War II. Initially European, these tensions spread globally, interacting with nationalism and decolonization, profoundly changing domestic politics. The Cold War order, initially bipolar, evolved with China's rise.

Key Content:

• Causes of Cold War tensions between the USA and USSR
• Manifestations of tensions: Yalta and Potsdam conferences, Sovietisation of Eastern Europe, Churchill's Iron Curtain speech, Kennan's Long Telegram, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin Blockade, NATO, and the Warsaw Pact.
• Historical interpretations of the Cold War's origins: traditional, revisionist, post-revisionist, post-Cold War.
• Manifestations of the Global Cold War: Korean War (1950-1953), Vietnam War (1959-1975), Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).
• End of the Cold War: USA's renewed confrontation and containment policy, USSR's decline and shifts in foreign policy, Eastern European movements and revolutions in the 1980s.
• Historical interpretations of the Cold War's end.

Theme II: The Development of the Global Economy (1945-2000)

This theme explores the global economy's unprecedented post-war growth due to unique factors and conditions. Economic challenges, like protectionism, accompanied this growth, impacting various countries differently. Post-war Japan and post-1978 China exemplify how countries leveraged global economic changes for their development.

Key Content:

• Factors for global economic growth: post-war reconstruction, roles of USA, Western Europe, Japan, multinational corporations, international organizations.
• Challenges: 1973 and 1979 oil crises, protectionism, 1980s debt crises.
• Transformation of East Asian economies (Japan and China).

Theme III: Conflict and Cooperation (1945-2000)

This theme examines key conflicts shaping the post-World War II international order. Despite no world war, inter-state and intra-state conflicts had regional and global impacts. Students explore how actors with diverse interests interacted with historical conditions to shape these conflicts. Various actors, including major powers and the United Nations, intervened to manage these conflicts. The effectiveness of their approaches will be evaluated.

Key Content:

• Causes, development, and management of inter-state conflicts (Indo-Pakistani Conflict (1947-1972) and Arab-Israeli Conflict (1948-1979)).
• Causes, development, and management of intra-state conflicts (Congo Crisis (1960-1965) and Bosnian War (1992-1995)).

Paper 2: Developments in Southeast Asia (Independence-2000)

This paper examines key developments within Southeast Asian countries and the region post-independence. Using a thematic-comparative approach, students learn about varied experiences in forming nation-states, pursuing economic goals, and forging relations. These trajectories were shaped by internal and external factors, including the Cold War and changes in the global economy. Collectively, these countries formed new relationships and a new identity as ASEAN. The paper aims to enhance understanding of Southeast Asian development patterns and interactions among historical actors.

Theme I: Forming Nation-States

This theme explores how Southeast Asian countries formed nation-states after World War II, an immediate task post-decolonization. Different groups, including political parties, the military, and traditional institutions, competed to shape political developments. These groups' varying dominance resulted in different government forms and political ideologies. Forming states was intertwined with nation-building, aiming to unite diverse ethnic groups within state boundaries. National unity was crucial for social cohesion and a common identity. Experiences and outcomes were shaped by local factors and international developments, particularly the Cold War.

Key Content:

• Establishing political structures and legitimacy.
• Consolidation of power.
• Pursuit of national unity.

Theme II: Economic Change After Independence

This theme examines economic change in Southeast Asia and its diverse outcomes. Leveraging existing economic bases, independent countries restructured economies and key sectors. While some features persisted, significant changes occurred, shaped by governments' abilities to harness opportunities and mitigate challenges from domestic and international developments. The pursuit of economic growth, equity, and nationalism influenced these changes. Varying historical, domestic, and external conditions produced different results across the region.

Key Content:

• Economic change in Southeast Asia.
• Outcomes of economic change.

Theme III: Regional Conflicts and Cooperation (Source-Based Case Study)

This theme examines inter-state tensions and cooperation shaping relations between Southeast Asian countries. These countries devised ways of engaging with each other, pursuing national interests influenced by domestic and external developments. Students explore how these pursuits led to tensions or cooperation. Formed amid the Cold War, ASEAN became a vehicle for regional resilience and adaptation to the post-Cold War environment. Through ASEAN, students study multilateral cooperation's impact and regionalism's evolution across the Cold War and post-Cold War periods.

Key Content:

• Inter-state tensions and cooperation.
• ASEAN.