Paper 4: Depth Content RAG (RED AM-

study— BER GREEN)

international histo-
ry
Theme 1: US–Soviet How did US–Soviet relations develop between 1950 and 1980?
relations during the • Impact of the death of Stalin
Cold War, 1950–91 • Peaceful coexistence—you should know what it is and how it worked in practice. You should be able to explain how in real-
ity some believed it meant peaceful competition
• Impact of key events in Asia and Europe, e.g. Korea, Hungary, Berlin, the Prague Spring—you should be able to assess and
evaluate the extent to which they increased or decreased tensions in the time period studied
• Détente and the outbreak of the Second Cold War—you should know what the key causes and achievements of détente
were as we as understanding the reasons for it’s collapse
Why was there a crisis over Cuba in the 1960s and how did it affect the US–Soviet relations?
• US reaction to the Cuban revolution—you should assess whether you think approach of the US was partly to blame for the
CMC
• Khrushchev’s aims in Cuba—you should reflect on Krushchev’s desire to redress the strategic ’balance of power.’
• The crisis and its resolution - you should now how events unfolded on both sides you should reflect on whether one party
was more/less responsible for bringing the crisis to a peaceful conclusion
• Consequences of the conflict, e.g. hotline, Test Ban Treaty—you should think about this in terms of the impact it had on
relations in the short and medium term. You should consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of the agreements
signed and steps taken to deescalate tensions.

Links to questions by • Exam questions by topic Unit 4.docx—please note that these are from the old spec; however, they should still give you a
theme good idea of the kinds of questions that could be asked.
Reading material • Cold War text book—pages 78-104 (Germany, thaw), 119-127 (Korean War), 137-164 (The Krushchev era), 166-190 dé-
tente) , 229– 234, 156-161 (Cuban Missile Crisis)
• Teams lessons
Additional reading • Russia, America and the Cold war: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL17137171M/
Russia_America_and_the_Cold_War_1949-1991
• Heinmann book. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL7911251W/The_Cold_War?edition=key%3A/books/OL7508504M
pages 32-57, 58-68, 146-193, 195-204) - very accessible overview of the period.
• Additional reading folder on teams
Paper 4: Depth study— Content RAG (RED AM-
international history BER GREEN)

Theme 1: US–Soviet re- How did the arms race affect US–Soviet relations?
lations during the Cold • The development of the nuclear arms race—you should understand how the arms race developed in both
War, 1950–91 the US and the Soviet Union and be aware of the development of different weapons and defence systems
i.e. Cruise missiles, AMB, MIRVs
• The impact of the arms race on US–Soviet relations—here you should reflect on the impact on the arms
race economically in both the US and the Soviet Union and reflect on whether this affected relations
• The successes and failures of attempts to control nuclear weapons, e.g. NPT, SALT and START—you
should have a very good understanding of all of the treaties and be able to evaluate their relative
strengths and weaknesses.
Why did the Cold War come to an end in 1989?
• Problems facing the USSR: economic and political stagnation, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe—you
need to be able to evaluate the role of issues like the invasion of the USSR and movements like Solidarity
in Poland in bringing the Cold War to an end.
• The impact of Reagan and Gorbachev—you should consider both of their approaches to foreign policy
• The collapse of the Soviet system—you should know how and why the USSR ultimately collapsed and be
able to justify your view explaining why this happened and who/what was most responsible

Links to questions by • Exam questions by topic Unit 4.docx—please note that these are from the old spec—they should still give
theme you a good idea of the kinds of questions that could be asked.
Reading material • Heinmann book. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL7911251W/The_Cold_War?edition=key%3A/books/
OL7508504M pages 169 -173 - very accessible overview of the arms race.
• Edexcel history textbook.pdf—96-104—specific section of the development of nuclear weapons
• Cold War textbook: pages 191-228— in depth section on the end of the CW
• Teams lessons/materials
Additional reading • Edexcel history textbook.pdf—pages 180—191 –there is some useful evaluation of the roles of the differ-
ent leaders here