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Module 3 (A2 1) – The Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900-2000

 

 

This is all about the growth of Russian communism (and its eventual downfall), as well as how the world responded to Russian communism.

 

This module takes us up to the end of November in Year 14. 

 

Part One – The advance of Communism outside Russia (in Europe) (Soviet foreign policy in Europe 1917-1991)

 

Here we explore the key ideas and policies of Soviet leaders in foreign affairs from Lenin right through to Gorbachev.  We are always careful not to consider Soviet leaders in isolation – we look at similarities and differences between each and why they were similar or different.

 

We start with communism as an ideology, its economic vision and how this affected Soviet foreign policy.

 

Then we get into Soviet foreign policy in Europe between 1917 and 1941, which was dominated by Lenin and Stalin, but there was also a big contribution from foreign commissars Chicherin and Litvinov.  We look at the struggle for survival of Russia/the USSR from the revolution on through the 1920s, including the USSR’s relations with Germany and elsewhere in the West.  We think about the policy of international revolution and Comintern.  Then we go on to explore the issue of Collective Security and the years leading up to (and including) the German invasion of the USSR – including key events like the Spanish Civil War and the Nazi Soviet Pact.

 

Next is Soviet foreign policy in Europe after 1945.  We think about Soviet territorial conquest after the Second World War and how communist governments were set up there.  We consider the Soviets relations with these communist governments in Eastern Europe, as well as those with the West and with China, and what impact these had.  After this, you’ll find out all about how communism in Eastern Europe collapsed and so too, eventually did the USSR itself.  You’ll learn all about key moments like the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the arms race, the Hungarian Uprising, the Berlin Wall, the Prague Spring, Détente and the collapse of the Berlin Wall/the end of the “Iron Curtain”.  Key men in this period will include Stalin (up to 1953), Khrushchev (with his policy of Peaceful Coexistence), Brezhnev (1964-1982) and Gorbachev, who presided over the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and Eastern Europe.

 

Finally, we think about the dismantling of the USSR, reasons why and the effect on relations between Russia and the western powers.

 

Part Two – The opponents of Communism 1917-1991

 

This is where we investigate the challenges to communism in Europe during the 20th century.  We look at Fascist opposition and Democratic opposition.  Once again, we don’t look at these two forms of opposition in isolation, and we are careful to draw links between the two, which is a requirement of this module (as you’ll see below).  The actions of the opponents of communism were also an important influence on the Russian communist leaders themselves (remember this for Part One), which is another key thing to bear in mind.

 

We begin with Fascist opposition to communism before the Second World War.  We look at influences on different kinds of Fascists (German, Italian, Spanish), similarities and differences between different Fascist movements, how successful each was (and why), how anti-communist each was (and why).

 

Then we go on to the democracies.  We think about the democratic opposition to communism before World War Two (particularly noting how disorganised it was).  After this we look at democratic (chiefly American) opposition to communism in Europe immediately after World War Two – investigating events like the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift and NATO.  We go on into the 1950s, with the response to the Hungarian Uprising and the start of divisions in the western alliance.  With the 1960s, we explore the increasing western divisions and the response to the “Prague Spring”.  Then it’s the 1970s and Détente.  We finish up by looking at the 1980s and the end of the Cold War.  We look at the approach, influences on and success of a number of American presidents after the Second World War, such as Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

 

 

The Exam

 

 

  • The exam for this module will be taken in January of Year 14

  • It will last 1 hour 15 minutes

  • It makes up 20% of the total A Level

  • In the exam, you get the opportunity to display your skills in more extended writing

 

 

 

Skills you’ll learn in this module

 

 

This module comes in the form of one extended piece of writing, which will last one hour and 15 minutes.

 

The big thing you will need to do here that you haven’t done very much before is give interpretations – both contemporary and later (i.e. historians’) views. There are 20 out of the 50 marks for this at A2/1.  Incidentally, this will also be an important element of A2/2.

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