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Led by Eric Hobsbawm Simulacrum
The period study at the heart of OCR GCSE History A — the unfolding story of international relations from 1918 to 1975, ending in the skill the exam rewards most: weighing rival historical interpretations.
Led by Eric Hobsbawm Simulacrum
The question
Why did the attempt to build a co-operative international order after 1918 fail, and collapse back into war by 1939? You will work through the Versailles settlement and the grievances it left, the League of Nations and the hopeful agreements of the 1920s (Dawes, Locarno, Kellogg–Briand, Young), the shock of the worldwide depression, and the slide into the crises of the 1930s — the League's failures, the policy of Appeasement and the arguments around it, and the outbreak of war.
Outcome
You can narrate the movement from Versailles through 1920s internationalism to the return of nationalism and war in 1939, supporting each step with specific treaties, dates, and events rather than general assertion.
Led by Eric Hobsbawm Simulacrum
The question
How did the wartime alliance between the USSR and the West break apart into the Cold War, and harden into a divided Europe? You will examine the conferences at Yalta and Potsdam, Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe and the American response through the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, the division of Germany, the Berlin Blockade and Airlift, the formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, and the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
Outcome
You can explain the process by which distrust between former allies escalated into a structured, militarised division of Europe, tracing it through its key episodes to the building of the Berlin Wall.
Led by Eric Hobsbawm Simulacrum
The question
What happened when the Cold War went global, to Cuba and to Vietnam — and what did it reveal about the limits of superpower force? You will study the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the origins and escalation of US involvement in Vietnam, the contrasting tactics of the US military and the Vietcong, the growth of opposition to the war within America, and the US withdrawal and its consequences for international relations.
Outcome
You can explain the major Cold War confrontations beyond Europe and connect them to a larger argument about why overwhelming military power did not guarantee control of outcomes.
Led by Eric Hobsbawm Simulacrum
The question
Why do historians disagree about Appeasement and about who was responsible for the Cold War — and how have those disagreements changed over time? You will examine why interpretations of the same events differ, how verdicts on Appeasement shifted from the Second World War through the Cold War and again after new evidence emerged around 1990, and how competing accounts of Cold War responsibility were shaped by the politics of the USSR and USA, by Vietnam, and by the opening of archives.
Outcome
You can analyse and evaluate differing interpretations of these developments, explain how and why interpretations arise and change, and assess an unfamiliar interpretation on its evidence and reasoning — the transferable skill the examination tests.