BG IB HISTORY HL SYLLABUS
Marks
Syllabus component
SL HL
Prescribed subjects (paper 1)
24 24
The move to global war (Japan, Italy/Germany)
World history topics (paper 2, two topics)
(10) Authoritarian states 20th century (Hitler, Stalin, Mao) 30 30
(12) The Cold War: Superpower tensions and rivalries (20th century)
HL options: History of Europe (paper 3, three options)
(13): Europe and the First World War (1871–1918)
(15): Diplomacy in Europe (1919–1945) 45
(16): The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia (1924–2000)
Internal assessment
25 25
Historical investigation
Prescribed subject 3: The move to global war (paper 1)
This prescribed subject focuses on military expansion from 1931 to 1941. Two case studies are
prescribed, from different regions of the world, and both of these case studies must be studied. The
first case study explores Japanese expansionism from 1931 to 1941, and the second case study
explores German and Italian expansionism from 1933 to 1940. The focus of this prescribed subject
is on the causes of expansion, key events, and international responses to that expansion. Discussion
of domestic and ideological issues should therefore be considered in terms of the extent to which
they contributed to this expansion, for example, economic issues, such as the long-term impact of
the Great Depression, should be assessed in terms of their role in shaping more aggressive foreign
policy.
Case studies Material for detailed study
Causes of expansion
The impact of Japanese nationalism and militarism on
foreign policy
Japanese domestic issues: political and economic issues,
and their impact on foreign relations
Political instability in China
Events
Japanese invasion of Manchuria and northern China
Case study 1: Japanese expansion
(1931)
in East Asia
Sino-Japanese War (1937–1941)
(1931–1941)
The Three Power/Tripartite Pact; the outbreak of war;
Pearl Harbor (1941)
Responses to events
League of Nations and the Lytton report
Political developments within China—the Second United
Front
International response, including US initiatives and
increasing tensions between the US and Japan
Case study 2: German and Italian Causes of expansion
expansion (1933–1940) Impact of fascism and Nazism on the foreign policies of
Italy and Germany
Impact of domestic economic issues on the foreign
policies of Italy and Germany
Changing diplomatic alignments in Europe; the end of
collective security; appeasement
Events
German challenges to the post-war settlements (1933–
1938)
Italian expansion: Abyssinia (1935–1936); Albania; entry
into the Second World War
German expansion (1938–1939); Pact of Steel, Nazi–
Soviet Pact and the outbreak of war
Responses to events
International response to German aggression (1933–
1938)
International response to Italian aggression (1935–1936)
International response to German and Italian aggression
(1940)
World history topic 10: Authoritarian states 20th century (paper 2)
This topic focuses on exploring the conditions that facilitated the rise of authoritarian states in the
20th century, as well as the methods used by parties and leaders to take and maintain power. The
topic explores the emergence, consolidation and maintenance of power, including the impact of
the leaders’ policies, both domestic and foreign, upon the maintenance of power. Examination
questions for this topic will expect students to make reference to specific authoritarian states in
their responses, and may require students to make reference to examples of states from two
different regions of the world.
Syllabus content:
Topic Prescribed content
Conditions in which authoritarian states emerged: economic
factors; social division; impact of war; weakness of political
Emergence of system
authoritarian states Methods used to establish authoritarian states: persuasion and
coercion; the role of leaders; ideology; the use of force;
propaganda
Use of legal methods; use of force; charismatic leadership;
dissemination of propaganda
Consolidation and
Nature, extent and treatment of opposition
maintenance of power
The impact of the success and/or failure of foreign policy on the
maintenance of power
Aims and impact of domestic economic, political, cultural and
Aims and results of social policies
policies The impact of policies on women and minorities
Authoritarian control and the extent to which it was achieved
World history topic 12: The Cold War: Superpower tensions and rivalries 20th
century (paper 2)
The Cold War dominated global affairs from the end of the Second World War to the early
1990s. This topic focuses on how superpower rivalries did not remain static but changed according
to styles of leadership, strength of ideological beliefs, economic factors and crises involving client
states. The topic aims to promote an international perspective on the Cold War by requiring the
study of Cold War leaders, countries and crises from more than one region of the world.
Examination questions may require students to make reference to examples from two different
regions of the world.
Syllabus content:
Topic Prescribed content
The breakdown of the Grand Alliance and the emergence of superpower rivalry in
Europe and Asia (1943–1949): role of ideology; fear and aggression; economic
Rivalry, interests; a comparison of the roles of the US and the USSR
mistrust and The US, USSR and China—superpower relations (1947–1979): containment;
accord peaceful co-existence; Sino-Soviet and Sino-US relations; detente
Confrontation and reconciliation; reasons for the end of the Cold War (1980– 1991):
ideological challenges and dissent; economic problems; arms race
The impact of two leaders, each chosen from a different region, on the course and
Leaders and development of the Cold War
nations The economic, social and cultural impact of the Cold War on two countries, each
chosen from a different region
• Cold War crises case studies: detailed study of any two Cold War crises from
Cold War
different regions: examination and comparison of the causes, impact and
crises
significance of the two crises
Suggested examples:
Please note that the examples provided here are suggestions only.
Examples of leaders:
Truman, Stalin, Khrushchev, Nixon, Mao, Castro, Brezhnev, Reagan, Gorbachev, Nasser,
Brandt
Examples of Cold War crises
Africa and the Middle East: Suez Crisis (1956); Congo (1960–1961); outbreak of Angolan
Civil War (1975)
The Americas: Cuban Missile Crisis (1962); US intervention in Chile (1973); Contra War
(1981–1990) Asia and Oceania: Chinese Offshore Island Crises (1954/1958); North Korean
invasion of South
Korea (1950); Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979)
Europe: Berlin blockade (1948–1949), Berlin Wall (1958–1961); Hungary (1956); the
Prague spring (1968); the USSR and eastern Europe (1981–1989)
HL option: History of Europe (paper 3)
13: Europe and the First World War (1871–1918)
This section deals with the shorter- and longer-term origins of the First World War. It covers the
breakdown of European diplomacy pre-1914 and the crises that occurred in international relations.
It covers how the practice of war affected the military and home fronts. The section also
investigates reasons for the Allied victory/Central Powers’ defeat.
European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1871; imperial expansion in
Africa and Asia, and its impact on European diplomacy; the Congress of Berlin and
European Alliance system
Foreign policy of Kaiser Wilhelm II: domestic conditions that impacted on German foreign
policy; its impact/influence on other countries, including Britain, France, Russia and
Austria-Hungary
Causes of the First World War: short- and long-term causes; relative importance of causes;
the Alliance system; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; German foreign policy; Austria-
Hungary, Russia and Balkan nationalism; the arms race and diplomatic crises; the July
Crisis of 1914
Impact of the First World War on civilian populations of two countries from the region
between 1914 and 1918
Factors leading to the defeat of Germany and the other Central Powers: strategic errors;
economic factors; entry and role of the US; domestic instability in the Central Powers
15: Diplomacy in Europe (1919–1945)
This section addresses international relations in Europe from 1919 to 1945 with initial emphasis on
the Paris peace treaties: their aims, impact and the problems relating to their enforcement. The
section covers attempts to promote collective security and international cooperation through the
League of Nations and multilateral agreements (outside the League mechanism), arms reduction
and the pursuit of foreign policy goals without resort to violence. This section also addresses the
individual foreign policies of Italy, Germany, France, Britain and Russia/Soviet Union, looking at
the aims, issues and success of each one. It concludes with a study of the Second World War,
looking particularly at the impact of the war and the reasons for Axis defeat and Allied victory.
Paris peace treaties (1919–1923): Versailles; Neuilly; Trianon; St Germain; and
Sèvres/Lausanne—aims, issues and responses
The League of Nations and Europe: successes and failures; the search for collective security;
developments in the successor states of central and eastern Europe
Italian and German foreign policies (1919–1941): aims, issues and extent of success
Collective security and appeasement (1919–1941): aims, issues and extent of success; role
of British, French and Russian/Soviet foreign policies (1919–1941); Chamberlain and the
Munich Crisis
Causes of the Second World War and the development of European conflict (1939–1941);
the wartime alliance (1941–1945); reasons for Axis defeat in 1945 and for Allied victory;
role of economic, strategic and other factors
Impact of the Second World War on civilian populations in any two countries between
1939–1945
16: The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia (1924–2000)
This section examines the consolidation of the Soviet state from 1924 and the methods applied to
ensure its survival, growth and expansion inside and outside the borders of the Soviet Union. It
explores the rise and nature of the rule of Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and their policies. East–
West relations post-1945 in relation to Soviet aims and leadership should also be considered.
Finally, the decline and collapse of the Soviet Union should be considered, as well as political and
economic developments in post-Soviet Russia.
• Soviet Union (1924–1941): Stalin and the struggle for power (1924–1929); defeat of Trotsky;
Stalin’s policies of collectivization and the Five-Year Plans; government and propaganda under
Stalin; the purges and the Great Terror
• The impact of the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945); post-war Soviet Union (1945–1953): political
and economic developments
• Khrushchev and Brezhnev: domestic policies and foreign relations
• Transformation of the Soviet Union (1985–1991): Gorbachev (aims, policies and extent of
success); political developments and change
• Collapse of the Soviet Union; post-Soviet Russia to 2000; role and policies of Yeltsin; political
and economic developments to 2000
