Unit Outline

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statement of inquiry

Competition between states can result in increasing conflicts and crises over time unless tensions are contained

global context

Orientation in Time and Space (Scale, duration, frequency and variability) - Students will explore personal histories; homes and journeys; turning points in humankind; discoveries; explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between, and the interconnectedness of, individuals and civilisations, from personal, local and global perspectives.

​key history concept

Change - The study of history involves investigation of the extent to which people and events bring about change. Discussion of the concept of change can encourage sophisticated discussions such as encouraging students to think about, and look for, change where some claim none exists, or using evidence to challenge orthodox theories and assumptions about people and events that it is claimed led to significant change. Students’ questions and judgments about historical change should be based on deep understanding of content and on comparison of the situation before and after the events under examination.

related history concept(s)

Conflict - Conflict can develop from inequalities in distribution of power and may manifest itself in many forms: protracted disagreements or arguments; prolonged armed struggles; clashes of opposing feelings or needs; serious incompatibilities between two or more opinions, principles, or interests. Historians study conflict between individuals and societies over time and across place and space, and they also examine how conflicts can be sources of continuity and catalysts for change.

1. How did competition unfold in Asia?

After Europe, Asia more than any other region was a key battle ground of the Cold War. The victory of the CPC in China in 1949 shifted the balance of power in the region, redrawing relations with both superpowers. This resulted in various conflicts as all three powers competed.

2. What conflicts emerged in Europe?

After the initial scramble for spheres of influence in Europe, both superpowers launched a policy of containment in Europe to defend their interests. This lesson will examine how superpowers sought to maintain these policies in the face of crises.

3. How did the Cold War shape the Middle East?

After Europe and Asia, Cold War tensions had a huge impact on the Middle East. Decolonisation and the Arab-Israeli conflict created their own dynamics, but Cold War tensions served to exacerbate these regional conflicts into global crises. But was communism contained?

4. Were tensions in the Americas unexpected?

Since the Monroe Doctrine of the nineteenth century, the US had always seen the Americas as its exclusive sphere of influence. The outbreak of socialist inspired revolutions in the 1950s therefore came as a surprise to US decision makers, but was this really unexpected?

5. Why did the Cold War spread to Africa?

On the periphery of the conflict, in the first couple of decades the Cold War seemed to bypass Africa. Yet the wave of postwar decolonisation by European nations left a power-vacuum that would soon draw in the superpowers. Thus Africa would serve as a catalyst for tensions.

6. How did scientific change drive the conflict?

More than any other feature of the Cold War, the nuclear arms race and the subsequent space race are perhaps the most iconic features of the war. But did these two aspects of the war drive the conflict in any significant ways? And how can we summarise this impact?

7. Assessment: Who won the global struggle?

The increasing tensions of the Cold War fused with the twin processes of decolonisation and globalisation that resulted in the Cold War becoming a global conflict. But who won this conflict? This lesson seeks to summarise the learning thus far, before preparing for an essay.