Pearson Edexcel International A Level · History (YHI01)

Unit 4 option 1C: The World Divided: Superpower Relations, 1943–90: Practice Questions

5 multiple-choice questions marked as you go, and 5 written questions with worked solutions. All on Unit 4 option 1C: The World Divided: Superpower Relations, 1943–90.

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Question 1

1 mark

During the period 1979–90, what was the primary significance of the Solidarity movement in Poland for superpower relations?

Question 2

1 mark

In evaluating the resolution of the Cold War (1979–90), what was the significance of the 'Sinatra Doctrine' adopted by Gorbachev?

Question 3

1 mark

In the context of superpower relations between 1953 and 1964, what was the primary significance of the 1955 Soviet withdrawal from Austria?

Question 4

1 mark

How did the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) influence the 'Balance of Terror' between 1964 and 1979?

Question 5

1 mark

In the historical interpretation of the 1943–53 period, which of the following is often cited by 'Revisionist' historians as a primary cause for the outbreak of the Cold War?

Question 6

3 marks

Identify the specific military development revealed by President Truman at the July 1945 Potsdam Conference that contributed to increased mistrust between the United States and the Soviet Union regarding the postwar balance of power.

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Question 7

6 marks

Analyze why the 1985 Geneva Summit is considered a significant turning point in Ronald Reagan's foreign policy compared to his earlier 'Evil Empire' stance.

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Question 8

3 marks

Which 1947 organization was created by the Soviet Union to ensure ideological unity among European communist parties and to denounce the economic influence of the Marshall Plan?

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Question 9

5 marks

Evaluate the significance of the Hungarian Rising of 1956 and the Berlin Crisis (1958–61) in the context of Cold War confrontations along the European Iron Curtain.
a) Compare the Soviet responses to both events.
b) Explain how the construction of the Berlin Wall altered the nature of the standoff in Europe until 1964.

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Question 10

8 marks

Analyze the resolution of the Cold War between \(1979\) and \(1990\) by addressing the following strategic and political developments:

a) Explain how the \(1983\) Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) altered the Soviet Union's approach to the Balance of Terror. In what way did this technological challenge lead to the realization that the USSR could no longer maintain strategic parity through traditional military spending alone?
b) Analyze the connection between Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of Glasnost (openness) and the rise of nationalist movements in the Baltic States between \(1986\) and \(1989\). How did this domestic unrest constrain the Soviet leadership's ability to use military force to preserve the Warsaw Pact?
c) Describe the role of the \(1990\) Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (the 'Two Plus Four' Treaty) in formalizing the end of the Cold War in Europe. How did this agreement resolve the conflict over German membership in NATO and the occupation rights established at Yalta in \(1945\)?

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