CIE AL 9489

Curriculum Change – 9389 to 9489

The table below shows the last examination for the existing syllabus (9389) and the
first examination series for the new Cambridge International AS & A Level History
(9489).

code Papers Jun 20 Nov 20 Jun 21 Nov 21 Jun 22 Nov 22

AS
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
9389
AL
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

NEW
AS
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
9489
AL
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Key Concepts
• The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level History
are:
Cause and Consequence
The events, circumstances, actions and beliefs that have a direct causal
connection to consequential events and developments, circumstances,
actions or beliefs. Causes can be both human and non-human.
Change and Continuity
The patterns, processes and interplay of change and continuity within a
given time frame.
Key Concepts
Similarity and Difference
The patterns of similarity and difference that exist between people, lived
experiences, events and situations in the past.
Significance
The importance attached to an event, individual or entity in the past,
whether at the time or subsequent to it. Historical significance is a
constructed label that is dependent upon the perspective (context, values,
interests and concerns) of the person ascribing significance and is therefore
changeable.
Interpretations
How the past has been subsequently reconstructed and presented by
historians.
Content Overview – CIE 9489 AS (S5)
For papers 1 and 2 at DGS we study the following option.

International option: International history, 1870-1945

• Empire and the emergence of world powers, 1870-1919

• The League of Nations and international relations in the 1920s
• The League of Nations and international relations in the 1930s
• China and Japan, 1912-45
Content Overview – CIE 9489 AL (S6)
For paper 3 at DGS, we study the following option:

Topic 3: The origins and development of the Cold War

For paper 4 at DGS, we study the following options:

International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 1: US–Soviet relations during the Cold War, 1950-91
Theme 2: The spread of communism in East and Southeast Asia, 1945-91
Theme 3: Decolonisation, the Cold War and the UN in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1950-92
Theme 4: Conflict in the Middle East, 1948-91
Assessment Overview – Paper 1
• One document question
• 1 hour 15 minutes 40 marks
• Candidates answer one two-part document question on one of the
options given.
• Candidates must answer both parts of the question they choose.
• Externally assessed
• 40% of the AS Level and 20% of the A Level
Assessment Overview – Paper 2
• Outline study
• 1 hour 45 minutes 60 marks
• 2 questions
• Candidates answer two two-part questions from three on one of the
options given.
• Candidates must answer both parts of the questions they choose.
• Externally assessed
• 60 % of the AS Level ,30 % of the A Level.
Assessment Overview – Paper 3
• Interpretations question
• 1 hour 15 minutes 40 marks
• 1 Question
• Candidates answer one interpretations question on one of the
options given in the syllabus.
• Externally assessed
• 20% of the A Level
Assessment Overview – Paper 4
• Depth study
• 1 hour 45 minutes 60 marks
• Answer two questions from four topics
• Candidates answer two questions on their chosen depth study.
• Externally assessed
• 30% of the A Level
Subject Content – C1 and C2
International option: International history, 1870–1945

Key Question:Why was imperialism a significant force for late

nineteenth century Europe?

• Economic and political motives for imperial expansion

• The emergence of ‘New imperialism’
• Nature and purpose of the ‘Scramble for Africa’
• Reasons for and extent of domestic support for overseas expansion in Britain,
France and Germany
Subject Content – C1 and C2
International option: International history, 1870–1945

Key Question:What was the impact of imperial expansion on

international relations?

• Impact of growth of overseas empires on relations between European nations

• Disputes with China over imperial expansion, the Boxer Rebellion
• Tension between Britain and Germany over South Africa
• Attempts to resolve tensions between imperial nations, the Berlin Conference
(1884-85)
Subject Content – C1 and C2
International option: International history, 1870–1945

Key Question:Why did Japan emerge as a world power and what was
the impact on international relations?

• Reasons for modernisation and military development

• International recognition of Japan as a world power, wars with China (1894-5)
and Russia (1905), treaty of alliance with Britain (1902).
• Japan’s role in the First World War and global position by 1918
Subject Content – C1 and C2
International option: International history, 1870–1945

Key Question:Why did the USA emerge as a world power and what was
the impact on international relations?
• Impact of the closing of the frontier on US foreign policy
• Economic growth and the need for trade in the late nineteenth century
• Reasons for, and impact of, the Spanish–American War (1895)
• Reasons for, and impact of, the USA’s entry into the First World War
Subject Content – C1 and C2
The League of Nations and international relations in the 1920’s

Key Question:Why was there dissatisfaction with the peace

settlements of 1919-20?

• Key terms and implications of the peace treaties (Versailles, Trianon, Neuilly,
Saint Germain, Sèvres)
• Reparations
• Reactions of victors and defeated powers
• Problems in ‘successor states’ created by the post-war settlements
Subject Content – C1 and C2
The League of Nations and international relations in the 1920’s

Key Question:How and why did international tensions remain high in

the period 1919-23?
• Crises and tensions, e.g. the Ruhr Crisis; Corfu Incident; German
hyperinflation
• Aims and impact of international treaties and conferences: Washington
Conference (1921-22); Genoa Conference (1922); Rapallo pact (1922) and the
Treaty of Lausanne (1923).
• Changing relations between the major powers: Britain, France, Germany, the
USSR and USA
Subject Content – C1 and C2
The League of Nations and international relations in the 1920’s

Key Question:How successful were attempts to improve international

relations between 1924-29?
• Economic recovery and improved relations
• Aims and impact of international treaties and conferences: Dawes Plan
(1924); Locarno treaties (1925); Kellogg-Briand Plan (1928); Young Plan
(1929).
• Changing relations between the major powers: Britain, France, Germany, the
USSR and USA
Subject Content – C1 and C2
The League of Nations and international relations in the 1920’s

Key Question:How successful was the League of Nations during the

1920s?
• Aims, membership and structure of the League
• Collective security and the League’s involvement in the resolution of disputes,
e.g. Aaland Islands, Vilna, Upper Silesia
• Weaknesses of the League
• Role and impact of the Agencies
Subject Content – C1 and C2
The League of Nations and international relations in the 1930’s

Key Question:How did the rise of extremism affect international

relations?
• Impact of the Great Depression on political ideologies
• Impact of the rise of dictatorships on relations between powers
• Foreign responses to the Civil War in Spain
• Aims and impact of Hitler’s expansionist policies: Rearmament,
remilitarisation of the Rhineland (1936), Anschluss (1938); Sudetenland
(1938); Czechoslovakia (1938) and Poland (1939).
Subject Content – C1 and C2
The League of Nations and international relations in the 1930’s

Key Question:Why did the League of Nations fail to keep the peace in
the 1930s?

• The failure of disarmament

• Reasons for, and actions taken in response to, the crises in Manchuria and
Abyssinia
• Changing attitudes of major powers towards the League of Nations
Subject Content – C1 and C2
The League of Nations and international relations in the 1930’s

Key Question:
Why? Why, and with what effects, did Britain and France pursue a
policy of appeasement?
• Impact of economic and military considerations for foreign policy
• Changing nature of relations with the USSR and impact on foreign policy
• Actions taken to appease Hitler (e.g. attitude towards rearmament, the
Rhineland, Anschluss)
• Czechoslovakia and the Munich Crisis
Subject Content – C1 and C2
The League of Nations and international relations in the 1930’s

Key Question:Why did did war break out in 1939?

• British rearmament in response to Germany’s expansionism

• The British guarantee to Poland and the failure of appeasement
• Reasons for the Nazi–Soviet Pact
• The invasion of Poland
Subject Content – C1 and C2
China and Japan 1912-45

Key Question:What were the implications of the ‘Warlord era’ which

affected China from 1916-1927?
• Issues facing China, e.g. Yuan Shih-kai and the disintegration of China
• Reasons for and impact of the May the Fourth Movement
• Reasons for the growth of the Kuomintang Party under Sun Yat-sen (including
the Three Principles)
• The Northern Expedition
Subject Content – C1 and C2
China and Japan 1912-45

Key Question:How effectively did Chiang Kai-shek deal with the

communists in the period 1927-1936?
• The Shanghai Massacre and the Extermination Campaigns
• The Long March 1934-35
• The Xi’an Incident 1936
• Attempts at modernisation and reform
Subject Content – C1 and C2
China and Japan 1912-45

Key Question:Why did the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gain support
up to 1945?

• Results of the Long March and the leadership of Mao Zedong

• Establishment of the Yan’an Soviet, land reform and Mao’s Rectification
Campaign (1941-44)
• Impact of war with Japan after 1937
• Unpopularity of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang
Subject Content – C1 and C2
China and Japan 1912-45

Key Question:Why did Japan become a military dictatorship in the

1930s and with what consequences?
• Japan’s international status in 1919 and its reactions to the Paris peace
settlements
• Political and economic factors in the failure of democracy
• Implications of military rule for Japanese expansionism
• Reasons for involvement in the Second World War
Subject Content – C3
Topic 3: The origins and development of the Cold War
Candidates will study the following content and the differing interpretations that historians have
produced, with a particular focus on the over-arching key question, ‘Who was to blame for the Cold
War?’

Content
This topic covers the following events and developments in the evolution of the Cold War in Europe,
1941-50

• Tensions in the wartime alliance against the Axis powers

• Peace-making at the end of the Second World War
• Increasing tensions in a divided Europe
• The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
• The Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Subject Content – C3
Key approaches
• How far were inherent tensions between East and West bound to resurface in 1945?
• How important were the personalities of the leaders of the Great Powers in shaping the Cold
War?
• How far were ideology, security and economics the factors which created Cold War tensions?
• The Traditional or ‘orthodox’ approach
• The Revisionist approach
• Post-Revisionist approaches
• How have the perspectives on the Cold War of Russian historians differed from those in the
West?
• Reinterpretations of the Cold War in the light of new archival sources
• The emergence of the ‘New’ Cold War history
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 1: US–Soviet relations during the Cold War, 1950-91

Key Question:How did US–Soviet relations develop between 1950 and
1980?
• Impact of the death of Stalin
• Peaceful coexistence
• Impact of key events in Asia and Europe, e.g. Korea, Hungary, Berlin, the
Prague Spring
• Détente and the outbreak of the Second Cold War
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 1: US–Soviet relations during the Cold War, 1950-91

Key Question:Why was there a crisis over Cuba in the 1960s and how
did it affect the US–Soviet relations?
• US reaction to the Cuban revolution
• Khrushchev’s aims in Cuba
• The crisis and its resolution
• Consequences of the conflict, e.g. hotline, Test Ban Treaty
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 1: US–Soviet relations during the Cold War, 1950-91

Key Question:How did the arms race affect US–Soviet relations?
• The development of the nuclear arms race
• The impact of the arms race on US–Soviet relations
• The successes and failures of attempts to control nuclear weapons, e.g. NPT,
SALT and START
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 1: US–Soviet relations during the Cold War, 1950-91

Key Question:Why did the Cold War come to an end in 1989?
• The development of the nuclear arms race
• Problems facing the USSR: economic and political stagnation, Afghanistan and
Eastern Europe.
• The impact of Reagan and Gorbachev
• The collapse of the Soviet system
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 2: The spread of communism in East and Southeast Asia, 1945-91

Key Question:What was the impact of the end of the Second World
War on this region?
• Attempts to re-establish colonial control (British, Dutch and French)
• Growth of nationalist movements
• The establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
• Changing Sino–Soviet relations
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 2: The spread of communism in East and Southeast Asia, 1945-91

Key Question:Why was there war in Korea and what were its
consequences?
• Division of Korea and subsequent tensions
• US reaction to the invasion of South Korea
• International involvement, e.g. UN, PRC
• Growing US presence in the Eastern Pacific including the formation of SEATO
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 2: The spread of communism in East and Southeast Asia, 1945-91

Key Question:Why did the US intervene in Vietnam and what were the
consequences?
• Reasons for growing US involvement in Vietnam
• Importance of support from PRC and USSR for North Vietnam
• Reasons for US withdrawal, e.g. military failings, heavy losses, public opinion
• Unification of Vietnam (1975) and its implications
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 2: The spread of communism in East and Southeast Asia, 1945-91

Key Question:How did the Cold War affect Sino–US relations?
• Ideological divides
• Issues over Taiwan
• Impact of Korean and Vietnam Wars
• Improvement of relations in the 1970s and 1980s including ‘ping pong
diplomacy’
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 3: Decolonisation, the Cold War and the UN in Sub-Saharan

Africa, 1950-92
Key Question:How did African nations gain their independence from the
colonial powers?
• The rise of nationalist movements
• The attitude of the colonial powers
• The importance of leadership (Nkrumah, Azikiwe, Senghor, Kenyatta) and
mass support
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 3: Decolonisation, the Cold War and the UN in Sub-Saharan

Africa, 1950-92
Key Question:What problems faced the newly independent nations?
• Establishing governments, one-party / multi- party states
• Economic challenges, agriculture, mineral resources, dependence on
ex-colonial trading partners
• Social challenges, urban/rural divide, education
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 3: Decolonisation, the Cold War and the UN in Sub-Saharan

Africa, 1950-92
Key Question:In what ways were African countries affected by Cold War
tensions?
• Superpower involvement in disputes (Angola, Ethiopia and Mozambique)
• Chinese influence: support for nationalist movements in southern Africa
• Non-alignment and Pan-Africanism
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 3: Decolonisation, the Cold War and the UN in Sub-Saharan

Africa, 1950-92
Key Question:How effective was UN peacekeeping in Africa?
• Nature and extent of UN involvement
• Reasons for, and impact of, UN involvement in the Congo
• Reasons for UN failure in Somalia
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 4: Conflict in the Middle East, 1948-91

Key Question: How and why was the state of Israel created?

• Long-term factors: Arab unity; strategic importance of the Middle East;

foreign involvement; persecution of Jews
• Jewish resistance to the British mandate
• Reasons for, and effects of, the UN decision to partition Palestine
• Involvement of the USA
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92
Theme 4: Conflict in the Middle East, 1948-91
Key Question: How did the Arab–Israeli conflict develop between
1948-1979?
• Challenges to the state of Israel between 1948 and 1973; : Arab-Israeli War
(1973); Suez Crisis (1956); Six-day war (1967); Yom Kippur (1973).
• The role of key individuals including Nasser, Ben Gurion, Sadat, Meir
• Consequences of the wars for Arabs and Israelis
• Reasons for the growth of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the
changing role of Arafat.
• Attempts at reconciliation and peace agreements
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 4: Conflict in the Middle East, 1948-91

Key Question: What impact did the Cold War have on the conflict in the
Middle East?
• Reasons for superpower involvement including oil
• American policies and their impact
• Soviet policies and their impact
Subject Content – C4
International option, Depth study 3: International History, 1945-92

Theme 4: Conflict in the Middle East, 1948-91

Key Question: What additional factors led to the de-stabilisation of the
Middle East between 1975 and 1991?
• The Iranian Revolution (1979); causes and outcomes for Iran and the region
• Iran–Iraq War (1980-88); causes and outcomes for the region
• Gulf War (1990-91) causes and outcomes for the region