Cambridge International AS & A Level

HISTORY 9489/42
Paper 4 Depth Study October/November 2023
MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 60

Published

This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the
examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the
details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have
considered the acceptability of alternative answers.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for
Teachers.

Cambridge International will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.

Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the October/November 2023 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge International A and AS Level components, and some Cambridge O Level
components.

This document consists of 17 printed pages.

© UCLES 2023 [Turn over

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Generic Marking Principles

These general marking principles must be applied by all examiners when marking candidate answers.
They should be applied alongside the specific content of the mark scheme or generic level descriptors
for a question. Each question paper and mark scheme will also comply with these marking principles.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 1:

Marks must be awarded in line with:

• the specific content of the mark scheme or the generic level descriptors for the question
• the specific skills defined in the mark scheme or in the generic level descriptors for the question
• the standard of response required by a candidate as exemplified by the standardisation scripts.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 2:

Marks awarded are always whole marks (not half marks, or other fractions).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 3:

Marks must be awarded positively:

• marks are awarded for correct/valid answers, as defined in the mark scheme. However, credit
is given for valid answers which go beyond the scope of the syllabus and mark scheme,
referring to your Team Leader as appropriate
• marks are awarded when candidates clearly demonstrate what they know and can do
• marks are not deducted for errors
• marks are not deducted for omissions
• answers should only be judged on the quality of spelling, punctuation and grammar when these
features are specifically assessed by the question as indicated by the mark scheme. The
meaning, however, should be unambiguous.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 4:

Rules must be applied consistently, e.g. in situations where candidates have not followed
instructions or in the application of generic level descriptors.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 5:

Marks should be awarded using the full range of marks defined in the mark scheme for the question
(however; the use of the full mark range may be limited according to the quality of the candidate
responses seen).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 6:

Marks awarded are based solely on the requirements as defined in the mark scheme. Marks should
not be awarded with grade thresholds or grade descriptors in mind.

© UCLES 2023 Page 2 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

AO2 – Demonstrate an understanding of the past through explanation, analysis and a

substantiated judgement of key concepts: causation, consequence, continuity, change and
significance within an historical context, the relationships between key features and
characteristics of the periods studied.

This mark scheme assesses the quality of analysis demonstrated in addressing the
question.

Level 5 Answers demonstrate a full understanding of the question, are balanced 13–15
and analytical.
Answers:
• establish valid and wide-ranging criteria for assessing the question
• are consistently analytical of the key features and characteristics of the
period
• provide a focused, balanced argument with a sustained line of reasoning
throughout
• reach a clear and sustained judgement.

Level 4 Answers demonstrate a good understanding of the question, and are 10–12
mostly analytical.
Answers:
• establish valid criteria for assessing the question
• are analytical of the key features and characteristics of the period, but
treatment of points may be uneven
• attempt to provide a balanced argument, but may lack coherence and
precision in some places
• reach a supported judgement, although some of the evaluations may be
only partly substantiated.

Level 3 Answers demonstrate an understanding of the question and contain some 7–9
analysis. Argument lacks balance.
Answers:
• show attempts at establishing criteria for assessing the question
• show some analysis of the key features and characteristics of the period,
but may also contain descriptive passages
• provide an argument but lacks balance, coherence and precision
• begin to form a judgement although with weak substantiation.

Level 2 Answers demonstrate some understanding of the question and are 4–6
descriptive.
Answers:
• attempt to establish criteria for assessing the question but these may be
implicit
• show limited analysis of the key features and characteristics of the period,
and contain descriptive passages that are not always clearly related to the
focus of the question
• make an attempt at proving an argument, but this is done inconsistently
and/or may be unrelated to the focus of the question
• make an assertion rather than a judgement.

Level 1 Answers address the topic, but not the question. 1–3
Answers:
• focus on the topic rather than the question
• lack analysis or an argument
• lack a relevant judgement.

© UCLES 2023 Page 3 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Level 0 No creditable content. 0

AO1 – Recall, select and deploy historical knowledge appropriately and effectively.

This mark scheme assesses the quality and depth of knowledge deployed to support the
argument made.

Level 5 Answers demonstrate a high level of relevant detail. 13–15

Supporting material:
• is carefully selected
• is fully focused on supporting the argument
• is wide-ranging
• is consistently precise and accurate.

Level 4 Answers demonstrate a good level of relevant supporting detail. 10–12

Supporting material:
• is selected appropriately
• is mostly focused on supporting the argument
• covers a range of points but the depth may be uneven
• is mostly precise and accurate.

Level 3 Answers demonstrate an adequate level of supporting detail. 7–9

Supporting material:
• is mostly appropriately selected
• may not fully support the points being made, may be descriptive in places
• covers a narrow range of points
• occasionally lacks precision and accuracy in places.

Level 2 Answers demonstrate some relevant supporting detail. 4–6

Supporting material:
• is presented as a narrative
• is not directly linked to the argument
• is limited in range and depth
• frequently lacks precision and accuracy.

Level 1 Answers demonstrate limited knowledge of the topic. 1–3

Supporting material:
• has limited relevance to the argument
• is inaccurate or vague.

Level 0 No creditable content. 0

© UCLES 2023 Page 4 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Annotation symbols

ID ID Valid point identified

EXP Explanation (an explained valid point)

Tick Detail/evidence is used to support the point

Plus Balanced – Considers the other view

? Unclear

AN Analysis

^ Unsupported assertion

K Knowledge

EVAL Evaluation

NAR Lengthy narrative that is not answering the question

Extendable Use with other annotations to show extended issues

Wavy Line or narrative

N/A Highlighter Highlight a section of text

N/A On-page Allows comments to be entered in speech bubbles

comment on the candidate response.

Using the annotations

• Annotate using the symbols above as you read through the script.

• At the end of each question write a short on-page comment:

– be positive – say what the candidate has done, rather than what they have not
– reference the attributes of the level descriptor you are awarding (i.e. make sure your
comment matches the mark you have given)

© UCLES 2023 Page 5 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

1 Assess the view that Mussolini’s political skill was the most important 30
reason for his rise to power by 1922.

Mussolini showed great skill in adapting his political programme in the years
between 1919–22 and was able to gain the support of Italy’s elites as a result:
his skills were a crucial part of making fascism acceptable. Having begun with
a left-wing programme, he quickly began to distance himself from many of the
policies in the 1919 programme and exploited the fear of the upper and
middle classes about the threat from socialism. He set out to reassure the
Catholic Church, having previously promised to confiscate all property
belonging to it. By 1921, he was declaring fascism to be opposed to divorce in
a bid win support from Catholics. Policies on nationalisation were dropped
and deliberate appeals to the conservative elites were made, particularly
through Mussolini’s increasingly anti-socialist rhetoric and the actions of
fascist squads. Although violence was a key part of the increased appeal of
fascism, Mussolini was also careful to disassociate himself from its worst
excesses and to suggest that only he could harness it.

Other factors which might be considered include the political and economic
context in which Mussolini was operating, the impact of the First World War,
both economically and politically, the perceived threat of socialism and the
apparent failure of liberal democracy to deal with the problems facing Italy.
Responses may also consider the mistakes and weaknesses of the king
which also help to explain Mussolini’s appointment in 1922. Like many others
in the elite, he overestimated the strength of fascism and provided weak
leadership. Mussolini also possessed other political skills other than
pragmatism and was a highly able figurehead and propagandist.

© UCLES 2023 Page 6 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

2 ‘Stalin’s fear of being overthrown was the main reason for the purges.’ 30
Assess this view.

It can be argued that Stalin’s personality was the driving force behind the
terror and responses may discuss his suspicion of others and paranoia which
led him to believe that he was surrounded by enemies. He was vindictive and
vengeful, desiring to take revenge on those who had belittled him in the past.
He had an inferiority complex about his intellectual capabilities compared to
some of his rivals and former colleagues. These factors might explain why he
had to dispose of Old Bolsheviks, who knew his limitations and had belittled
him as mediocre and dull before he rose to power. He believed that any
deviation from his policies would prove to be disastrous for the Soviet Union
and so he wanted control of the party and the people in order to crush any
opposition.

A balanced argument could be made by introducing other factors such as the

economic problems in the late 1930’s which led to the need to find
scapegoats so that failures could be blamed on wreckers rather than poor
planning. The social instability created by the Five-Year Plans led to hostility
towards the government and so the purges were designed to keep control and
to stifle criticism of the leadership by encouraging denunciations of managers
and officials instead. Those arrested and sent to the gulags could be used as
slave labour to carry out dangerous work in inhospitable regions of the
country. There were also external threats from Germany demanded greater
efforts to industrialise and prepare for war. It was increasingly important to
Stalin to ensure that opposition was purged. Some response may also
consider how the NKVD was internally divided and operated outside of
Moscow’s control. The purges were driven by the desire to increase the power
and influence of the NKVD.

© UCLES 2023 Page 7 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

3 Assess the impact of Nazi policies towards German workers in the 30

period 1933–39.

Arguments which can be made to indicate improvements include the

eradication of unemployment in Germany between 1933 and 1939, falling to
practically zero, having been almost 6 million in 1932. In 1936 the average
wage for a worker was 35 marks per week, which was ten times the
unemployment benefit received by millions in 1932. It is hard to argue that
these workers and their families had not seen their living standards rise.
Another improvement was in the increase of average paid holidays from three
in 1933 to between six and twelve by 1939. Leisure activities also offered by
the regime under the KdF programme allowed for subsidised holidays, sport,
cinema and theatre visits. Over 10 million took KdF holidays in 1938. Beauty
of Work programmes improved work facilities and conditions, with attention
paid to canteens, changing rooms etc.

Counterarguments could include how the hours of work increased (on

average from 43 to 47 between 1933 and 1939) and how there was little, if
any, increase in real wages for many workers. Those in armaments saw
higher increase than many other workers, for instance in the production of
consumer goods and in agriculture. Generally, increased wages depended
upon overtime worked. Workers had lost freedom, with the suppression of
free trade unions to be replaced by the DAF, they had little right to protest for
improvements. Food consumption in many areas, such as meat, eggs, milk
and fish all fell to varying degrees by the late 1930s. The Mittelstand also
often failed to benefit in the ways that they might have expected, despite
policies such as the Law to Protect Retail Trade and the Reich Entailed Farm
Law. Women were forced out of employment in certain sectors and were
discouraged from work for most of this period. Jewish people were treated
similarly.

© UCLES 2023 Page 8 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

4 Evaluate the reasons for the limited impact of political extremism in 30

British politics during the 1930s.

In common with many other countries, political extremism from both right- and
left-wings grew in Britain during and after the Great Depression as some
became convinced that liberal democracy was unable to meet its challenges.
However, neither attained the level of support in Britain as elsewhere.

Right-wing – British Union of Fascists

Oswald Mosely had been a member of the Labour Party but had resigned due
to his frustration with the rejection of his proposals on tackling unemployment.
He founded the new party, which performed poorly in the 1931 election and
convinced him that different approaches were necessary. Accordingly, he
founded the BUF in 1932, aiming to establish a corporate state along the lines
of that being advanced in Italy by Mussolini. The party attracted some 50,000
members by 1934 and did gain some favourable press coverage (most
notably in the Daily Mail, with its headline ‘Hurrah for the Blackshirts’). There
was no opportunity to test the party’s popularity in elections, but the
movement began to decline after 1936, when the National Government
passed the Public Order Act. The party had few obvious policies other than on
unemployment and racism. Once the economy began to recover and threat of
war with Nazi Germany grew, it became less attractive. Although some were
attracted by Mosley, his style of leadership, based on Mussolini and Hitler,
proved unpopular with the general public.
The Battle of Cable Street in 1936 indicated the opposition that was widely felt
to Mosley’s increasingly anti-Semitic ideas.

Left-wing – Communist Party of Great Britain

The Communist Party was well-funded by the Soviet Union throughout the
1920s and achieved a prominent role in some campaigns such as the
National Unemployed Workers’ Movement and protests over rent and
conditions in Glasgow and London. Despite gaining support among the
intelligentsia, membership of the party only reached 9,000 and little electoral
success followed, with a single MP being elected in 1935. An application from
the CPGB to join the Labour Party in 1935 was rejected.

© UCLES 2023 Page 9 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

5 ‘White opposition to the civil rights movement was caused mainly by 30

economic concerns.’ Evaluate this claim.

White opposition varied from individual or improvised group actions such as

seen in the Cicero riots of 1951 to try to maintain white only areas to more
organised activity such as the Ku Klux Klan or the more apparently
respectable White Citizens Councils which emerged from opposition to the
Brown judgement in 1954, but which contained violent elements and joined
with rabid anti-Communist groups like the John Birch society. Opposition
encompassed actions by officials – notably police chiefs, elected
representatives and senators especially in the South to presidential
candidates. Motives varied from visceral racism to political concerns that civil
rights was linked to political change and a belief that the so-called American
way of life was under threat. Answers could differentiate between different
types of opposition and attempt to prioritise motives and need to go beyond
descriptions of opposition to an analysis of the motives.

Arguments in support of this claim could focus on the perceived threat of

empowered racial groups to wages and skilled white economic status and
also by the resentment engendered among whites suffering from economic
difficulties which was transferred to opposition to civil rights. However other
factors could be seen as more or equally important though the question
requires a focus on the key element in the question and other motivations
should be compared with economic concerns. These might include historical
white racial domination and an acquiescence of authorities in violent
suppression of demands for civil rights. Cultural and emotional factors
independent of real economic concerns could be examined as well as the
political clout of individuals and groups opposing civil rights in the context of
fear of radicalism at a time of change and in a Cold War situation.

© UCLES 2023 Page 10 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

6 Assess the political impact of the mass media in the 1960s and 1970s. 30

Many will focus on the greater accessibility of television and its impact on the
way that politics was conducted and the appeal of political leaders with a key
example being the confrontations between Kennedy and Nixon. The reporting
of news had a significant impact on the electorate and the immediacy of the
reporting, for example, on the war in Vietnam or the Cuban Missile crisis
meant that public opinion had more impact on foreign policy decisions.
Television became more immediate as more Americans had colour and the
impact and popularity of TV journalists and presented such as Walter Cronkite
grew. Some may consider the implications of developments in the media that
were not on the face of it political but had political implications. The rise of the
counterculture and its music played on radio which had more diversity in the
1970s. But also, the use of the media by social and religious conservatives.
Christian broadcasting made use of developments in television spreading
messages hitherto confined to Southern states. AM radio stations or ultrahigh
frequency (UHF) television channels were bought by Christian groups and
conservatives gained new outlets. The Washington Times was bought by
conservative Rev. Sun Myung Moon. After 1978 conservatives would become
increasingly influential in American politics, significantly contributing to the
victory of Reagan in 1980 and the swing to more conservative policies.

However, it could be argued that the impact can be overstated with traditional
politics and long-term concerns rather than immediate reactions to events
remaining important. The role of the media and public opinion in political
decisions in Vietnam has been challenged and was often used by military and
political leaders as a cover for their own failures. The question does not invite
a sustained consideration of other factors independent of the main issue in
the question, but it would be legitimate to examine other influences compared
with the media.

© UCLES 2023 Page 11 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

7 Assess the reasons for continuing Affirmative Action policies in the 30

1980s.

Elements of the judiciary and the Presidency were hostile to Affirmative

Action, but despite this, the policies were sustained in the 1980s. The Civil
Rights Commission in 1981 set out the rationale for continuing with Affirmative
Action on the basis of the progress made towards reducing prejudice but
arguing that racism and sexism continued to be problematic and that there
were on going discriminatory attitudes. The persistent lobbying by Civil Rights
groups such as the NAACP helped to protect policies which were coming
under greater threat. There was more awareness of discrimination and social
changes had made discrimination less acceptable but there was also a
reaction to positive discrimination. Reagan was particularly known for his
opposition to Affirmative Action programs. He reduced funding for the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission and took up the idea of ‘reverse
discrimination’. However, the courts reaffirmed Affirmative Action policies
such as quotas. In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled that courts could order
race-based quotas to fight discrimination in worker unions. Other Supreme
Court decisions weakened Affirmative Action, but the principle behind it
survived and there was congressional opposition to its removal.

There could be a debate between motivations which sprang from genuine

concern for greater equality in the light of more awareness of discrimination
and disparity and the political imperatives required to engage with a larger
and more diverse ethnic electorate and the persuasiveness of the advocates
of Affirmative Action. In some cases, Affirmative Action was strengthened
because of the danger that legal decisions might undermine the very
principles which underlay it. Affirmative Action had come under legal
challenge in the Bakke case of 1978 but its continuance in an era of more
conservative policy was made possible by some key Supreme Court
judgements, Fullilove v Klutznick in 1980 protected a federal law which
reserved federal law requiring that 15% of funds for public works be set aside
for qualified minority contractors. Arguing that it did not violate the equal rights
of non-minority contractors, which had been the basis of the Bakke decision.
In some instances, Affirmative Action decisions were not being enforced and
were strengthened. In 1987 Alabama was ordered by the Supreme Court to
implement specific racial quotas to ensure that for every white policeman
hired a minority appointment would be made and that a specific aim of 25% of
minority officers in senior position should be achieved as the state had not
implemented a 1979 Federal court ruling against discrimination. In education,
the decision of institutions to maintain the policy in the face of judicial and
executive, admissions and diversity officials, for example at the University of
California, Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, though its implementation remained uneven.

© UCLES 2023 Page 12 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

8 ‘The US was more responsible than the USSR for the Cuban Missile 30
Crisis.’ Assess this view.

The case for US responsibility rests on the ongoing hostility to Castro and the
way that this drove the Cuban regime into the arms of the USSR and created
a situation where because of CIA plots and the Bay of Pigs, the security of
Cuba was genuinely threatened. The US saw Castro’s acceptance of Russian
missiles as part of an aggressive move, but the regime was being threatened.
It has been argued that the Bay of Pigs gave Khrushchev the opportunity for
intervention when previous policy making in the USSR had discounted
possible intervention in Latin America.

The offensive purpose of the missiles could be challenged – and in any case
the US had its own missiles in Turkey which were an obvious threat to the
USSR. In practical terms the threat of nuclear destruction was not much
increased by having missiles on Cuba and the most important effect was to
create agitation and fear in the US and a political threat to Kennedy –
something that US actions against Cuba had caused. Kennedy had
exaggerated the threat and stoked fears. It has been argued that Kennedy
thought he could wage a war out of sight of the American people, for the
people’s good; but when the Cubans responded in open ways, he could not
explain their effrontery, and had to ride the wave of public fear. However,
some may find this analysis less convincing. The failures of US plots to
remove Castro did open up opportunities, but given the situation in the US, to
install missiles in Cuba, so close to the US homeland was a very high-risk
strategy. Certainly, US hostility gave the USSR traction over a Cuban regime
that was not in 1959 overtly communist but this particular action, given the
Monroe Doctrine, previous US policies and residual ears of Soviet expansion
and issues over Berlin could be seen as adventurism, particularly given
Castro’s volatile personality. Answers should not rely on a description of the
crisis, but key elements might feature in a discussion. For example, July 1962
the meeting between Castro and Khrushchev in which it was agreed that
missiles would be placed in Cuba and missile launch sites built. The decision
by Kennedy to reject advice that a preemptive strike and an invasion be
launched. The decision to impose a quarantine on 22 October rather than a
more aggressive blockade – a possible act of war. The willingness to
compromise and remove Jupiter missiles from Turkey, Kennedy chose the
less abrasive reactions – something that Khrushchev could not know would
be the case.

© UCLES 2023 Page 13 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

9 ‘The USSR’s involvement in Afghanistan was the main reason for the 30
collapse of the Soviet system.’ Assess this view.

In December 1991, Ukraine, Byelorussia, and Russia declared independence

and the USSR was dissolved. The Soviets intervened in Afghanistan in
December 1979 and from a small-scale intervention, it grew into a decade-
long war involving nearly a million Soviet soldiers. It ended in February 1989,
but large-scale Soviet military and economic assistance continued.
Afghanistan became the USSR’s Vietnam, an expensive war with little hope of
victory. The repeated failures in this war changed the Soviet leadership’s
opinion of the effectiveness of using force to keep non-Soviet nationalities
within the Union, devastated the morale of the army and speeded up glasnost.
By late 1986, the Afghanistan war had significantly impacted on Soviet
domestic politics. For non-Russians, the war became a unifying symbol of
their opposition to Moscow’s rule. The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan
in 1989 signalled Soviet military weakness and demonstrated that the army
was vulnerable. Since the Soviet army held the different Soviet Republics
together, its defeat in Afghanistan had profound implications for the future of
the USSR. The war accelerated glasnost as the media began to report non-
official war stories. Soviet leaders before Gorbachev believed that they could
employ the military to hold together their country but in 1986 Gorbachev
referred to the Afghanistan war as a ‘bleeding wound’. Soviet political leaders
began distancing themselves from the decision to intervene in Afghanistan.
Since a major focus of perestroika and glasnost was the demilitarisation of
Soviet society, the war became a rallying point against the military. Thus, the
discrediting of the Soviet army due to its failures in Afghanistan was
disastrous for the stability of the Soviet regime.

However, it was Gorbachev who created the circumstances that enabled the
collapse to happen so rapidly. Gorbachev came to power in 1985 during a
period of economic stagnation; he saw the inefficiency of the communist
system. He wanted moderate change with perestroika and glasnost to restore
the legitimacy of the Communist Party; instead, the public became aware of
its shortcomings. The USSR was also losing its grip on its satellite states and
ethnic groups sought to free themselves from Soviet control. Gorbachev did
not realise that communism would be destroyed once factors like nationalism
took hold. By the summer of 1989, East Europeans had more freedom and
they rejected communism. By November 1989, the Berlin Wall had fallen.
Gorbachev was responsible for the loosening of governmental power which
created a domino effect in which Eastern European alliances began to
crumble, inspiring countries such as Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia to declare
their independence. His reforms caused a revolution driven from below which,
because of his refusal to use force, destroyed the communist system and
ended the Soviet Empire. Gorbachev wanted to demilitarise Soviet foreign
policy so that he could divert resources to fixing a broken economy.
Gorbachev was convinced that Reagan did not intend to make a first strike
against the USSR. Finally, in December 1987, they agreed the INF Treaty, the
first agreement on actually reducing nuclear weapons. He believed in co-
operation and in holding only a minimal number of nuclear weapons for
protection.

© UCLES 2023 Page 14 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

10 ‘The People’s Republic of China entered the Korean War primarily to 30

save communism in North Korea.’ Discuss this view.

On 25 June 1950 the North Korean army led by Kim Il Sung, launched an
offensive against South Korea. By entering and fighting in the Korean War,
The PRC achieved its original goal to keep North Korea from falling to the UN
forces. The fact that PRC forces held their own against United Nations’ forces
boosted the PRC’s standing as a world power. The PRC wanted to preserve a
North Korean Communist State, but not to dominate it. Instead, it wanted
North Korea to serve as a buffer between Manchuria and the US-dominated
South Korea. Ideological reasons helped to account for the PRC’s
intervention. The PRC stressed the inevitability of the communist-capitalist
confrontation and the need to support the communist revolution to justify its
intervention and prove that its decision was made from a moral standpoint. It
also explains why the PRC decided to intervene and not to choose to rely on
the alliance treaty with the USSR. It would promote the PRC’s international
status as a supporter of world communist revolution.
The PRC was also interested in its own security fearing a possible US
invasion. On 27 June, the US Seventh Fleet was sent to the Taiwan Strait to
‘neutralise’ the situation. On the same day, President Truman announced air
and naval support for South Korea. These movements led to a reassessment
of US intentions towards the PRC who redeployed some troops to the
Northern border. The Inchon landings on 15 September and the US troops’
crossing of the 38th parallel on 25 September led to the first troops entering
North Korea on 14 October. The PRC was concerned that if US troops were
stationed in the border region, it would be forced to focus most of its troops on
the North-eastern border region; this would be expensive and politically
dangerous. The region contained the main economic resources for its
economic reconstruction and recovery. The PRC leaders hoped that the
troops could defeat the United States and the reactionary forces at home. As
the tension in Korea escalated, Stalin became more cautious in avoiding
direct confrontation with the United States and refused to send troops to
Korea. Instead, he encouraged the PRC to send their armies to assist the
North and promised to support it with military equipment and air force cover
and to defend its borders. Mao Zedong wanted to enhance the Sino-Soviet
alliance, so as to consolidate the PRC’s new regime.

The economy of the PRC was shattered, with high inflation, tight budget and
lack of material resources and the authority of the regime was under threat by
remaining Kuomintang agents. The PRC was also preparing for battles in
Taiwan to unify the whole of China. However, while the alliance treaty could
provide Soviet support to protect the PRC when its territory was invaded, it
could not remove pressure on economic reconstruction, on troop deployments
for ‘freeing’ Taiwan and on stopping internal opposition forces posed by the
US presence near the border. Beijing had to opt for an armed intervention to
eliminate US presence near its border if the North Koreans were defeated.
PRC leaders decided that if they were going to fight the USA, the initial attack
would have to be as efficient as possible. For this reason, they planned a
surprise attack, secretly moving troops across the Yalu River. The PRC, using
the element of surprise, did not declare war. Furthermore, so that it could
officially disavow responsibility, the PRC troops claimed to be ‘volunteers’.

© UCLES 2023 Page 15 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

11 Analyse the effects of dependence on ex-colonial trading partners on 30

newly independent African nations.

The European countries that colonised Africa grudgingly granted the colonies
independence due to internal and external pressures. However, these
European countries still wanted to influence the politics, economy, and culture
of their former colonies, often in alliance with the rulers. When colonialism
ended, the new African states who were weak both politically and
economically were vulnerable to interference from the West. Under
colonialism their economic systems were tied to a narrow export base with a
weak industrial sector. In Africa industry was not developed outside of
agriculture and extraction, and workers were restricted to the lowest-paid,
most unskilled work which continued after independence. In 1967, 90% of
Africa’s exports were comprised of raw materials such as oil, copper, cotton,
coffee, and cocoa. The growth of cash crops meant that food had to be
imported, while industrial development was held back because manufacturing
and the processing of raw materials happened exclusively overseas. Africans’
wages were kept very low, and the profits from the exploitation of African
labourers went directly to European bankers and trading companies. Most
West African countries continued to concentrate on the production and
marketing of one or two cash crops: groundnuts in Senegal and Gambia;
cocoa and palm kernels in Sierra Leone; palm oil and cocoa in Guinea, Côte
d’Ivoire and Ghana; and palm oil and kernels and cotton in Nigeria. West
African economies were also structured to be permanently dependent on
Western nations. They were consigned the role of primary producers for
processing in the West. The terms of trade in the Western-controlled
international market discriminated against African nations who were unable to
earn enough to develop their economies after independence.

The weakness of postcolonial nations was a result of colonialism; states had

limited control over territory and regimes that relied on ethnic divisions, a
centralised authority, and patronage systems inherited from colonial rule. The
first Presidents of independent postcolonial nations, Kwame Nkrumah of
Ghana and Sekou Touré of Guinea were strongly against this practice. They
wanted their countries to cut off the ties of colonialism completely. However,
when Touré decided to reduce his country’s ties with France, the French
practically destroyed Guinea. They damaged public infrastructure and took
away to France whatever valuable property they could lay hands on. They
also later refused to allow Guinea access to the common currency used
across their former colonies. Nkrumah coined the term neo-colonialism to
refer to the indirect political, economic, and social control of African nations by
their former colonial overlords. Some West African leaders tried to remove
vestiges of colonialism by joining the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The
NAM was formed by countries who did not want to be directly involved with
the intense Cold War rivalry between the post-war superpowers, the USSR,
and the United States. Nkrumah turned to Eastern countries in the Soviet Bloc
for assistance. In this way, he became closely aligned to the Soviet Bloc. The
USA did not like Nkrumah’s close ties with the Soviet Bloc, because the
Americans wanted West African countries and many others in Africa and
elsewhere to be under the US influence. The United States and, in some
cases, the USSR, found an opening to replace the influence of these
countries’ former colonial masters.

© UCLES 2023 Page 16 of 17

9489/42 Cambridge International AS & A Level – Mark Scheme October/November
PUBLISHED 2023

Question Answer Marks

12 Assess how far Yasser Arafat’s tactics for achieving a Palestinian state
changed in the period up to 1979.

After 1948 a number of guerrilla/terrorist organisations were created aiming to

replace Israel with a Palestinian Arab state. Among these was Fatah, a group
co-founded by Yasser Arafat dedicated to the liberation of Palestine by an
armed struggle carried out by Palestinians themselves. Backed by Syria,
Fatah began carrying out terrorist raids against Israeli targets starting in
December 1964. Fatah launched dozens of raids against civilian Israeli
targets from Jordan, Lebanon, and Egyptian-occupied Gaza. In 1964, the
Arab League created the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as a tool in
the war against Israel. Arafat’s Fatah gradually became its dominant faction.
Following the defeat of the Arab forces in the 1967 Six-Day War; the PLO
decided that it could not rely on the Arab states to achieve its objective of
destroying Israel which remained its primary focus for the next ten years with
the massive terrorist campaign by which the PLO’s reputation was formed.
Fatah established a base in the Jordanian city of Karameh, the target of an
Israeli assault planned in reprisal for a terrorist attack against a school bus full
of children in March 1968. The Israeli forces met unexpected resistance and
the Arab media glorified the Palestinian stand with the effect of stimulating a
wave of volunteers seeking to join the PLO. Arafat gained greater prestige
which he needed to exert greater influence over the PLO which adopted
Fatah's commitment to liberate Palestine by armed struggle alone. A year
later Arafat was elected chairman of the PLO. He consolidated his power by
bringing most of the militant Palestinian factions under the umbrella of the
PLO. Tension with Jordan’s King Hussein, however, culminated in the king’s
decision in September 1970 to end PLO presence in Jordan, therefore
Lebanon became their main base until 1982.

After its defeat in Jordan, Fatah moved to international acts of terrorism

through its ‘Black September’ organisation. In September 1972 it seized
eleven Israeli athletes as hostages at the Olympic Games in Munich. All the
athletes and five Black September operatives later died during a gun battle
with the West German police. The insurgency against Israel inside the newly
occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and the international acts of violence
failed to gain much success for the PLO, which gradually turned towards
political solutions. Arafat tried a diplomatic approach, especially after the Yom
Kippur War of 1973. He renounced the idea of liberation of the whole of
Palestine and the creation of a democratic state where Muslims, Christians,
and Jews would coexist, and Israel destroyed as a state. He accepted the
idea of a state comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East
Jerusalem as its capital. While the United States and Israel considered the
group a terrorist organisation refusing any contact with it, some European
countries soon began political dialogue with the PLO. Arafat backed an end to
the PLO’s attacks on targets outside of Israel and sought the PLO’s
acceptance as the legitimate representative of the Palestinians. In 1974 the
PLO was recognised by Arab states as the sole legitimate representative of all
Palestinians; the PLO was admitted to full membership of the Arab League in
1976. In November 1974, Arafat became the first representative of a non-
governmental organisation to address a plenary session of the UN General
Assembly.

© UCLES 2023 Page 17 of 17