History Paper 2 Comprehensive Exam Guide

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the rise of Globalisation.

Cold War

An ideological struggle between the USA and the USSR that emerged after WWII, lasting from $1945$ to $1991$, characterized by proxy wars, propaganda, and an arms race.

Capitalism

An economic and political system featuring private ownership of industry, freedom of competition, democratic elections, and individual rights.

Communism

A system based on government ownership of industry, shared wealth, totalitarian one-party rule, and the theoretical goal of a classless society.

Grand Alliance

The uneasy $1941$ alliance between the USA, USSR, and Britain formed to defeat the common enemy of Nazi Germany.

Tehran Conference

A $1943$ meeting where it was decided there would be no Anglo-American invasion through the Balkans, effectively leaving Soviet troops to dominate Eastern Europe.

Yalta Conference

A February $1945$ meeting where leaders agreed to divide Germany and Berlin into $4$ zones and Stalin promised free democratic elections in Eastern Europe.

Potsdam Conference

A July $1945$ conference where new leaders Truman and Attlee finalized the $4$ zones of Germany but disagreed on reparations and pro-Soviet governments.

Containment

The American foreign policy goal, established by the Truman Doctrine, to stop the spread of communism rather than trying to roll it back.

Long Telegram

An $8,000$-word message sent by George Kennan in $1946$ warning that Soviets would expand their influence and recommending a tough US stance.

Iron Curtain

A metaphor coined by Winston Churchill in $1946$ to describe the ideological and political divide between communist Eastern Europe and capitalist Western Europe.

Truman Doctrine

A $1947$ policy stating the USA would provide money, military equipment, and advice to any country threatened by a communist takeover.

Marshall Plan

A program launched in $1947$ to lend $17\,billion$ to rebuild war-ravaged European economies, making communism unattractive to struggling citizens.

COMINFORM

The Communist Information Bureau, established in $1947$ to strengthen links between communist parties and organize strikes against the Marshall Plan.

COMECON

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, a communist trading organization established in $1949$ as the Soviet version of the Marshall Plan.

Trizonia

The single economic unit formed in $1947/48$ by the merger of the American, British, and French occupied zones of Germany.

Berlin Blockade

A crisis from June $1948$ to May $1949$ when Stalin cut off all land access to West Berlin in response to the introduction of the Deutschmark.

Berlin Airlift

A massive operation involving over $200,000$ flights to bring food and coal to West Berliners during the Soviet blockade.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, a Western military alliance formed in $1949$ to safeguard against Soviet expansion.

Warsaw Pact

A Soviet military alliance formed in $1955$ with Eastern European satellite states in response to West Germany joining NATO.

Brezhnev Doctrine

A Soviet policy stating that any threat to socialist rule in any bloc state was a threat to all and justified military intervention.

MAD

Mutually Assured Destruction, a Cold War paradox where both sides possessing enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other prevented direct war.

Brinkmanship

A policy of threatening to use nuclear weapons and being willing to go to the edge of war to force an opponent to back down.

Sputnik

The first artificial satellite, launched by the USSR in $1957$, which shocked the USA and triggered the Space Race.

U2 Spy Plane Incident

The $1960$ shooting down of US pilot Gary Powers over Soviet territory, which led to the collapse of the Paris Summit.

McCarthyism

A fanatical witch-hunt for communist sympathizers in the USA during the early $1950s$, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Bay of Pigs

A failed $1961$ CIA-backed invasion of Cuba by $1,500$ Cuban exiles intended to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A $13$-day standoff in October $1962$ after US spy planes photographed Soviet nuclear missile sites under construction in Cuba.

Orthodox Historiography

A historical perspective that blames the Cold War on the USSR and Stalin's drive to conquer territory after WWII.

Revisionist Historiography

A historical perspective emerging in the $1960s$ that blames the Cold War on the USA's desire for global economic domination.

Post-Revisionist Historiography

A historical perspective arguing that neither side was solely to blame, citing mutual misunderstanding and security concerns.

Viet Minh

A communist-led national liberation movement in Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh that fought against Japanese and French forces.

Dien Bien Phu

The site of a decisive $1954$ battle where French forces surrendered to the Viet Minh, ending French colonial rule in Indochina.

Geneva Accords

A $1954$ international agreement that divided Vietnam at the $17^{th}$ Parallel into a communist North and a Western-friendly South.

Domino Theory

The belief that if Vietnam fell to communism, neighboring countries like Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand would inevitably follow.

Strategic Hamlet Program

A failed Kennedy-era tactic that involved moving rural South Vietnamese populations into fortified villages to isolate them from the Viet Cong.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

An authorization passed by Congress in $1964$ giving President Johnson the power to take all necessary measures to escalate the war.

Operation Rolling Thunder

A sustained US bombing campaign from $1965$ to $1968$ aimed at weakening North Vietnamese infrastructure and supply lines.

Tet Offensive

A series of coordinated surprise attacks across South Vietnam in $1968$ that served as a psychological turning point for the US public.

My Lai Massacre

The March $1968$ killing of over $300$ unarmed civilians by US troops, which sparked international outrage.

Vietnamization

Nixon's strategy to gradually withdraw US troops and increase funding for the South Vietnamese army (ARVN) to take over combat operations.

Perestroika

Gorbachev's economic reform policy meaning 'restructuring,' which aimed to move the USSR toward a market economy.

Glasnost

Gorbachev's political reform policy meaning 'openness,' which allowed freedom of speech, news, and the press.

Demokratizatsiya

Gorbachev's attempt to introduce multi-candidate (though not multi-party) elections for Communist Party officials.

Solidarity

An independent Polish trade union and resistance movement led by Lech Walesa that utilized non-violent civil resistance.

Globalisation

The process of increasing interconnectedness and interdependence among countries' economies, cultures, and populations.

IMF

The International Monetary Fund, established in $1944$ to provide short-term loans to countries with financial difficulties.

World Bank

An international agency established in $1944$ to provide long-term low-interest loans for infrastructure development.

SAPs

Structural Adjustment Programmes, economic conditions imposed by the IMF/World Bank requiring countries to cut spending and privatize industries.

BRICS

A geopolitical and economic bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Digital Divide

The gap between developed and developing nations regarding access to modern technology and the internet.

Brain Drain

The loss of skilled and educated workers from developing countries to richer nations offering higher salaries.