Paper 2: Authoritarian States and 20th-Century Conflicts
Paper 2 is a 1 hour 30 minute essay paper worth 45% of the SL grade: you write two essays, each 25 marks, on two different world history topics. Most centres teach either Authoritarian States or Causes and Effects of 20th-Century Wars; whichever you choose, the examiner marks argument, not coverage.
Authoritarian states: the shape of the content
Organise any case study around four strands: conditions that enabled the rise (Versailles and the 'mutilated victory' in Italy; hyperinflation in 1923 and the Depression in Germany); methods of consolidation (Reichstag Fire and Enabling Act 1933, Night of the Long Knives 1934, NKVD and the Great Purge 1936–38); policies (economic, social, education, women, minorities, religion); and impact, including how far ordinary people's lives actually changed.
Worked example
'Compare and contrast the methods used by Hitler and Stalin to consolidate power.' Do not write Germany then Russia. Take criteria: terror, propaganda, legal control, elimination of rivals. Similarity: both used a legal veneer (Enabling Act; 1936 Constitution) alongside a secret police. Difference: Hitler's consolidation was compressed into roughly eighteen months and aimed partly at rivals outside the party; Stalin's was incremental and fought inside the party apparatus through the purges. The judgement - which was more complete, and why - is the essay.
Traps
- Narrative biography of one leader with a comparison paragraph bolted on.
- Ignoring the command word: 'to what extent' needs a weighing, not a list.
- In conflict topics, treating causes alone as the whole answer and neglecting consequence.