Contemporary World History (1945–present)
This domain covers the postwar order, the Cold War, decolonisation and globalisation. It tests structure versus agency: whether outcomes are explained by systems, ideologies or decisions.
Core rules and concepts
- Containment: Kennan's Long Telegram (1946) framed the policy; Marshall Plan (1947), NATO (1949) and the Berlin airlift (1948–49) institutionalised it. Cominform and the Warsaw Pact (1955) mirrored it.
- Escalation and de-escalation: Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) produced the hotline and arms control; détente and SALT I (1972) coexisted with proxy wars.
- Decolonisation: Bandung (1955) and the Non-Aligned Movement (Belgrade 1961) offered a third position, but most new states were drawn into superpower patronage.
- Economic turning points: the 1973 oil shock ended the postwar boom; the neoliberal turn (1979–89) deregulated capital; 1989 in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991 ended bipolarity.
Worked example
Prompt: was the Cold War driven by ideology or security? Set criteria: what each side said, what it did, and what it did when the other retreated. Ideology explains Soviet control of Eastern Europe and American rhetoric; security dilemma explains arms racing and reciprocal misperception. Conclude by periodising - the mix varied between the Stalinist, détente and Second Cold War phases.
Traps
Treating the Cold War as constant in intensity rather than periodised. Conflating 1989 with 1991. Assuming the 'end of history' framing rather than arguing it. Ignoring agency of postcolonial states. Using 'globalisation' as a cause rather than a description.