International relations and conflicts of the 20th century, including the two World Wars and the Cold War
What this domain tests
This domain covers the two World Wars and the Cold War, with attention to their impact on Africa and Namibia. You must explain causes, consequences and links between global conflict and decolonisation.
Core concepts
- First World War: the July Crisis, alliance systems, nationalism, imperialism and the Schlieffen Plan produced industrialised trench warfare. South African forces invaded German South West Africa in 1915. Versailles reshaped mandates and created grievances.
- Second World War: appeasement, fascist expansion, the Nazi-Soviet pact and Pearl Harbor shaped the conflict. The Holocaust, strategic bombing and atomic bombs raised moral and political questions; the UN was founded in 1945.
- Cold War: the US-Soviet rivalry was fought through containment, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, nuclear deterrence, proxy wars and propaganda. Africa became an arena in Angola, the Horn and southern Africa.
- Namibian link: Resolution 435 became tied to the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. The 1988 Brazzaville Protocol and the end of the Cold War made independence possible.
Worked example
Question: 'How did the Cold War affect Namibian independence?' Reasoning: trace a chain. Cuban troops in Angola gave South Africa a bargaining counter; the US pursued 'linkage'; the Soviet Union's weakening reduced support for armed struggle; the 1988 agreements linked Cuban withdrawal to 435. A strong answer shows interaction between local nationalism and superpower interests.
Traps
Do not confuse the causes of WWI with those of WWII. Do not reduce the Cold War to Europe. Avoid saying the US or USSR 'granted' Namibian independence; Namibian actors and regional states shaped the outcome.