IB History — Authoritarian States and the Cold War flashcards
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World history topics on 20th-century authoritarian states (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini, Castro, Perón, Nasser) and Cold War rivalries, asked as causes, methods, results and historiography. For exams through November 2027.
Learn deck · part of IB History · written against: IB Diploma Programme IB History current subject guide (prescribed subjects and world history topics); SL and HL in one deck, HL-only cards under subtopic tags starting HL. Updated 2026-10-10.
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Which recurring conditions do IB essays usually identify behind the emergence of 20th-century authoritarian states?Most case studies combine economic crisis, the shock or humiliation of war, weak or discredited institutions and deep social divisions, which a party and leader then exploit through propaganda and the threat of force.Authoritarian States › Emergence
Example: Weimar Germany after 1929 shows all four at once. -
How did the Great Depression change the Nazi Party's electoral fortunes?It turned a fringe party into a mass one: the Nazis won only 2.6% in 1928, but 18.3% in 1930 and 37.4% in July 1932, becoming the largest party in the Reichstag as unemployment soared.Authoritarian States › Emergence
Why: mass unemployment discredited the Weimar coalition parties and frightened the middle classes. -
Why do historians stress the role of conservative elites in Hitler's appointment as chancellor in January 1933?The Nazi vote had actually fallen in November 1932, but Papen and the circle around President Hindenburg persuaded the president to appoint Hitler, believing they could control him inside a cabinet with few Nazis.Authoritarian States › Emergence
Watch out: Hitler was appointed, not elected to the chancellorship. -
How did Stalin use the post of General Secretary (from 1922) to outmanoeuvre his rivals?The post gave him control of party appointments, so he could place loyal officials in local organisations who in turn chose delegates to party congresses, building a voting base that better-known rivals such as Trotsky lacked.Authoritarian States › Emergence
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Describe the shifting alliances Stalin used to defeat his rivals between 1924 and 1929.He first sided with Zinoviev and Kamenev against Trotsky, then with Bukharin and the Right against the United Opposition of Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev, and finally turned on Bukharin over the end of the NEP in 1928–29.Authoritarian States › Emergence
Why: each rival was isolated in turn, and no coalition against Stalin ever won a majority. -
What does the orthodox school argue about the origins of the Cold War?The orthodox (or traditional) view, dominant in the West in the 1940s–50s (e.g. Herbert Feis), blames Soviet expansionism and communist ideology; the United States responded defensively.The Cold War › Origins and Historiography
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What does the revisionist school argue, and which historian is most associated with it?Revisionists, writing from the late 1950s and during the Vietnam War, blame US economic expansion and its drive for open markets, together with 'atomic diplomacy'; William Appleman Williams (The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, 1959) is the founding figure.The Cold War › Origins and Historiography
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What is the post-revisionist position on Cold War origins?Post-revisionists such as John Lewis Gaddis (1972) spread responsibility, weighing domestic politics, personalities and American perceptions of Soviet intentions rather than economics alone, though Gaddis still put more of the blame on Moscow.The Cold War › Origins and Historiography
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How did the opening of Soviet-bloc archives after 1991 affect the origins debate?New evidence led some historians, notably Gaddis in We Now Know (1997), to place renewed weight on Stalin's personality and ideology, a shift sometimes called a 'new orthodoxy', though others still emphasise mutual misunderstanding.The Cold War › Origins and Historiography
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What was the 'percentages agreement' of October 1944, and why does it matter to the origins debate?Churchill and Stalin informally divided influence in the Balkans, for example Romania mostly Soviet and Greece mostly British; it suggests both sides thought in spheres of influence, and Stalin largely kept out of the Greek civil war.The Cold War › Origins and Historiography
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About these cards
Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- IB Diploma Programme subject guide (topic outline only; no text copied): History guide for first assessment 2020, world history topics 10 and 12. A new History course is first assessed in May 2028.
- OpenStax World History, Volume 2, consulted as a reference; no text copied.
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