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2. Theme 2 - Leaders and Nations (ATL)

This theme covers the following prescribed content:

  • The impact of two leaders, each chosen from a different region, on the course and development of the Cold War
  • The economic, social and cultural impact of Cold War tensions on two countries from different regions.

Note that the syllabus has changed between the 2017 and 2020 guide for the second bullet point; it is now OK to use USA and USSR as nations and the focus is now on the economic, social and cultural impact of the Cold War on two countries from different regions

Students can use their knowledge of what they have covered under Theme 1 of this topic to help them analyse the impact of the different leaders (Page 1 below to help them do this).

For the second bullet point, they will need more information and we have set up pages with ATL and information on the impact of the Cold War on Cuba, Egypt and West Germany as well as the social, economic and cultural impact of the Cold War on the USA and USSR.

1. Impact of leaders on the Cold War

Below are some different activities that you can do for this theme - using your knowledge of events post 1945 to compare the impact of different leaders on the course and development of the Cold War.

2. Nations affected by Cold War tensions: Cuba

Cuba works well as an example of a country whose economic, political, social and foreign policies were impacted by Cold War superpower rivalry.Castro's rise to power and rule is covered in more detail...

3. Nations affected by Cold War tensions: Egypt

This page examines the economic, social and cultural impact of the Cold War on Egypt during the rule of Nasser.Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein become president of Egypt in 1956 and, as with Castro, his polices...

4. Nations affected by Cold War tensions: US

The Cold War affected not only the internal politics and the foreign policy of the US; it influenced economic thinking and spending and it had a profound impact on the lives of ordinary Americans.

5. Nations affected by Cold War tensions: USSR

As in the US, the Cold War affected the the economy, society and culture. However the nature and the extent of the impact was different to the US in each of these areas.

6. Nations affected by Cold War tensions: West Germany

West Germany works well as an example of a nation whose economic, social and cultural policies were impacted by Cold War superpower rivalry.

Leaders and nations: Essay writing exercises and essay frames

Leaders and nations: essay writing exercises and essay plans. Students will be choosing their own examples on which leaders and nations to include in their essays, and so essay frames here provide a general...

Leaders and nations: Graded student examples

On this page, you will find sample essays for this section - comparing leaders or nations from different regions.

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