IB 20th Century World History
Cold War Mini-Research Assignment
Congratulations Scholars!
You are 21st Century Post-Revisionists!
It is your mission to untangle the past and make sense of it for future generations
Area of Focus: Cold War: 1953-1978
Paper 2: Topic 5 Cold War:
● Nature of the Cold War
o Ideological opposition; Superpowers and spheres of influence; Alliances and diplomacy in the Cold War
● Development and Impact of the Cold War
o Global spread of the Cold War; Cold War policies; Roles & significance of leaders; Arms race,
proliferation and limitation; Social, cultural and economic impact
● Examine the conflicting aims and policies of rival powers
o Globalization of the Cold War – Asia, Latin America, Middle East;
o Competition and Co-Existence
What should this look like? In Word, Docs, PPT, or Slides
Step 1: Topic: Cold War: 1953-1978: Selected from provided list
Steps 2 & 3: Background Research & Notes:
Summary: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Timeline: Major events & Key turning points (related to your topic)
FAQs: Identify and Answer the most frequently asked questions on this topic
1: Primary Source
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From the time period
Does not have to be from the
country of origin (may be US
document on the subject)
May be translated
Ex. Govt docs,
correspondence, speeches,
art, propaganda, newspaper
or magazine articles…
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Step 4: Scholarly Research:
1: Secondary Source
1: Source from a Reputable
Historian
Not necessarily from a
▪ Orthodox, Marxist,
historian…
Western Liberal,
Ex. Biographies /
Revisionist, PostRevisionist…
autobiographies, newspaper or
magazine articles, book
▪ Regional specialists: ex.
reviews,
PRC: Chang and
May be translated
Halliday
No tertiary sources (no
encyclopedias)
Step 5a: Thesis Statement
Assess the degree to which this event
escalated or deescalated the Cold War?
PROVE IT!
This will look like a Paper 1, Question 4,
response…Justifying POVs
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Step 5b: Analysis Paragraphs
Answer the Question! Prove your thesis!
Use evidence & Analysis
Use OPVL for source analysis
Use all scholarly research sources
o Cite them using U Chicago footnotes
Explain the why? or why not?
Step 5c: University of Chicago / Turabian Works Cited: Not a bibliography
Easybib is now Imagine Easy Scholar  https://www.iescholar.com/
1: Additional source…
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Must be either a
primary, secondary
or historiography
source
You will have 4
sources in total
Mini-research assignment components:
Step 1: Select a Topic for Investigation:
● Cold War events and individuals are restricted to: 1953-1978
● Ultimately, you must assess how this event escalated or deescalated Cold War tensions
Step 2: Research!
 LEGITIMATE / VALID source materials
 Library Databases should be a starting point No Encyclopedias! Be careful with GALE & ProQuest
articles…
 Research like a professional (aka No random Googling)
Jstor, Google Scholar, Presidential Archives, National Archives, US Office of the Historian, Museums
& Historical Organizations, Scholarly Societies, Think Tanks
Step 3: Note Sheets on Background Information:
o Summary: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
o Timeline: Major events & Key turning points (related to your topic)
o FAQs: Identify and Answer the most frequently asked questions on this topic
** Keep track of source citation materials for works cited (U Chicago / Turabian style)**
Step 4: Scholarly Research Sources: Sources: 4 in total
o Primary: From the time period, does not have to be from the country of origin
o Secondary: Not necessarily from a historian, Ex. Biographies / autobiographies, newspaper or
magazine articles, book reviews, May be translated, No tertiary sources (no encyclopedias)
o Reputable Historian: Orthodox, Marxist, Western Liberal, Revisionist, PostRevisionist…Regional specialists: ex. PRC: Chang and Halliday
o Additional Source: Must be either a primary, secondary or historiography source
▪ You will have 4 sources in total
Step 5: Written Analysis: Assess how ______escalated or deescalated Cold War tensions
Analysis – using all sources
o Escalation or De-escalation?
o Answer the Question! Prove your thesis!
o Use evidence & analysis
o Must consider and use OPVL for source analysis
o Use all scholarly research sources
▪ Cite them using U Chicago / Turabian footnotes
▪ Explain the why? or why not?
Works cited – U Chicago / Turabian style citations (https://www.iescholar.com/)
Cold War: 1953-1978: Research Topics
Pick ONE to investigate
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Asia:
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1953: UN division of Korea at 38th parallel (Korean War: 1951-1953)
1954: Fall of Dien Bien Phu, end of first Indo-China war
1956: Mao’s Hundred Flowers Campaign
1958-1961: Mao’s PRC: Great Leap Forward & Five Year Plans
1964-1973: Role of JFK in Vietnam War
1966-1976: Cultural Revolution, Red Guard
1967: Formation of ASEAN
1971-2: PRC admittance to the UN & UNSC, Nixon in China
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Egypt & Middle East:
o 1956-1970: Rise of Gamel Abdel Nasser
o 1956: Egypt & Aswan Dam
o 1958-1961: United Arab Republic (UAR) = Syria & Egypt
o 1961: Non-Aligned Movement (1955: Bandung Conference)
o 1966-2000: Rise of Hafez al-Assad regime in Syria
o 1967: Six Day War
o 1973: Yom Kippur War
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Latin America:
o 1946-1955 or 1973-1976: Ideology of Peronism (Third Position, Third Way)
▪ 1946-1952: Role of Evita
o 1959-1960: Cuban Revolution
o 1959-Present: Ideology of Fidelismo
o 1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion
o 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
o 1972: Cuba = full member of COMECON
o 1976-81: Cuban troops sent to support Angola’s left-wing MPLA
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USSR & Eastern Bloc Countries:
o 1955: Warsaw Pact
o 1956: Hungarian Revolution
o 1956: De-Stalinization under Nikita Khrushchev
o 1958-61: 2nd Berlin Crisis / Construction of the Berlin Wall
o 1968: Prague Spring
o 1968: Brezhnev Doctrine
o 1973: Geneva Conference
o 1975: Helsinki Accords
o 1977: Charter ‘77