A-Level Topic Guide: The Cold War

Published: 5th March 2020

The Cold War is a popular area of study at A-level across the examination boards. Whichever board you are studying with and whatever the focus of your study unit, the resources in this module will support you as you develop your subject knowledge, write essays and revise. 

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Introduction

  • Introduction

Origins & Development of the Cold War to 1955

  • Introduction
  • Ideology and the Cold War
  • The USSR and Eastern Europe
  • Cold War Germany
  • The Significance of Atomic and Nuclear Weapons
  • Czech Uranium and Stalin's Bomb
  • Britain and the Cold War
  • Britain and the Formation of NATO
  • Film: Rethinking the Cold War

The background and development of the Cold War in Asia to 1955

  • Introduction
  • Chinese relations with the USA & USSR after 1945
  • The Korean War
  • Britain and the Cold War
  • Post-War Japan

The Cold War in Asia 1956-93

  • Introduction
  • Chinese relations with the USA & USSR after 1945
  • Global Maoism
  • John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War
  • Post-War Japan

The Global Cold War 1956-85

  • Introduction
  • What was the Impact of the Cold War on the Middle East?
  • What was the Impact of the Cold War on Africa?
  • What was the Impact of the Cold War on Latin America?
  • What was the Significance of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
  • Bay of Pigs and the Jameson Raid
  • Bertrand Russell's Role in the Cuban Missile Crisis
  • The USSR and Eastern Europe
  • Cold War Germany
  • Britain and the Cold War
  • What Impact did the Cold War have on the Lives of the Ordinary British and American Family?
  • What Impact did the Cold War have on the Lives of the Ordinary Russian Family?
  • The Significance of Atomic and Nuclear Weapons
  • What Brought About the Era of 'Détente' Between the Superpowers in the 1970s?

The End of the Cold War

  • Introduction
  • Why did the Cold War Come to an End in the 1980s?
  • What did the end of the Cold War mean for American Power?
  • Polychronicon: The End of the Cold War
  • Archives and the historiography of the Cold War
  • Polychronicon: The ‘New’ Historiography of the Cold War

Reading & Revision

  • Reading list
  • Timeline
  • Revision quiz
  • Mind maps
  • Past Exam Papers