Cambridge A Level World History (9489): International option: International history, 1909-94 – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions. They use Paper 4’s essay format and 30-mark tariff, but the paper’s exact selection and wording are not replicated – Cambridge holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or Cambridge’s own resources.

Related: International option revision notes and study guide.

The International option of Cambridge 9489 Paper 4 requires two 30-mark essays in 1 hour 45 minutes, using the command words assess and evaluate. The twelve questions below follow the option’s twelve key questions, one each, with indicative content showing the knowledge and arguments examiners credit.

How Paper 4 essays are marked

Published 9489 Paper 4 mark schemes award up to 15 marks for AO1 and 15 for AO2.

Level	AO2: analysis and judgement (15)	AO1: knowledge (15)
5 (13-15)	Valid, wide-ranging criteria; consistently analytical; balanced; clear, sustained judgement	Carefully selected, wide-ranging, precise
4 (10-12)	Valid criteria; analytical but uneven; supported judgement	Appropriate; range uneven in depth
3 (7-9)	Attempted criteria; some description; lacks balance	Mostly relevant; narrow; descriptive in places
2 (4-6)	Implicit criteria; descriptive; assertion	Narrative, not linked to the argument
1 (1-3)	Addresses topic, not question	Limited or inaccurate

Topic 7: The Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe, 1953-91

1. “Military force was the main reason Soviet control over the satellite states survived until 1968.” Assess this view. [30] (7.1)

Indicative content. Force: suppression of East Germany (1953) and Hungary (1956); the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968) and the Brezhnev Doctrine. Other factors: communist parties’ political monopoly; censorship, secret police such as the Stasi, controls on the Church and on emigration, culminating in the Berlin Wall (1961); limited concessions, such as Gomułka’s settlement in Poland (1956); rising living standards in some states. Judgement: force was the guarantee of last resort; everyday control rested on party and police structures.

2. Evaluate the reasons for political and economic stagnation in the Soviet Union, 1964-85. [30] (7.2)

Indicative content. Brezhnev’s preference for stability; the nomenklatura and corruption; gerontocracy – Andropov and Chernenko died within three years of each other; failure of reforms and the 10th Five Year Plan; defence spending and the arms race; Afghanistan (from 1979) and the Second Cold War. Judgement: link the political system (no incentive to reform) to the economic symptoms.

3. Assess the impact of Gorbachev’s “new thinking” on the Soviet Union, 1985-91. [30] (7.3)

Indicative content. Glasnost exposed failures, including Chernobyl (1986), and released nationalist demands; perestroika and the 12th Five Year Plan disrupted planning without creating a market, producing shortages and fragmentation; demokratizatsiya weakened the party’s monopoly; foreign policy transformed relations with the USA through the Geneva, Reykjavik and Washington summits. Judgement: successful abroad, destabilising at home.

4. “The collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe was caused more by opposition within the satellite states than by events in the Soviet Union.” Assess this view. [30] (7.4)

Indicative content. Opposition: Solidarity from August 1980 – the 21 Demands, survival under martial law (1981) and re-legalisation (1989); nationalist movements in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Romania; the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 1989). Soviet events: the Sinatra Doctrine; economic crisis; dissent in Kazakhstan and the Baltic states; the August coup (1991) and Gorbachev’s resignation. Judgement: the satellites’ opposition was long-standing, but it succeeded when Moscow stopped intervening.

Topic 8: End of minority rule in South Africa and Zimbabwe, 1948-94

5. “Afrikaner nationalism was the main reason for the National Party’s victory in 1948.” Assess this view. [30] (8.1)

Indicative content. Afrikaner nationalism and fear of urbanisation of Black workers; the impact of the Second World War (wartime divisions, Smuts’s focus on international affairs); the United Party’s weak campaign; the electoral system’s rural weighting, which gave the National Party and its ally more seats with fewer votes. Judgement: nationalism supplied the motive; the electoral system turned a minority of votes into a majority of seats.

6. Evaluate the effectiveness of resistance to apartheid inside South Africa, 1960-77. [30] (8.2)

Indicative content. PAC anti-pass campaign; Sharpeville and Langa (1960); Umkhonto we Sizwe’s sabotage; the Rivonia Trial (1963-64) removing leaders; Biko, SASO and the Black Consciousness Movement; the Soweto uprising (1976). Government response: state of emergency, banning of ANC and PAC, police and defence force powers under Vorster, Biko’s death (1977). Judgement: resistance kept apartheid under pressure and gained international attention but could not defeat the state before 1977.

7. “International pressure was the most important reason for the end of apartheid.” Assess this view. [30] (8.3)

Indicative content. International: sanctions and disinvestment; the Anti-Apartheid Movement; the end of the Cold War reducing the “communist threat” argument; newly independent neighbouring states. Internal: township unrest, school boycotts, the UDF; economic difficulties; Botha’s failure to make reform and repression work; de Klerk’s reforms from 1990; the leadership of Mandela; negotiations despite the Third Force, white extremists and Inkatha. Judgement: international pressure raised the costs; internal resistance and leadership determined timing and outcome.

8. Assess the reasons why white minority rule ended in Zimbabwe in 1980. [30] (8.4)

Indicative content. The guerrilla war of ZANLA and ZIPRA, increasingly costly for Rhodesia by the late 1970s; loss of South African and Portuguese support after Mozambique’s independence (1975); sanctions; the failure of the Internal Settlement to win recognition; British diplomacy at Lancaster House (1979); the 1980 elections. Judgement: military pressure forced Smith to negotiate; diplomacy shaped the settlement.

Topic 9: The route to independence: Malaysia and Indonesia, c.1909-67

9. “Nationalism in Malaya before 1945 was weak and divided.” Assess this view. [30] (9.1)

Indicative content. Weak: divide and rule and immigration separated Malays, Chinese and Indians; nationalism was mostly cultural and religious (Kaum Muda) or elite (English-educated Malays, associations and clubs); Clementi’s policies failed to build a Malayan identity. Growing: KMM’s radical aims; the impact of Japanese occupation in encouraging Malay nationalism (KMM, PETA, KRIS); the communist MPAJA’s ambitions. Judgement: weak and divided before 1941; the occupation sharpened it.

10. Evaluate the reasons why the Federation of Malaysia was formed in 1963. [30] (9.2)

Indicative content. The failure of the Malayan Union and the role of UMNO; British victory in the Emergency through the Briggs Plan and Templer; the Alliance’s electoral success (1955) and Merdeka (1957); Tunku Abdul Rahman’s support; political, economic and security reasons for merging Singapore, and the differences that led to separation in 1965. Judgement: British interest in a stable, anti-communist federation coincided with Malay elite leadership.

11. “The Japanese occupation was the most important factor in the growth of Indonesian nationalism.” Assess this view. [30] (9.3)

Indicative content. Pre-war foundations: the Ethical Policy and Western education created a nationalist elite; the Volksraad; PKI, PNI and Sukarno; Partindo, Gerindo and Hatta’s group; the Soetardjo Petition and GAPI. The occupation: anti-Western propaganda, the Triple A movement, Putera and PETA gave nationalists organisation and arms; promises of self-government; underground resistance. Judgement: the Dutch had suppressed a well-developed movement; Japan gave it the means to act in 1945.

12. Assess the main challenges facing the Republic of Indonesia from independence to the mid-1960s. [30] (9.4)

Indicative content. Securing independence against the Dutch – re-occupation, the failure of the Linggadjati Agreement, UN and US involvement; constitutional debates and unstable governments in the 1950s; Sukarno’s leadership and Guided Democracy; economic problems and social tensions; Konfrontasi with Malaysia (1963); the 30 September Movement, the purge of communists, KAMI and Supersemar leading to the New Order. Judgement: political instability underlay the economic and military challenges.

Frequently asked questions

Can I answer two questions from different topics? Yes, as long as both are from the International option section of the paper.

How detailed should dates be? Precise dates strengthen AO1, but accuracy of argument matters more than a list of dates.

What is the best way to practise? Plan each of the twelve questions in five minutes, then write two in full under timed conditions.