Unit 15: Paper 2 — Authoritarian States (20th Century)
Topic 15.4: Case studies (authoritarian leaders) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History Topic 15.4. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Choose1 mark
2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.2 - Q14
According to the exam-skills guidance for Paper 2, Stalin belongs to the European region, so he should be paired with a leader from a different region such as which of the following?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.3 - Q11
On what date was the People's Republic of China proclaimed?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.3 - Q14
Which event confirmed Mao as the undisputed leader of the Chinese Communist Party?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.4 - Q1
Examine the reasons for the rise to power of one authoritarian leader.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.6 - Q1
Examine the methods used by one authoritarian leader to consolidate their hold on power.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.6 - Q12
What was the name of the block-level watch groups Castro used to monitor the population for dissent?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.6 - Q13
Which event most directly locked Cuba firmly inside the Soviet camp during the Cold War?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.2 - Q8
Discuss the view that Stalin's collectivisation of agriculture was driven mainly by economic aims.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.3 - Q10
Compare and contrast the rise to power of two authoritarian leaders, each from a different region.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.1 - Q3
'Propaganda was more important than terror in maintaining Nazi power in Germany.' To what extent do you agree?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.1 - Q12
Which law allowed Hitler's cabinet to make laws without the Reichstag, forming the legal basis of his dictatorship?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.2 - Q3
To what extent were Stalin's economic policies in the USSR a success?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.3 - Q12
Which campaign was Mao's rushed drive to industrialise using communes and backyard furnaces?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.1 - Q4
Discuss the impact of Nazi economic and social policies on the people of Germany.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.1 - Q13
What was the main significance of the Night of the Long Knives in June 1934?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.4 - Q3
Discuss the successes and failures of the economic policies of one authoritarian state.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.1 - Q8
Evaluate the role of the Great Depression in Hitler's rise to power.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.2 - Q7
Evaluate the successes and failures of the economic policies of two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.2 - Q2
Evaluate the methods used by Stalin to maintain power in the USSR during the 1930s.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 15.4.2 - Q12
The Great Terror, a wave of mass arrests, executions and show trials carried out by the NKVD, took place mainly in which years?
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