Unit 17: Paper 2 — The Cold War: Superpower Tensions and Rivalries (20th Century)
Topic 17.2: Leaders and nations Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History Topic 17.2. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Examine15 marks
2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.2 - Q1
Examine the role of Soviet leaders in the origins and early development of the Cold War.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.3 - Q7
Examine the significance of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis for superpower relations.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q12
In which year did the United States help found NATO?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q10
To what extent did individual leaders, rather than the wider superpower rivalry, determine United States Cold War policy?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.3 - Q4
To what extent did individual leaders determine the level of tension in superpower relations?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.2 - Q3
To what extent was economic strain responsible for the changes in Soviet foreign policy under Gorbachev?
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Unlock Question7Discuss15 marks
2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q5
Discuss the view that Kennedy's policy of flexible response was more effective than earlier United States strategy.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q13
Which crisis is the clearest example of Kennedy's policy of flexible response in action?
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Unlock Question9Examine15 marks
2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q9
Examine the importance of nuclear weapons in shaping United States Cold War policy.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q4
Examine the reasons why the United States was able to lead the Western bloc after 1945.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q11
Which United States policy aimed to stop communism from spreading without attacking it where it already ruled?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q14
What did Reagan and Gorbachev agree in the INF Treaty of 1987?
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Unlock Question13Compare and contrast15 marks
2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q3
Compare and contrast the Cold War policies of Truman and Reagan.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.2 - Q2
Evaluate the impact of Khrushchev's policies on the Cold War between 1953 and 1964.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.2 - Q15
Gorbachev's two main domestic reforms in the 1980s were perestroika and which of the following?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q2
To what extent was containment the guiding principle of United States Cold War policy?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.3 - Q13
Who used the phrase 'Iron Curtain' in a famous 1946 speech to describe the divide across Europe?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.2 - Q13
Which policy did Khrushchev promote to signal that capitalist and communist states could avoid all-out war?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.3 - Q5
Analyse the reasons why the superpowers fought proxy wars rather than confronting each other directly.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 17.2.1 - Q15
Which belief held that if one country fell to communism, its neighbours would topple next?
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