This is probably wrong, but today I looked up all the past questions for my topics and then put them against the syllabus to see which dot point hasn't been used yet... or the least... anyway, here's what I have (just for National/International studies...)
Russia
1 Bolshevik consolidation of power
- significance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (hasn't been asked once)
- the NEP (last used 2002)
2 Stalin's rise to power
- power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin and its immediate aftermath (this question is usually seen in the Trotsky personality section, however, the last time a question on this point in section II was in 2004)
- reasons for the triumph of Stalin as leader of the USSR (hasn't been asked before - once again, usually in personality section)
3 The Soviet State under Stalin
- Stalin's role in the Soviet state (not specifically asked, however implied in previous exams)
- Stalin as totalitarianism (last used in 2003)
- impact of purges, show trials and 'the Terror' on the Communist Party and Soviet society (not mentioned once in any prior exams)
My picks for Russia:
a) the impacts of the NEP on Bolshevik consolidation of power.
b) Access the role of Stalin in the establishment of a totalitarian society in the USSR.
Cold War
1 Origins of the Cold War 1945 - 1953
- 1945 conferences and the emergence of the superpowers (hasn't been used once)
- impact of the early crises: the Berlin blockade and airlift, China becoming comminist in 1949 and the Korean War (Berlin blockade and China haven't been used one, however, there have been questions where you get to pick your own crisis)
2 Development of the Cold War to 1968
- policy of containment, domino theory and the emergence of peaceful coexistence (never used)
- nature and impact of cries: Berlin Wall 1961, Cuba 1962, Czechoslovakia 1968 (none have been specifically asked. Last implied in a question in 2001)
3 Detente
- economic and political reasons for detente (never picked)
- geopolitical developments: Vietnam, Sino-Soviet split, the Middle East (never picked)
4 Renewal and end of the Cold War
- US attitudes and policies under Reagan (always ask USSR views, never US - maybe this year?)
- disarmament agreements 1987 - 1991 (never picked)
- collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR (never picked)
My picks for Cold War:
a) Assess the impact on (either Berlin, China, or Korea) on the development of the Cold War during the period of 1945 to 1953.
b) How did the US attitudes and policies under Reagan spark a renewal of the Cold War/the end of the Cold War?
I do think they may ask for a specific crises, and though I'm inclined to think its 1945 to 1953, knowing my luck it will be between 61 to 68.
Feel free to dispute...
