NJC_H2_HIST_P1 (International History)

1 NATIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE General Certificate of Education Advanced Level PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2015 HISTORY 9731/01 Higher 2 Paper 1 International History, 1945-2000 2 September 2015 3 Hours READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name and registration number in the space provided on the answer paper. Write in dark blue or black ink. Write your answers on the separate answer paper provided. Section A Answer Question 1. Section B Answer any three questions. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. All questions in this paper carry equal marks. You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers. This question paper consists of 4 printed pages.

2 Section A You must answer Question 1. THE UN AND THE COLD WAR 1. Read the sources and then answer the question. Source A The structural weakness in the Security Council has resulted from a dichotomy. In the Council, the five permanent members (P-5) have been given power without responsibility; the ten elected members (E - 10) have been given responsibility without power. The great paradox about the Council is that this structural weakness surfaced during the phase of its history when it became more active and, often, more effective, in the 1990s. From its creation in 1945 to the end of the Cold War, the Council lay moribund, paralyzed by t he dynamics of the Cold War. The cross -vetoes of the United States and the Soviet Union prevented any effective action, except for the deployment of a few peacekeeping operations by mutual consent. Both powers used each other’s vetoes in their propaganda b attles. The respective positions of the fifteen members in the Cold War would determine their role in this political theater. There was no divide between the P-5 and the E-10 then, because the P-5 were divided. Kishore Mahbubani, Singapore’s Permanent Representative to UN, 2004 Source B Peacekeeping in the early years was primarily limited to maintaining ceasefires and stabilizing situations on the ground, providing crucial support for political efforts to resolve conflict by peaceful means. Those missions consisted of unarmed military observers and lightly armed troops with primarily monitoring, reporting and confidence -building roles. The earliest armed peacekeeping operation was the First UN Emergency Force (UNEF I) deployed successfully in 1956 to address the Suez Crisis. The UN Operation in the Congo (ONUC), launched in 1960, was the first large -scale mission having nearly 20,000 military personnel at its peak. ONUC demonstrated the risks involved in trying to bring stability to war-torn regions - 250 UN personnel died while serving on that mission, including the Secretary - General Dag Hammarskjold. From the UN