SRJC H2 HIST P1

This document consists of 4 printed pages. © Serangoon Junior College 2015 [Turn over SERANGOON JUNIOR COLLEGE JC2 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2015 Higher 2 HISTORY 9731/01 Paper 1 International History, 1945-2000 Thursday, 20 August 2015 3 hours Additional Materials: Cover Page Answer Paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name and civics tutorial group in the spaces provided on the cover page and on every sheet of answer paper. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. Write clearly the question numbers on the first page of every question attempted and the cover page. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid and tape. 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 handwriting in your answer, and to leave two lines between each paragraph on the answer paper.

© Serangoon Junior College 2015 9731/01 2015 JC2 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION [Turn over 2 Section A You must answer Question 1 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND UNITED NATIONS PEACE OPERATIONS 1 Read the sources and then answer the question which follows. When answering Question 1 candidates are advised to pay particular attention to the interpretation and evaluation of the sources both individually and as a group. Source A It is particularly the achievements of peacekeeping ventures in the past two years that have renewed interest in and discussion of the present and future role of the United Nations and of peacekeeping as a viable technique in conflict management. Peacekeep ers typically serve two functions: 1) observing the peace (monitoring and reporting on the maintenance of cease -fires); and 2) actively keeping the peace (providing law and order or separating warring armies and establishing zones of disengagement). UN military forces usually are composed of troops from small or non -aligned states; permanent members of the Security Council are permitted to make troop contributions only under exceptional circumstances. Lightly armed, these neutral troops are symbolically dep loyed between belligerents who have agreed to stop fighting and use force only in self defense and as a last resort. Their influence results from the moral weight of the international community. Peacekeeping operations are created essentially to defend th e status quo as they arrest conflict while gaining time so that the opposing parties can be brought to the negotiating table. From an article jointly written by a foreign relations expert in the US Department of Defense, and a member of UN secretariat, 1990. Source B Upon hearing news of the attack, the United States immediately called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which the Soviet Union was then boycotting over the issue of Chinese representation. With the Soviets absent, the Security Council was able to pass a resolution condemning the actions of the DPRK and demanding that the Northern armies withdraw from the South. The United States viewed the attack on the South as evidence that communism would actively challenge the free world and revised its security perimeter to include maintaining a non -communist South Korea. The UN sent forces composed of troops from 15 nations to the peninsula to stop the communist advance. From the archives of the US Department of State. Source C The Korean War was now under way and attention became increasingly focused on the response of the United Nations. A multinational army would be legitimized by the UN and would fight under the UN flag. The United Nations Command was put under the control of the commander of American forces General Douglas MacArthur. The United Nations Command would ‘report’ to the Security Council rather than be directed by it. The Security Council was not, of course, in a position to provide this direction. The reality wa s that the American -led United Nations Command was effectively a military alliance engaged in a war against the forces of an opposing alliance. In September 1950 a massive western assault pushed the northern forces back towards the 3 8th parallel. But military success for the U.S. created a major dilemma for the United Nations. With the northern forces once again confined behind their own border, the objective of the UN action had surely been achieved. From an American strategic perspecti ve, however, there was now an opportunity to defeat North Korea and resolve the Korean problem permanently in the interests of the west. From an academic book, Peacekeeping and the International System, 2007.

© Serangoon Junior College 2015 9731/01 2015 JC2 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION [Turn over 3 Source D The Gulf War in 1991 suggested a bright future. The United Nations, riding the overwhelming power of American arms, could finally meet its true potential as a collective security and peacemaking organization. The thawing of the Cold War opened up political possibilities, while the remarka ble effectiveness of American precision -guided munitions meant that warfare no longer demanded the destruction of civilian life and property. The Gulf War was far from a unilateral use of American military power. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, along with President George H.W. Bush, painstakingly built a coalition that tied together regional states with far -flung allies. They won the acquie scence of China, the Soviet Union and even Syria. They held this coalition together, despite Saddam Hussein’s efforts to shatter its cohesion by launching ballistic-missile attacks on Israel. At the time, this seemed to suggest that collective -security institutions would manage (and hopefully deter) future conflicts. From an American magazine on foreign policy, 2014. Source E In the post -World War II period, the U.S. military has had some experience in peacekeeping operations. However, despite these cases of the U.S. military being involved in peacekeeping operations, for the most part the U.S. military has shown little interest in peacekeeping operations. This lack of interest stems in part from a generic distaste for all forms of low-intensity operations, not just for peacekeeping. In the eyes of the U.S. military, low -intensity operations are distasteful because in such operations political and military factors are tightly enmeshed from the highest to the lowest levels of conflict (thereby going against the tradition in the U.S. military of rigidly separating military and political considerations and factors) and because, with respect to military technology, low -intensity operations are often low-tech operations in which the U.S. military's “high-tech edge” cannot be exploited … Smaller nations' militaries are generally preferable in peacekeeping operations. Because the United States is a global power, there is virtually no spot on the globe where its national security interests are not involved. Put differently, a global power cannot, for the most part, be regarded as neutral and impartial in a given conflict, and for a peacek eeping operation to be successful some degree of impartiality is essential. From an academic article in a journal published by a non-profit organisation, 1993. Now answer the following question. ‘The United Nations peace operations from 1945 to 1991 were dictated by U.S. interests.’ How far do Sources A-E support this view?

© Serangoon Junior College 2015 9731/01 2015 JC2 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION [Turn over 4 Section B You must answer THREE questions from this section. 2 How far was the Cuban Missile Crisis the product of strategic rather than ideological concerns? 3 How pivotal was Reagan’s role in acceler