H4 & G4. Self study

(9 to 13 hours)

#H4. The world and Europe since the 1990s, cooperation and conflict

The aim of this theme is to assess the nature of international relations since 1990. The political and ideological collapse of the Eastern bloc in 1989-90 inevitably gave rise to intense speculation amongst historians and international relations scholars as to its long term significance and impact upon world history. Some went so far as to claim that the end of the Cold War represented the final and global triumph of ‘the western idea’ overall alternative ideologies and political models. In approaching theme four, students will have the opportunity to consider the validity of this claim. This will be achieved through a synoptic analysis of the world since the end of the Cold War. Students will undertake independent research in the two chapters listed below. Theme four may appear as a key issue in an oral exam, but will not appear in a written exam.

#1. New power struggles and global issues

Students will approach this chapter by exploring the contesting forces at play in global politics, for the period has been shaped both by significant developments in international cooperation and international polarity. The signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Foundation of the International Criminal Court in 2002 stand out as landmarks in the attempt to strengthen the Liberal world order through the institution of the United Nations. Through reference to their aims and their impact, students should assess their successes and failures in promoting human rights and international cooperation.

Since the end of the Cold War, the threat of Islamic terrorism has emerged as a key feature of international relations and a significant ideological challenge to a Liberal world order. In exploring the nature and aims of Islamic terrorism, students will need to assess why Western Liberalism emerged as one of its principal targets. Through reference to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre, the formulation of the Bush Doctrine, the declaration by the US of a ‘War against Terror’, the invasion of Afghanistan and the War in Iraq, students will be able to critically assess predictions that the world is moving towards a point of political and ideological convergence.

Discussion points

  • The Kyoto Protocol, 1992
  • The Genocide of the Tutsis, 1994
  • 9/11 2001

#2. Challenges emerging from enlarging and deepening the European Union

Since the end of the Cold War, the European Union has undergone the most radical political and economic transformation since its creation in 1951. Enlargement in 2004 facilitated the peaceful assimilation of former Soviet Satellite states into the democratic world, and prompted International Relations thinkers such as Mark Leonard to describe the EU as ‘the most important innovation since the creation of the nation state five hundred years ago.’ Nonetheless, one of the most significant consequences of this period of evolution has been the pan-European rise of right wing populist parties, which have rejected the supranationalist model of the EU and embraced a radical form of Euroscepticism.

Discussion points

  • The Channel Tunnel, 1988-1994
  • Eurozone, 2002
  • Enlargement, 2004

#G4. Geography conclusive project

The purpose of this module is to allow students to further explore France and its territorial dynamics, whilst considering the issues previously studied on a different scale: local. Students should preferably use their own local geography as a case study to look at integration within the European Union and the World. Overseas centres should choose an area of France to study, and also look to exploit possible links between their locality and the French economy, society and culture.

This conclusive theme provides teachers with an opportunity to develop students’ ability to engage in local fieldwork or an independent research project. The teaching emphasis would therefore be more focused on research skills, rather than content.

The main areas of focus should relate to:

  • the main geographical features of the chosen area and their role (the main metropolises, large-scale transport networks, large productive regions, etc.);
  • the adaptation of the specific territory to globalisation, taking into account the different players in spatial planning
  • the goal is for students to understand how all of the elements work together and that each citizen has a role to play.