“Political problems were the most serious challenge to new states in the first 10 years of independence.” Discuss with reference to two states.

With reference to two states, candidates will offer a considered and balanced review of the hypothesis that political problems were the most serious challenge to newly independent states. While the focus of the response must be within the timeframe of this topic, the achievement of independence in those two states does not need to be contemporaneous and they may or may not be chosen from the same region. The hypothesis must be discussed and consideration given to how far it may be argued that political problems were the most serious challenge. Other factors may be introduced to support arguments that may or may not agree with the hypothesis. Each state may be considered separately or a thematic approach may be used if candidates wish to compare the relative importance of relevant factors for each state.