Discuss the effectiveness of responses to political problems during the first ten years of independence in two states, each chosen from a different region.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of how effectively two states, each chosen from a different region, responded to political problems during the first ten years of independence. Candidates may refer to problems relating to the application of a constitution or the functioning of a democratic system. Similarly, problems arising out of the extension of suffrage or out of ideological challenges that may have confronted the newly independent states may be discussed. Examples may include conflict arising from the political problems following the division of Kashmir in the years following the independence of India; the accommodation of US influence on the political structure of the newly independent Cuba; the suppression of ideological challenges to the Sukarno presidency in Indonesia; the resort to civil war in Nigeria in response to disputes over the political process following independence. Candidates must clearly identify the link between the political challenges and the response of the newly independent states. Candidates’ opinions and conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of how effectively two states, each chosen from a different region, responded to political problems during the first ten years of independence. There were very few responses seen.