Evaluate the effectiveness of methods used to control opposition in two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the effectiveness of methods used to control opposition, weighing up the strengths and limitations of these methods. The two authoritarian states must be from different regions. Candidates may evaluate the effectiveness of repressive methods including the use of police, secret police, violence and terror. The role of the SS-Gestapo, NKVD, Cheka and OVRA are viable examples. Peron’s control of the media in Argentina is another example of suppressive methods. Candidates may evaluate the effectiveness of political methods including changes to the legal system such as The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service in Germany. Other methods that may be evaluated include the mobilization of education, arts, culture, youth policies, family life, or economic methods such as employment regulation and taxation. In addition to the role of state agents, candidates may evaluate the effectiveness of the mobilization of the population as a tool to control opposition, as occurred during the Cultural Revolution in China. Candidates may also evaluate methods used to control opposition within the ruling party. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

This was a very popular question, in which candidates were required to make an appraisal of the effectiveness of methods used to control opposition, weighing up the strengths and limitations of these methods. Most candidates evaluated the use of force to quell opposition as well as the use of education and propaganda to prevent its emergence. Even when knowledge was limited, it was mostly accurate and relevant. Again, Nazi Germany and the Maoist China were the most popular examples chosen. Most candidates were able to select relevant knowledge from the period after 1933 for Hitler and after 1949 for Mao. For both leaders, the use of terror was mentioned, with reference made to the concentration camps in Nazi Germany and the laogai in China. The development and use of a cult of personality in both states, as a method to control opposition, was also evaluated.