Discuss the responses to challenges faced in the first ten years of one independent state.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the responses to challenges faced in the first ten years of one independent state. Responses to be discussed may predate or extend beyond the timeframe, but they must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may discuss the outbreak of civil war as a response to ethnic divisions in post-independent Nigeria. In Indonesia, Sukarno’s use of religious identity to garner support may be evaluated, along with the use of force and the imposition of “guided democracy”. The response of Dom Pedro I to regional opposition in Brazil may be discussed including, for example, his attempts to prevent secession. A discussion of the responses to challenges facing the newly independent Czechoslovakia or other Secessionist states post-1918 would also be relevant, as would responses within the post-USSR states in Europe or Central Asia. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the responses to challenges faced in the first ten years of one independent state. For the most part, responses included some relevant knowledge of challenges although detailed knowledge of responses was limited.