“Weak political systems were the most significant factor in the emergence of authoritarian states.” Discuss with reference to two states.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the statement that weak political systems were the most significant factor in the emergence of authoritarian states. Candidates may identify weak political systems as those that lacked political stability and resulted in continuous changes. They may discuss governments that failed to reach consensus and gain permanency, thus preventing the implementation of policies. This scenario may have driven politicians to focus on negotiating alliances instead of addressing social or economic problems, causing further discontent. Appropriate examples may include Liberal Italy, the Second Republic in Spain, and Weimar Germany. Weak political systems may also be identified as those manipulated to preserve a corrupt government in place. Candidates may discuss governments that exhibited widespread corruption, such as Batista’s or Farouk’s, and whether this may have resulted in the emergence of contenders for power. Other relevant factors may be addressed, for example economic factors, social division, and the impact of war, but with a focus on the issue in the question. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

This was the most popular question across both time zones. It required that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the statement that weak political systems were the most significant factor in the emergence of authoritarian states. Popular examples included the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy. In almost every response, there was some knowledge of the authoritarian states chosen with some analysis of how a weak political system had contributed to their emergence. For the PRC, most scripts made some reference to the weakness of the Qing dynasty but barely mentioned the more relevant weakness of the Guomindang and the leadership of Jiang Jieshi. Similarly, candidates who chose to discuss the emergence of the Soviet Union focused upon the weakness of the Tsarist regime, with little attention paid to the weakness of the Provisional Government and how this contributed to the October Revolution. Many responses referred to the Stalinist period of the Soviet Union, with a focus on Stalin's emergence to power, rather than on Lenin, who established the authoritarian state. Nevertheless, there were some responses that demonstrated excellent knowledge of the events of 1917, using this effectively to support clear and coherent analysis. Knowledge of the emergence of the Nazi regime in Germany was often good, although there were many uncritical assertions regarding the weakness of the Weimar Republic, which was seen as doomed from the outset. There were some good discussions of the emergence of Fascist Italy, demonstrating sound knowledge of the weakness of successive liberal governments.