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Social Studies:
Read-up and prepare the following chapters:
1. Iran-Iraq War (SBQ)
2. Healthcare in Singapore AND Britain (SEQ)
3. Diplomacy AND Deterrence (SEQ)
4. Bonding Singapore AND Sri Lanka (SEQ)
Elective History:
Read-up and prepare the following chapters:
1. Cuban Missile Crisis (SBQ)
2. WW2 in the Asia Pacific (SEQ)
3. The Cold War (SEQ)
4. Fall of the Soviet Union (SEQ)
Social Studies is quite straightforward, notes will
only be given for History. Bear in mind, all
questions are set on the syllabus...if you are
initially stuck, read the question again, it may just
require you to unscramble content and see it in a
different light 
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If you think you'll lose, you've lost,
For out in the world you'll find,
Success begins with a fellow's will,
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man/woman,
But soon or late the man/woman who wins
Is the man/woman who thinks he can."
Arnold Palmer
Go 4B! Go 4B!
You can do it! Get
Distinctions okay!
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Chapter 7: War in the Asia-Pacific Region
Why was peace in the Asia-Pacific threatened?
 This portion of the content deals with the reasons why Japan decided to pursue an
aggressive foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific
Japan’s Foreign Policy Aims between 1931 and 1941:
 To build an empire in the Asia-Pacific region:
o Due to its prior military successes (e.g. 1905 Russo-Japanese War, 1914-18 WWI),
Japan wanted an empire that matched its status as the leading country in the
region
o There were calls for expansion by the Japanese Army and Navy into Russia,
China, British Malaya, French Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies
o By the 1930s, there was already expansion into Formosa (Taiwan), Korea,
Manchuria (China) and the Marshall, Caroline and Mariana Islands in the Pacific

To free Asians from Western control:
o Due to its prior military successes and territorial build-up, the Japanese felt that
it was their destiny to be the leaders of Asia and that Asians should be free from
Western control. As the strongest military power in Asia, the Japanese felt they
should lead the fight to end Western imperialism

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere:
o The Japanese wanted the countries of “Greater East Asia” to be part of its empire
o These countries had important raw materials such as tin, rubber and oil which
would enable resource scarce Japan to be self-sufficient
o Japan would use these raw materials to produce industrial goods and these
countries would then serve as markets
o The term “Co-Prosperity” was simply to get Asians to believe that all countries
would benefit from this economic arrangement

To find room for Japan’s growing population:
o Japan saw a great increase in population over a period of less than 100 years and
this created problems in food supply and space
o Due to unfavourable geography (mountainous), the military saw that the only
way to get additional land for homes and crops was overseas expansion

To control resources:
o Due to the Great Depression which badly affected Japan’s economy, Japan’s
industries needed cheap supplies of natural resources and markets to sell the
produced goods
o Manchuria was a good market because protectionism prevented the Japanese
from selling in other markets. Furthermore, Manchuria could provide Japan with
cheap manpower, raw materials and an overseas market for Japanese goods
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Japan’s Military Aggression:
 Growing influence in Manchuria and mainland China:
o Due to its success in the Russo-Japanese War (1905), Japan had gained Port
Arthur, the Southern Manchurian Railway and special economic privileges in
Manchuria which allowed the Japanese to own land and build houses, factories
and rights to build railways and develop mines
o Through the Treaty of Versailles, Japan also gained the Liaodong Peninsula and
German colonies in the Pacific
o Refer to Source 5 on p.180 to see the importance of Manchuria to the Japanese

The military started acting without government permission:
o The Mukden Incident
 Point to note: The Japanese Army in Manchuria was powerful enough on
its own without permission from the central government
 Officers of the Japanese Army in Manchuria were very keen for Japan to
take control of Manchuria
 To facilitate Tokyo’s taking over of Manchuria, they bombed the train of
the Manchurian warlord, Zhang Zuo-lin, killing him
 However, the plan failed because Tokyo made no move to take control of
Manchuria
 Instead, it worsened Japan’s position in Manchuria because Zhang Zuolin’s son took over his father’s army and opposed Japanese ambitions in
Manchuria
 This worried the Japanese Army leaders in Manchuria as they feared
losing control over Manchuria
 They upped the ante in 1931 by exploding a train carrying Japanese
passengers in Mukden and accused the Chinese of acting against them
 They seized Mukden and Southern Manchuria and fighting even broke
out in Shanghai between Chinese and Japanese troops before an
armistice was called
 Six months after the incident with the train, the Japanese Army had set
up a new state called Manchukuo with the former Qing Emperor (Last
Emperor Pu-yi) as puppet leader of the state because power was in the
hand of the Japanese Army who were advisors in the Manchukuo
government
 Although Japanese PM Ki Inukai criticised the Army, he was powerless to
change what had happened

Who or What should be blamed for the Marco Polo Bridge Incident:
o The full-scale war between China and Japan began at the Marco Polo Bridge
on 7 July 1937 just north of Beijing
o The offensive started over a missing Japanese soldier. When the Chinese
refused to allow the Japanese to search the Chinese section for the soldier,
an exchange of fire took place. Although the soldier eventually turned up, the
Japanese insisted that the Chinese withdrew from the bridge. When the
Chinese refused, further hostilities took place and the Japanese began a full
scale invasion of China
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o Factors that pushed the Marco Polo Bridge Incident:
 The Japanese military – As they had easily obtained the northern
Chinese provinces, the Japanese military did not expect the Chinese to
fight so fiercely over the MPBI
 The Japanese High Command – As they felt the Chinese economy and
military strength was weak, the Japanese HC felt Chinese resistance
would collapse and that it made sense to invade China
 International Situation – Due to German aggression in Europe, the
Western powers were distracted and did not spare troops to defend
their Chinese possessions. The Japanese also did not fear a RussoJapanese war as Stalin had purged a large portion of his army
 Weak Japanese Control of the Japanese Army – The MPBI was
another Mukden incident as the Kwantung Army (Japanese Army in
Manchuria) acted alone again. The Japanese government feared that
if they did not support the army, there would be political instability in
Japan and a retreat from the MPB would be considered humiliating
 The Japanese Zaibatsus – War mongered the conflict because war
with China meant they could gain Chinese markets, raw materials and
industries. They saw a chance to destroy business competition in
Northern and Southern China
The League of Nations
 The League was too weak to stop Japan’s invasion of Manchuria
o Slow response to the crisis – Almost one year taken to investigate the crisis
before a report was submitted to the League
o Members were weak – Great Depression weakened the economies of Britain
and France who were unwilling to spend money to send troops to China
o Members put self-interest first – Britain and France were more interested in
re-building their countries’ economies
o League had no power to prevent attacks – Despite criticising the Japanese
and setting down some terms, the League took no further action when Japan
refused to accept the terms and left the League in 1932. Japanese troops
continued to remain in Manchuria
Poor Relations between Japan and the West
 Western bias made Japan feel more hostile towards the West
o Refer to Chapter 5 for reasons why the Japanese felt that the West was
biased against them
o Japan repudiated the terms of the Washington Naval Conference and
planned to increase its navy size in order to prepare for expansion into the
Asia-Pacific
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Why did World War II break out in the Asia-Pacific Region?
 This portion of the content deals with the reasons why Japan went to war, attacked Pearl
Harbour and brought war into the Asia-Pacific Region
Japan’s War Against China
 Although Japan expected its war with China to end quickly, the war dragged on for
several years and Japan nearly used up all her resources and did not have any essential
war materials left.

Furthermore, China was unable to supply Japan with the resources it needed. The only
option left in order to continue the war in the Philippines was to conquer British Malaya
and the Dutch East Indies for their raw materials
The International Situation
 Japan’s Neutrality Agreement with Soviet Union
o In 1941 Japan signed a neutrality agreement with the USSR agreeing not to fight
each other. Japan was worried about having to fight a war with the Russians
when clashes occurred on the Russo-Japanese border and Japan suffered defeats
o At the same time, its ally, Germany, invaded the Soviets in 1941. Russia would be
too busy fending off the Germans to consider war with Japan. Japan felt free to
proceed to attack Southeast Asia

War in Europe left European colonies in Asia undefended
o Germany, by 1940, had occupied Holland and France while Britain was
desperately fighting for its survival in Europe. Their Southeast Asian colonies
were left vulnerable because the colonial powers were unable to spare the
resources to defend them
o Moving into French Indochina in 1941, the Japanese forced the French colonial
government in Vietnam to let it use Vietnamese air and naval bases in the north
and begun to train for jungle warfare. The Japanese also signed a neutrality
agreement with Siam (Thailand) which would facilitate its invasion of the rest of
Southeast Asia
Worsening US-Japan Relations
 Japan saw the USA as a threat to its plans to build an empire
o Throughout the 1930s, the Japanese saw the Americans as a threat to their plans
to build an Asia-Pacific empire through the following actions:
 Hoover-Stimson Doctrine where the USA condemned the 1931 Japanese
invasion of Manchuria and refused to acknowledge Manchukuo as an
independent state
 The 1935 Neutrality Acts where the USA refused to ship war material to
countries at war, cutting off important sources of raw materials to the
Japanese and hampering their expansion
 The USA also sided with China when Japan invaded it in 1937 by funding
and supporting China’s Nationalist government which was fighting against
the Japanese. Furthermore, the Panay incident where the Japanese
attacked a US Navy gunboat near Nanjing in 1937 turned public opinion
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

against Japan. The USA also allowed its fighter pilots to volunteer in
China’s war against Japan
When Japan invaded Indochina, the USA expanded its Navy and moved its
Pacific Fleet nearer to Japan in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. It saw Japanese
expansion as a threat. Troop reinforcements were also sent to the
Philippines and other Pacific islands
Some Japanese military leaders felt that Japan had to attack the US
Pacific fleet in order to cripple the USA’s ability to fight a war in the
Pacific. Japan would also be in a better position to fight off any American
attack because it would have gained time to build up its troops and
protect the positions it had conquered in Southeast Asia

US embargo on steel, scrap iron and oil
o Perhaps the most crippling effect on Japan was a series of embargos on
important materials like steel, iron and oil, general trade embargos and a
freezing of all Japanese assets in the USA until the Japanese agreed to
immediately withdraw from Indochina
o The Japanese considered the embargo as a threat to its survival because it could
not keep on fighting the Chinese war without oil and metal, which was largely
purchased from the USA. The embargo also meant no other country could sell
these materials to Japan. Faced with such a difficult position, the Japanese felt
their only viable option was to invade the Dutch East Indies for oil

Breakdown of US-Japan talks in 1941
o Talks were held by the US and Japan to improve relations in 1941. During this
talk, suggestions were made to peacefully end Japan’s war in China and prevent
conflict in the Asia-Pacific
o Both sides could not agree with each other’s foreign policy regarding China and
the talks eventually broke down
Hideki Tojo becomes Prime Minister
 Hideki Tojo, the former Minister of War, took over as Prime Minister in 1941
 He felt that war with the USA could not be avoided
 Opponents who supported negotiation with the USA were removed from the
government
 War with the USA was more likely to happen because Tojo supported an aggressive
foreign policy

Japan orders the attack on Pearl Harbour
o On 7 December 1941, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour and officially begin the
war in the Asia-Pacific
o Simultaneous invasions of Southeast Asian colonies like Malaya, Singapore and
the Dutch East Indies begin
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Chapter 9: The End of the Cold War (Break-up of the Soviet Empire)
Why wasn’t the Communist System Working?
 This portion of the content deals with the Soviet Union that Mikhail Gorbachev inherited
from the leaders who ruled the Soviet Union since the death of Joseph Stalin
Internal Reasons
An Inefficient Command Economy:
 Lack of basic consumer goods because
the state command economy decided to
produce other goods like iron and steel
 Decisions were also made without
considering the conditions faced by
factories in different parts of Russia. As a
result, decisions sometimes did not
benefit everyone
 Factory Managers could not make any
decisions and therefore goods took a
long time to be produced and delivered
to stores, contributing too to a lack of
consumer goods
 The central government usually set
targets for production but not for
quality. As a result, most Soviet goods
were poorly made compared to their
Western European counterparts
An Inefficient Workforce:
 With equal benefits, there was no
reward or incentive for Soviet workers to
work any harder. Furthermore, Soviet
workers also had jobs for life, subsidised
health care, housing and education.
Many of them eventually became less
efficient than their Western European
counterparts
 Due to the easy availability of alcohol,
many production workers went to work
drunk and produced low quality
products.
Money Spent on the Military:
 Since most of the government budget
was spent on the military, little was left
to produce consumer goods, creating a
huge shortage
External Reasons
Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars Programme:
 US deliberately increased spending on
defence to weaken the USSR economy as
it would not be able to keep up with the
cost of a new arms race
 Reagan created a Star Wars programme
that would protect the USA from Soviet
missiles
 Worried, the USSR improved relations
with the USA in order to defuse national
tension
Anti-Soviet Feelings in the Republics:
 15 created Soviet Socialist Republics
were made up of ethnically different
peoples who harboured resentment
against the USSR because of the harsh
control of the politburo and the Red
Army. Governing the entire area also
cost the USSR a lot of money
Increased Spending:
 USSR spent a lot of money on troops to
support the Warsaw Pact Allies – Eastern
European nations
 Spent more on COMECON help to the
Eastern European nations
 Spent more on a war with Afghanistan to
prevent the spread of radical Islam to
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
In short, the USSR was spending more money
than it had on playing “Superpower” by
increased military spending and supporting
other nations
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Farms and Factories not Improved:
 Farms and factories were not improved
over the years with the latest technology
and eventually fell behind the more
productive Western farms and factories
Inefficient Transport and Distribution
System:
 Transport and distribution was not
efficiently organised resulting in delays in
getting raw materials to factories and
products to markets
 Farms were also inefficiently organised.
As a result, food from bumper harvests
would rot because the transport system
was too inefficient to move food quickly
to villages which needed it most
Basic Needs of the People Not Met:
 Unable to get consumer goods, many
people turned to “Black Markets” – as
these “Black Markets” did not pay taxes,
the government lost out a lot of revenue
 Black marketers also received their
supply from corrupt officials making it
harder to get consumer goods because
they hoarded the goods for sale and
refused to give them out to the people,
creating more shortage
Ineffective Government:
 The central government (politburo) were
hardliners who did not want change and
saw new ideas as a challenge to their
power and to Communism. They made it
difficult for any Soviet leader who
wanted to introduce change that may
have improved the USSR
 Communist leaders were usually
conservative and corrupted and
leadership choices based on friendships,
favouritism and length of service in the
Party
 Due to many years of tight and strict
control, most Soviet people felt that they
could not do anything to improve their
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country and thus did not bother getting
involved in politics, denying the country
feedback that may have helped it work
In short, to understand this portion and to
craft out a very good explanation, what
happened during the years before Gorbachev
took over was that due to an inefficient
economic system that retarded rather than
advance Soviet production capabilities, many
Russians were denied basic consumer goods
that their Western counterparts enjoyed. In
addition to contributing to delays, the
inefficient production system also
contributed to unmotivated, unchallenged
and unproductive workers who further
caused a delay in the production and a dip in
quality. If that were not enough, the Soviet
transport and distribution network was so
inefficient that delays caused by it only made
the situation worse. The Black Market would
make things worse because revenue
generated from sales never made it to the
USSR Treasury, incurring billions of roubles in
losses. Heavy military spending and having
to support Eastern European expenses only
made things worse.
Gorbachev inherited:
 An almost bankrupt Soviet economy still
heavily burdened by the need to keep on
playing “superpower”, lost revenue from
Black Market sales, a non-existent export
economy because its goods were of so
bad quality no one wanted to buy them,
Eastern European expenses, a war in
Afghanistan and corrupt officials
 A Soviet Union full of corrupt officials
who saw no motivation in changing the
country
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How did Gorbachev try to get the Communist System to Work Again?
 This portion of the content deals with Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies (Glasnost and
Perestroika) and how he used them to try to get the Soviet Union working again
Perestroika (Restructuring or Change)
End of Central Planning:
 Introduction of the Law of State
Enterprise – Managers of farms and
factories could make decisions on
production and could work for profit
 However, the central government was
still powerful and remained in charge of
the Soviet economy
Glasnost (Openness)
Open to New Ideas:
 Encouraged openness in the USSR in
order to get ideas and suggestions from
ordinary Russians to help him change the
Communist Party and encourage it to
accept new ideas
Less Censorship:
 The media was allowed to report on
Market Economy Introduced:
problems within the USSR and
Gorbachev loosened government control
 Encouraged small groups of workers to
on media censorship
set up small business to reduce

He hoped that he could embarrass
dependence on the state
officials who refused to support
 Foreign ownership of Soviet businesses
perestroika and win popular support for
was also allowed
his plan
 All this was done to reduce dependence
on the state and encourage others to be  KGB disbanded and the notorious
Lubyanka prison was closed down
in a better position to decide how best to
use the country’s resources efficiently
More Freedom:
Reduction of Military Spending:
 Corrupt officials were put on trial
 In 1988, troops were removed from
 Legalised previously banned books, plays
Eastern Europe and Afghanistan
and films
 He also promised not to interfere in
 Dissidents were released
Eastern Europe and reduced their
 Historians were allowed to re-examine
subsidies
Soviet history and tell people the truth
 Relations with the West were improved
behind the famines and Stalin’s atrocities
and the arms race (and military spending  Religious freedom was allowed
on arms) was significantly slowed down
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What effect did Gorbachev’s changes have on Eastern Europe?
 This portion of the content deals with Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies (Glasnost and
Perestroika) and how they eventually allowed the Eastern European states to break away
from the USSR
Perestroika & Glasnost:
 Gorbachev loosened Soviet control over Eastern Europe. As a result, Communist
governments in Eastern Europe were weakened because they once relied on Soviet
troops and the KGB to keep them in power

Glasnost also made people less afraid to speak up against their leaders. Eventually, they
started to organise protests which grew in scale and intensity. Without the backing of
the Soviet troops, the Communist governments could not hold on to power.
Furthermore, Gorbachev held on to his promise not to interfere, allowing the Eastern
European countries the chance to overthrow their leaders

As a result, Communism came to an end in Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact and
COMECON also ended at the same time. Germany was re-unified with the breaking
down of the Berlin Wall. In all the countries, new leaders were elected to power and the
market economy was adopted
Why did the Soviet Union break up?
 This portion of the content deals with why the Soviet Union eventually broke up despite
Mikhail Gorbachev’s revolutionary policy changes
Gorbachev’s changes failed to solve problems:
 While the 2 policies of Perestroika and Glasnost raised hopes for a better life, the 2
policies did not improve life per se. Communist officials did not want to implement the
reforms or at most, implemented part of them. Changes were difficult to put into
practice because Gorbachev was unable to rule the USSR the Communist way while
trying to rule it the Capitalist way.

Unfortunately, life did not get any better. Due to Perestroika, factory managers switched
to the production of expensive luxury goods and no basic consumer goods were
produced. Due to the shortages, the price of food and other basic goods grew more
expensive and protests against the government began to form. They were not stopped
because that would go against Glasnost.

Due to reduce costs in the new market economy, many workers were retrenched by
state-owned companies. They took to the street to protest and prevented business from
being carried out.
Loss of Communist Party’s authority:
 Glasnost allowed people to criticise the government, go on strike and to vote politicians
from opposition parties. These changes weakened the power of the Communist party.
At the same time, these changes made Russians feel less secure because their old way of
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life was gone and their new lives were undergoing constant change. They soon lost
confidence in the Communist Party and used Glasnost to criticise the central
government.
Years of Cold War competition bankrupted the Soviet Union:
 40 years of competing with the USA in an arms race was taking its toll on the USSR and
from the late 1970s onwards, it struggled to pay for this arms race. While the USSR
seemed to have pioneered space technologies, by the 1970s, it was losing out to the
West in computers and other non-military related technology.

The USA also tried to weaken the Soviet economy by preventing the sale of computers
and other technologies to the USSR and also worked with Saudi Arabia to keep to keep
the price of oil low. This move deprived the Russians of billions of dollars in oil revenue.
The USA also pressured its European allies to cancel or delay a project to build a pipeline
from the USSR to Europe that would bring Russian natural gas to Europe. These actions
prevented the USSR from earning much currency during the 1980s.

The USSR also spent too much money on keeping up with the USA in “Star Wars” and
during the war in Afganistan. Although Gorbachev tried to reduce military spending
when he came into power, it was too late to help.
Rise of Nationalism:
 When the Communist Party loosened its control on the USSR, many states wanted
independence and this was an open call for the break-up of the Soviet Union.

In the 1980s, Estonia, Lithuanaia, Latvia, Armeninia, Azerbaijan, Georia and the Ukraine
called for independence. As Gorbachev was not willing to let these republics leave the
USSR, Soviet troops were sent to these republics to prevent them from declaring their
independence. He tried giving them more power through the Union Treaty where the
USSR would make decisions about foreign policy and national security but where the
republics would decide in other areas of government.
Immediate Cause: 19 to 21 August 1991 Coup
 Communist hardliners feared the Union Treaty because they believed it would lead to
the break-up of the Soviet Union. Many people in Gorbachev’s government wanted to
overthrow him before the signing of the Union Treaty. Coup was done when Gorbachev
was on holiday in the Crimea.

Yeltsin condemned the coup and banned the Communist Party in Russia. Most of the
soldiers joined the protestors who protested against the coup and the hardliners had
failed and became seriously weakened.

Gorbachev resigned on 25 December 1991. He has been blamed for breaking up the
Soviet Union and at the same time blamed for not making changes fast enough.
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
The Soviet Union broke up and became the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The CIS included the countries of the former Soviet Union except for Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania, which became independent countries.

Members of the CIS include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belorussia, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kirghizia, Moldavia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
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