How did the United States and Soviet Union come to dominate the postwar world, and how did Europe align between them?
Topic 9.4 Two Superpowers Emerge: the rise of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers, the formation of rival blocs and alliances, and the eclipse of the old European great powers.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.4, on the emergence of two superpowers: how the United States and the Soviet Union rose to dominate the postwar world, how they built rival military and economic blocs, the place of nuclear weapons, and the eclipse of the old European great powers.
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What this topic is asking
Topic 9.4 asks you to explain how the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers, how they built rival blocs and alliances, and how the old European great powers were eclipsed. The College Board wants you to understand the new bipolar structure of world power and Europe's diminished place in it.
The sources of superpower strength
Rival blocs and alliances
Nuclear weapons and the balance of terror
The new rivalry carried a unique danger.
The eclipse of the European great powers
Why it mattered
The emergence of the two superpowers is the structural foundation of Unit 9. It created the bipolar world within which the Cold War was fought (Topic 9.3), it framed the division and reconstruction of Europe (Topics 9.1 and 9.2), and it set the context for decolonization (Topic 9.9) as the diminished European powers lost their empires. Europe's response, partly, was to seek new strength through integration (Topic 9.10), trying to recover collectively some of the weight it had lost individually.
Try this
Q1. Name the source of strength of each superpower. [Recall]
- Cue. The United States: unrivalled economic might and (at first) the atomic bomb. The Soviet Union: vast armies, territory and resources, and control of eastern Europe.
Q2. Explain how the rise of the superpowers changed the standing of the old European great powers. [Short explanation]
- Cue. It reduced Britain, France, and Germany to second rank, dependent on or aligned with a superpower and no longer able to shape world affairs as before, ending the age of European mastery and beginning the age of the superpowers.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2019 (style)3 marksBriefly describe ONE source of superpower strength. Briefly explain ONE way the superpowers organized rival blocs. Briefly explain ONE effect on the old European great powers.Show worked answer →
A Short Answer Question (SAQ), 3 points, one per task.
A. Describe: the United States' economic and military might (and the atomic bomb), or the Soviet Union's vast army and territory.
B. How they organized blocs: each built rival military alliances and economic systems, dividing Europe and the world into two camps.
C. Effect on Europe's great powers: countries like Britain and France were reduced to second rank, dependent on or aligned with a superpower.
Markers want a source of strength, the rival blocs, and the eclipse of Europe.
AP 2021 (style)6 marksEvaluate the extent to which the rise of the superpowers ended the era of European great-power dominance.Show worked answer →
A Long Essay Question (LEQ), scored on the 6-point continuity-and-change rubric.
Thesis (1): "The rise of the superpowers decisively ended European great-power dominance, reducing the old powers to second rank within rival blocs, though Europe retained influence through integration and alliance."
Contextualization (1): the devastation of the war and the division of Europe.
Evidence (2): American and Soviet power and nuclear weapons; the rival blocs; the reduced standing of Britain, France, and Germany.
Analysis (2): weigh the eclipse of Europe against its surviving influence, then add complexity by noting that integration partly restored European weight.
Related dot points
- Topic 9.1 Contextualizing Cold War and Contemporary Europe: the devastated, divided, and superpower-dominated Europe left by the Second World War, and how it set the stage for the Cold War and the contemporary era.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.1, setting the scene for Unit 9: the devastation and division of Europe after the Second World War, the rise of the United States and Soviet Union as superpowers, and how the wartime alliance broke down into the ideological and geopolitical struggle of the Cold War.
- Topic 9.3 The Cold War: the ideological and geopolitical struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, the division of Europe, and the crises and competition that defined the conflict without direct war.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.3, on the Cold War: the ideological and geopolitical struggle between the capitalist West and the communist East, the division of Europe and Germany, the policy of containment, the arms race and rival alliances, and how the conflict shaped Europe without direct superpower war.
- Topic 9.2 Rebuilding Europe: the reconstruction of Europe after World War II, the Marshall Plan and Western recovery, the building of welfare states, and the contrasting Soviet model in the east.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.2, on the rebuilding of Europe after 1945: the Marshall Plan and the Western European economic miracle, the construction of welfare states and mixed economies, and the contrasting Soviet-imposed reconstruction of communist eastern Europe.
- Topic 9.9 Decolonization: the rapid dismantling of the European overseas empires after World War II, its causes (nationalism, European weakness, Cold War ideals), and its consequences for Europe and the world.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.9, on decolonization: how and why the European overseas empires were dismantled after World War II, the roles of anti-colonial nationalism, European weakness, and Cold War pressures, and the consequences including new nations, migration, and lasting global ties.
- Topic 9.10 The European Union: the project of European integration from the postwar coal and steel community to the European Union, its causes, achievements, and tensions.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.10, on European integration and the European Union: how postwar Europe moved from war toward cooperation, starting with coal and steel and widening to a common market and then the European Union in 1993, its causes and achievements, and the tensions over sovereignty and identity that it raised.
Sources & how we know this
- AP European History Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)