36 exam-style questions on Conflict and intervention — topic PS.5 of Prescribed Subjects (Paper 1, choose 1; each has 2 cross-regional case studies) in the IB History syllabus — with answers and explanations. Samples below; the full set is free with an account.
State the year in which Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait, prompting the international intervention of the Gulf War.
Answer: 1990
Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990; the US-led coalition's Operation Desert Storm expelled Iraqi forces in early 1991, and the Iran-Iraq War had ended in 1988.
Which UN Security Council resolution authorised the use of 'all necessary means' to force Iraq out of Kuwait in 1990?
Answer: Resolution 678
Resolution 678 (1990) authorised member states to use all necessary means to expel Iraq from Kuwait; Resolution 660 had condemned the invasion, while 242 and 1441 relate to other issues.
Determine which 1995 event, in which thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed, was later ruled a genocide by international courts.
Answer: The Srebrenica massacre
The Srebrenica massacre of July 1995, carried out in a UN-declared 'safe area', was ruled genocide by the ICTY and ICJ; the siege of Sarajevo was a prolonged separate atrocity.
Which organisation carried out the 1999 air campaign against Yugoslavia over the conflict in Kosovo without explicit UN Security Council authorisation?
Answer: NATO
NATO conducted the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia to halt the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo; the absence of Security Council authorisation made the intervention controversial in international law.
Explain which factor most limited the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping in Somalia in the early 1990s.
Answer: No functioning state and no peace to keep
In Somalia there was no effective state and no peace agreement to enforce among competing warlords; the 'Black Hawk Down' incident in Mogadishu (1993) contributed to a US and UN withdrawal.
State the primary justification given by the US-led coalition for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Answer: Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction
The 2003 invasion was justified chiefly by claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction; no such stockpiles were found, and there was no new resolution explicitly authorising the war.
That was 6 of 36 Conflict and intervention questions.
Practise all 36 freeStateAO1 · 1–3 marks
One word or one short sentence. No explanation, no working: the mark is for the fact itself.
DistinguishAO2 · 2–6 marks
Make the difference clear for BOTH terms — a definition of one of them is only half an answer.
DefineAO1 · 1–3 marks
Give the precise meaning — one sentence, the key terms in it, no example needed unless asked.
All of Prescribed Subjects (Paper 1, choose 1; each has 2 cross-regional case studies) →
36 Conflict and intervention questions — free with an account. Spaced repetition, streaks and full exam simulations included.
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