IB History
Free resources that align with your IB History curriculum
CFR Education offers a range of free resources that can supplement your IB History curriculum. Browse articles, timelines, videos, and simulations covering the IB curriculum’s prescribed subjects, world history topics, and regional studies.
Prescribed Subjects
South Africa: Why Countries Acquire and Abandon Nuclear Bombs Reading |
Why did South Africa give up its nuclear weapons? In this historical case study, learn about the only country in the world to have developed and then dismantled its nuclear program. |
| Timeline | Sovereignty is sacred. But when lives are in danger, does that principle still apply? |
| Reading | In this free resource, learn more about the United Nations’ most powerful body working to maintain international peace and security. Explore the security council’s failures and successes, and why the UN Security Council’s veto power is so controversial. |
| Reading | In this free resource on World War II, understand the causes of World War II and why these issues drove countries back to battle just two decades after World War I. |
| Timeline | Learn how two world wars and other major historical developments from the Spanish-American War to World War II reshaped global affairs in the first half of the twentieth century. |
| Reading | In this free resource, learn how Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler rose to power and the lessons their political journeys hold for today. |
| Reading | In this free resource on the successes and failures of peacekeeping, learn about the UN missions tasked with transitioning countries out of war. |
| Reading | Learn how journalism, social media, public opinion, and lobbies are all a part of American democracy and influence U.S. foreign policy. |
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World History Topics
| Timeline | Sovereignty is sacred. But when lives are in danger, does that principle still apply? |
| Reading | From Cold War double agents to Chinese spy balloons, explore how lying and spying inform policymaking in this resource on intelligence. |
| Reading | From civil war to terrorist violence, explore the types, causes, and consequences of conflicts within countries that are increasingly threatening world order. |
Modern History and U.S. Foreign Policy: Middle East and North Africa Reading |
From the fall of the Ottoman Empire to U.S. efforts to advance Arab-Israeli partnerships, learn how history and foreign influence have shaped the region. |
| Video | Explore examples of globalization to understand the benefits and challenges of our increasingly interconnected world in this video. |
| Reading | In this free resource, learn how Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler rose to power and the lessons their political journeys hold for today. |
| Reading | The United States and the Soviet Union never directly clashed, but the Cold War was far from bloodless. From Cuba to Korea, explore the proxy wars these superpowers fueled in this historical resource. |
| Reading | Learn how the world’s nearly two hundred countries came to be, and whether the map is set in stone. |
| Reading | In this free resource, explore examples of deterrence from the Cold War to present day to learn how countries dissuade bad behavior with the threat of significant punishment. |
| Reading | More than twenty years after the Good Friday Agreement was signed, challenges remain for Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland long after the conflict ended. |
| Reading | From press freedom to reform, learn about the issues shaping ten countries today. |
| Timeline | From the printing press to Instagram, technological advances shape how people communicate. |
How Does History Inform the Chinese Communist Party’s Domestic and Foreign Policy Goals? Reading |
Learn how China’s transformation from a state of economic and political collapse to its rise as a global power shapes the motivations of its leaders today. |
| Timeline | Explore the history and important events behind the long-standing Middle East conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians from 1947 to today. |
Understanding the Constructive and Destructive Natures of Nationalism Reading |
Nationalism can unify diverse societies. But when taken to extremes, it can also fuel violence, division, and global disorder. |
| Reading | In this free resource on arms control agreements, learn how countries try to regulate the world’s most powerful weapons through foreign policy. |
| Timeline | What is NATO? Trace NATO’s history and learn how the organization’s mission has evolved over seventy-five years, from the end of World War II to Russia’s war in Ukraine. |
| Reading | For centuries, sub-Saharan Africa was home to prosperous empires that made groundbreaking advances in architecture, mathematics, and metalworking. |
| Reading | Three innovations shaped how people and goods move around the world today. |
How Did Mass Production and Mass Consumption Take Off After World War II? Reading |
Discover how consumer goods have become cheap and ubiquitous in the global era. |
How Do Humanitarian Corridors, Cease-Fires, and Pauses Address Violence in Conflict? Reading |
When deadly conflict breaks out, what are different ways to respond to a humanitarian crisis, support life-saving relief, and lessen the loss of civilian lives? |
Tanks, Sanctions, and Separatists: The Various Challenges to Sovereignty Reading |
A government’s authority within its borders gets challenged all the time. Here is how. |
| Reading | In this free resource on the successes and failures of peacekeeping, learn about the UN missions tasked with transitioning countries out of war. |
| Video | How did sovereignty become part of world history? In this educational video, learn why kingdoms turn into countries after the Thirty Years’ War. |
| Reading | By the late 1990s, most countries in the region had transitioned from being European colonies to becoming independent countries. |
| Timeline | What are the most significant attempts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and have they succeeded? Explore this timeline, from the first atomic bomb to Russia’s war in Ukraine. |
| Reading | From India and the Palestinian Territories to Vietnam and Sudan, learn how former colonies sought independence—and how the shadow of colonialism still affects many regions today. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States respond to the massive influx of Cuban migrants? Explore this historical simulation set in 1980. |
| Reading | Learn about different forms of government—including democracy, authoritarian rule, and monarchy—and how their distinctions aren't always so clear. |
| Reading | In this free resource on military action, learn how countries use violence, or armed force, to influence foreign policy. |
| Reading | From the history of vaccines and medical quarantines to the origin of the World Health Organization, explore how innovations in global health increased human longevity and prepared the world for COVID-19. |
| Reading | Many of the countries that make up South and Central Asia are quite young: Pakistan and India became independent countries in 1947, Bangladesh followed in 1971, and Kazakhstan and its neighbors emerged as independent countries after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. |
| Video | Explore how the United States has responded to migrants throughout history—from the Chinese Exclusion Act to DACA—and how immigration policy influences the society, economy, and politics of a country. |
| Video | Learn how the world’s superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR), avoided nuclear war. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States support Greece in its fight against communist rebels? Explore this simulation set in 1947. |
| Reading | Are countries less democratic than they used to be? Learn how democratic principles like checks and balances, free elections, and freedom of the press are under threat around the world. |
| Reading | In this free resource on trade policy, explore how countries leverage their economic power to advance their foreign policy interests. |
| Reading | Learn about the Industrial Revolution and how technological innovations from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries continue to shape society today. |
| Reading | South and Central Asia is home to the world’s largest democracy: India. |
| Video | When migrants seek work abroad, what does their home country gain and lose? Explore one example of a country shaped by emigration, the Philippines. |
| Reading | Social media has connected people at lightning speeds and upended long-held monopolies on information. But like past innovations, it has also created major societal challenges. |
| Mini Simulation | Should the United States take action against Germany? Explore this historical simulation set in 1917. |
| Reading | Explore the powerful political movements that can reshape forms of government. |
| Reading | In this free resource on diplomacy, understand how countries advocate for their national interests through foreign policy. |
What Is the Enlightenment and How Did It Transform Politics? Reading |
Explore how calls for liberty, equality, and individual rights caused revolutions around the world, from the American Revolution to the French and Haitian Revolutions. |
| Reading | East Asia is home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations. |
| Timeline | The internet evolved from a niche government tool to a nearly universal platform for communications and entertainment. |
| Reading | In this free resource on sanctions, learn how countries use punitive economic measures to advance their foreign policy priorities. |
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| Reading | Although referred to as the “New World” by Europeans, the Americas have thousands of years of history. |
| Video | In this foreign policy video, learn how leaders further their countries’ interests with political, economic, and military tools such as diplomacy, trade, and intelligence. |
| Reading | In this free resource on World War I, explore the causes and effects of the Great War to understand how the conflict shaped world history. |
| Reading | Some of the world’s most successful democracy stories come from East Asia and the Pacific. |
| Video | We have made advances in global health, but we face challenges from new disease trends—and need funding to treat them. |
| Reading | From Cold War propaganda to current day pop culture, learn how countries use soft power to influence others without coercion in this free resource. |
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| Reading | From World War II to Syria’s civil war, understand the deadly consequences of war and what that means about the changing nature of conflict. |
| Video | In this educational video on foreign policy, explore how U.S. relations with Japan have changed over the past century, from Pearl Harbor to a peaceful alliance. |
| Reading | In this free resource on World War II, understand the causes of World War II and why these issues drove countries back to battle just two decades after World War I. |
| Video | In this U.S. foreign policy video, understand the challenges of negotiating treaties and dive into two international climate agreements. |
| Reading | Has life gotten better for people around the world? Learn how improvements in health, education, and income are measured and explore three countries' opportunities and challenges with development. |
| Video | In this free resource on nation-building, learn why developing political, economic, security, and social institutions across borders is a complex business. |
| Video | What is conflict? Explore the reasons why tensions, violence, and war break out and what the consequences are for the world in this video. |
| Reading | Europe’s claims on liberal, democratic traditions date back centuries. |
| Video | Learn how balances and imbalances of power contributed to World Wars I and II in this historical video. |
| Reading | How is the military using AI? Killer robots have long been a fear and fascination of humankind. Explore how weapons that can locate, target, and kill without human involvement shape today’s conflicts and hold the potential to re-shape future conflicts. |
| Video | As Great Britain’s Industrial Revolution and India’s Green Revolution have shown, technological innovation can drive extraordinary development. Explore how digital advancements are further driving progress today. |
| Reading | Learn why China lends billions of dollars abroad each year through its Belt and Road Initiative and the implications of that free resource for recipient countries. |
| Reading | Bombs and bullets are not always required for countries to come into conflict. From Russia’s war in Ukraine to a U.S. trade war with China, explore the different ways countries come into tension. |
| Reading | For the past seventy-five-odd years, Europe has largely been at peace. |
| Reading | Follow the global supply chain across borders and into your pill bottle. |
| Reading | Explore the different ways Marx, Lenin, and Stalin interpreted communism and dive into the history of translating an ideology into policy. |
| Reading | An increasing number of countries recognize same-sex marriage, but discrimination and persecution persist. |
Regions
Modern History and U.S. Foreign Policy: Middle East and North Africa Reading |
From the fall of the Ottoman Empire to U.S. efforts to advance Arab-Israeli partnerships, learn how history and foreign influence have shaped the region. |
| Mini Simulation | Should the United States remain neutral during the war between France and England? Explore this simulation set in 1807. |
| Reading | From press freedom to reform, learn about the issues shaping ten countries today. |
| Mini Simulation | Should the United States strike al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in response to 9/11? Explore this historical simulation set in 2001. |
| Reading | Sub-Saharan African countries hold roughly 25 percent of the seats in the UN General Assembly, making the region’s voice important on global issues such as climate change and drug trafficking. |
| Mini Simulation | Should the United States take action against Germany? Explore this historical simulation set in 1917. |
| Reading | For centuries, sub-Saharan Africa was home to prosperous empires that made groundbreaking advances in architecture, mathematics, and metalworking. |
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| Reading | By the late 1990s, most countries in the region had transitioned from being European colonies to becoming independent countries. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States manage dismantling Ukraine's nuclear arsenal while safeguarding against renewed conflict in Europe? Explore this historical simulation set in 1993. |
| Reading | With over one billion people living in forty-nine countries, sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most diverse regions. |
| Reading | Sub-Saharan Africa sustained rapid economic growth and investment in the early 2000s, a period dubbed by some experts as Africa Rising. |
| Reading | Many of the countries that make up South and Central Asia are quite young: Pakistan and India became independent countries in 1947, Bangladesh followed in 1971, and Kazakhstan and its neighbors emerged as independent countries after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. |
| Reading | East Asia is home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations. |
| Reading | Although referred to as the “New World” by Europeans, the Americas have thousands of years of history. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States respond to the massive influx of Cuban migrants? Explore this historical simulation set in 1980. |
| Reading | For the past seventy-five-odd years, Europe has largely been at peace. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States intervene against Spanish colonial rule in Cuba? Explore this historical simulation set in 1898. |