AP EUROPEAN HISTORY

TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE PRACTICE ESSAY QUESTIONS NOTE: THESE ESSAY QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED AND TURNED IN THE DAY OF THE TEST 1. To what extent and in what ways did Gorbachev’s reforms bring about the dissolution of the USSR? How important were his reforms in the process? Which ones affected it? Consider both perestroika and glasnost. Be sure to show how their degree of success or failure provoked the final breakdown. Consider his repudiation of the Brezhnev Doctrine. 2. Analyze the causes of the economic crises in Europe during the 1970's. Trace the causes and determine the relationships of the world monetary crisis and the OPEC oil embargos in bringing about the regional stagflation of the 1970's. 3. Describe the Eastern European Revolutions of 1989. Explain the patterns of revolution in the various East European states during 1989. Consider the role of Solidarity in Poland, the liberalization policies in Hungary, the bloody uprisings in Romania, the opening of the Berlin Wal in Germany. 4. Discuss how the entrance of great numbers of women in the workplace has altered European society Relate the “big picture” and offer specific effects of this powerful trend. How has life changed for the mass of European women? How has the trend affected family, birthrate, divorce, marriage? 5. Explain how the Solidarity Movement in Poland evolved from a trade union movement to a force for a national democratization. Offer reasons for, and make clear why, a trade union was able to democratize a Communist dictatorship. Be sure to examine origins; leadership on both sides; the role of the Roman Catholic Church; the nature of Polish society; and the gains, losses, and final triumphs of the movement.