History IB Extended Essay Topic Ideas

History Extended essay topics

Ready for another list of awesome working History extended essay topics that was handpicked by Extended Essay Writers who know their stuff.

🟩 25 Simple but Interesting History Extended Essay Topics

(accessible, focused, source-rich topics)

  1. To what extent did appeasement policies lead to the outbreak of World War II?
  2. How significant was the Treaty of Versailles in causing political instability in Germany between 1919 and 1933?
  3. To what extent did the Cuban Missile Crisis improve U.S.–Soviet diplomatic communication?
  4. How did the Marshall Plan influence the economic recovery of Western Europe after World War II?
  5. To what extent was propaganda used effectively in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1939?
  6. How significant was the role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany?
  7. To what extent did the U.S. Civil Rights Movement achieve legal equality by 1965?
  8. How did the Great Depression influence the rise of authoritarian regimes in Europe?
  9. To what extent did Mao Zedong’s policies contribute to the famine of 1959–1961?
  10. How did the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand affect Austro-Hungarian foreign policy?
  11. To what extent was the League of Nations effective in the 1920s?
  12. How did the Russian Civil War contribute to the consolidation of Bolshevik power?
  13. To what extent did women’s roles change in Britain during World War I?
  14. How significant was the use of trench warfare in determining the outcome of WWI?
  15. To what extent did the Weimar Republic fail due to economic problems?
  16. How did the bombing of Hiroshima influence the end of World War II?
  17. How did U.S. involvement in Vietnam escalate under Lyndon B. Johnson?
  18. How did the Berlin Blockade influence Cold War divisions in Europe?
  19. To what extent did Gorbachev’s reforms contribute to the collapse of the USSR?
  20. How did Gandhi’s leadership style affect the success of the Indian independence movement?
  21. To what extent was the First Intifada a turning point in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict?
  22. How did the D-Day invasion influence the outcome of World War II?
  23. How did Stalin consolidate power after Lenin’s death?
  24. To what extent was the 1905 Revolution a “dress rehearsal” for 1917 in Russia?
  25. How did the Prohibition era affect organized crime in the United States?

🟦 25 Unique and Not Overused History EE Questions

(fresh topics, less commonly explored events or countries)

  1. To what extent did Finland’s diplomatic strategy help it avoid occupation during WWII?
  2. How did the Harlem Renaissance influence the political activism of African Americans in the 1920s?
  3. How did the 1968 Prague Spring challenge the legitimacy of Soviet-style socialism?
  4. To what extent did Canadian conscription policies during WWII affect national unity?
  5. How did the role of women in the French Resistance differ from their portrayal in post-war memory?
  6. How did U.S. occupation influence the democratization of Japan between 1945 and 1952?
  7. To what extent did the Mau Mau Uprising contribute to the end of British colonial rule in Kenya?
  8. How did Tito’s Yugoslavia maintain independence from the USSR during the Cold War?
  9. To what extent did the Algerian War (1954–62) influence post-colonial migration to France?
  10. How did radio broadcasts shape public opinion during the Spanish Civil War?
  11. How did the 1973 Chilean coup impact the global perception of U.S. foreign policy?
  12. How did apartheid education policies reinforce racial inequality in South Africa?
  13. To what extent did the 1956 Hungarian Uprising undermine Soviet control of Eastern Europe?
  14. How did World War I affect the political role of the Ottoman Empire’s Arab subjects?
  15. To what extent did Chinese female revolutionaries challenge Confucian gender norms in the early 20th century?
  16. How did the Iranian Revolution of 1979 reshape Middle Eastern geopolitics?
  17. To what extent did the East German Stasi reshape everyday life and citizen behavior?
  18. How did the British Mandate affect the development of Palestinian nationalism?
  19. To what extent did the Suez Crisis alter Britain’s role as a world power?
  20. How did the cultural policies of Atatürk shape modern Turkish identity?
  21. How did the 1936 Berlin Olympics serve as a propaganda tool for the Nazi regime?
  22. To what extent did the Amritsar Massacre change British–Indian relations?
  23. How did the 1960s counterculture movement in West Germany influence post-war memory?
  24. To what extent did the Ethiopian resistance shape Italian colonial policy in the 1930s?
  25. How did the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 reshape South Asian geopolitics?

🟥 25 Complex and Challenging Questions for IB History EE

(deep analysis, historiographical debate, abstract or comparative focus)

  1. To what extent did the Cold War evolve from ideological differences rather than geopolitical concerns?
  2. How did economic factors compare with ideological motivations in the rise of Italian Fascism?
  3. To what extent can the Spanish Civil War be seen as a precursor to World War II?
  4. How did class conflict contribute to revolutionary success in Russia and China?
  5. To what extent did Bismarck’s Realpolitik differ from Hitler’s foreign policy strategy?
  6. How do Marxist and revisionist historians differ in their interpretation of the causes of the French Revolution?
  7. To what extent did Enlightenment thought contribute to both the American and Haitian revolutions?
  8. How do historians differ in their assessment of Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons in 1945?
  9. How did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk influence the global trajectory of the Bolshevik Revolution?
  10. To what extent was World War I a “total war” across European societies?
  11. How did the Nazi regime construct racial ideology through legal frameworks and education?
  12. To what extent was the Cold War “cold” in Asia, and “hot” in Latin America?
  13. How did the perception of the Vietnam War differ between U.S. policymakers and anti-war activists?
  14. To what extent was the 1848 Revolutions a failure in terms of political change?
  15. How did industrialization shape the nature of warfare between 1860 and 1918?
  16. How do different schools of thought interpret the fall of the Roman Empire?
  17. To what extent did Lenin alter Marxist theory to suit the Russian context?
  18. How did historical memory of World War I shape French diplomacy leading up to WWII?
  19. To what extent did Stalin’s foreign policy change after WWII compared to before 1941?
  20. How did Cold War historiography evolve from orthodox to revisionist interpretations between 1945–1990?
  21. To what extent did the nature of genocide in Rwanda differ from that in Nazi Germany?
  22. How did colonial policies of assimilation differ between French West Africa and British East Africa?
  23. How did World War I affect the status of colonial troops in imperial armies?
  24. How has the historical legacy of slavery shaped political identity in Brazil compared to the U.S.?
  25. How do feminist historians interpret the French Revolution differently from traditional narratives?

🟨 25 IB History EE Current and Up-to-Date Questions

(history with contemporary relevance or reflecting ongoing debates)

  1. To what extent did the legacy of colonial borders contribute to modern conflict in the Middle East?
  2. How has the historiography of the Vietnam War changed in U.S. textbooks since the 1970s?
  3. To what extent did the legacy of apartheid influence South Africa’s 1996 constitution?
  4. How did Cold War alliances shape the current political divisions in the Korean Peninsula?
  5. To what extent has historical memory of World War II shaped Japan’s pacifist constitution?
  6. How has Brexit revived historical narratives of British imperial identity?
  7. To what extent did NATO’s 1999 Kosovo intervention reflect a shift in sovereignty norms?
  8. How have recent debates about Confederate statues reshaped the public understanding of the American Civil War?
  9. How did historical treaties contribute to modern water conflicts in the Middle East?
  10. To what extent has the legacy of the Rwandan Genocide shaped peacebuilding efforts in Central Africa?
  11. How has the declassification of CIA Cold War documents affected interpretations of U.S. foreign policy?
  12. To what extent does the historical memory of colonialism affect French–Algerian relations today?
  13. How does the legacy of the Holocaust influence modern German immigration policy?
  14. To what extent has the global war on terror reshaped the memory of 9/11 in American education?
  15. How does the history of the Soviet occupation affect contemporary Estonian national identity?
  16. To what extent has historical memory influenced the Ukraine–Russia conflict since 2014?
  17. How has the reinterpretation of colonial history affected education policy in the UK?
  18. To what extent do modern Indigenous land claims reflect unresolved historical treaties in Canada?
  19. How has the post-apartheid reinterpretation of Afrikaner history affected South African museums?
  20. To what extent has the history of slave resistance informed reparations debates in the U.S.?
  21. How does historical memory of Franco’s dictatorship shape Spain’s current political polarization?
  22. To what extent has the history of Stalinism been rehabilitated in modern Russian politics?
  23. How does the reinterpretation of Chinese imperial history inform modern national identity?
  24. To what extent has the perception of the British Empire shifted in post-Brexit Britain?
  25. How has global digital access changed public engagement with Cold War history?

🟪 10 Fun and Unusual Questions for Your History Extended Essay

(quirky, creative, and still historically valid)

  1. To what extent did coffeehouses contribute to revolutionary thought in 18th-century Europe?
  2. How did the use of animals (e.g. pigeons, horses, elephants) influence communication during wartime?
  3. How did pirate governance in the 17th century challenge European monarchies?
  4. To what extent did fashion reflect political ideology in revolutionary France?
  5. How did food shortages shape political revolutions in 18th and 19th-century Europe?
  6. How did the spread of jazz influence cultural diplomacy during the Cold War?
  7. To what extent did the invention of the printing press shape political dissent in Reformation Europe?
  8. How did facial hair reflect power and masculinity in the court of Henry VIII?
  9. How did sports act as a soft power tool during the Cold War Olympics?
  10. To what extent did superstition affect medical responses during the Black Death?
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