H2 History Past Year Paper: 2025 A Levels Paper 2

Here is the 2025 H2 History Paper 2 for your reference. This can help you get a sense of how topics are framed and what examiners tend to emphasise. Feel free to use these questions for revision or timed practice.

Section A

You must answer Question 1.

THE FOUNDING OF ASEAN

1 Read the sources and answer the questions that follow.

Source A

I would like to stress that those who are outside ASEAN should not regard ASEAN as a grouping against anything, against anybody. We have approached ASEAN as standing for something, not against anything. If there are outside powers in Europe and in other parts of the world who are hostile to the proposed regional grouping, it can only be because these powers have vested interests in the balkanisation of this region. We ourselves have learnt the lessons and have decided that small nations are not going to be balkanised so that they can be manipulated, set against one another, kept perpetually weak, divided and ineffective by outside forces.*

As far as we are concerned, we want to ensure a stable Southeast Asia not a balkanised Southeast Asia. Those countries who are genuinely interested in the stability of Southeast Asia, the prosperity in Southeast Asia, and better economic and social conditions will welcome small countries coming together to share their collective resources and their collective wisdom to contribute to the peace of the world. The more unstable Southeast Asia is, the more the peace of the world is threatened.

So, I would urge people outside the region not to misunderstand this coming together of our Southeast Asian countries. We want to ensure that ASEAN stands for the interests of ASEAN and therefore for the peace and prosperity of the world. That is all we are interested in. And if other countries think of tomorrow and are willing to help us to achieve this objective, they will be welcomed as friends. And we will also be worthwhile friends to them.

From a statement by S Rajaratnam, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Singapore, at the signing of the Bangkok Declaration, 8 August 1967.

¹ The process of dividing a country or region into smaller units which were often unfriendly to one another.

Source B

The formation of ASEAN, the first successful attempt at forging regional co-operation, was inspired and guided by past events in many areas of the world including Southeast Asia itself. We learnt the lesson that weak nations should rely more on neighbourly mutual support than on stronger states outside the region that serve their own national interests rather than those of smaller partners. For Thailand, in particular, its disappointing experience with SEATO taught it the lesson that it was useless and even dangerous to hitch its destiny to distant powers who may cut loose at any moment their ties and obligations with lesser and distant allies.

Another principle to which we anchored our faith was that our co-operation should deal with non-military matters. Attempts were made by some to launch us on the path of forming a military alliance. We resisted; wisely and correctly we stuck to our resolve to exclude military entanglement and remain safely on economic ground.

From an article published in 1992. It was written by the foreign minister of Thailand who was present at the time of ASEAN’s formation in 1967.

Source C

Because Southeast Asian nations were very young, they faced internal political instability, ethnic conflict, disunity and weak security and defence systems. The outbreak of regional disputes such as Konfrontasi highlighted tensions in the region and the need for an effective regional organisation to resolve them. The aim was to ensure the stability of regional politics, peace, the resolution of conflicts and greater economic development. The basis for this was understanding between countries, a psychological factor which involved awareness of the need for cooperation and mutual respect. There were close geographical boundaries, interrelated cultures, shared traditions and social values, common political philosophies and similar economic goals. All this made the formation of ASEAN possible.

From an article by Malaysian academics published in 2011.

Source D

The key factor that brought ASEAN together was a naked fear of Communism. This raw fear cannot be understood today without an understanding of the political context of the 1960s when Communism seemed to be the irresistible tide. The five founding ASEAN countries feared Communism because each had experienced Communist uprisings at home. For example, the Indonesian government led by President Suharto was traumatised by the attempted coup of 1965 inspired by the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). The non-Communist leaders of the five founding countries of ASEAN feared for their lives and for their countries. The fear factor was the critical glue that held the five countries together. This fear became more pronounced as the ASEAN countries watched Communist forces steadily gaining ground in Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam.

From a book published in Singapore, 2017.

Source E

In the past, we have criticised the widespread growth of economic international organisations in the region. However, the recent establishment of yet another organisation, ASEAN, must be welcomed. The achievement of the five Foreign Ministers of the key countries involved – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – marks not only a joint realisation of the need for co-operation in attaining economic and social goals but also a willingness to abandon some of their more extreme nationalistic stances.

The crucial question is of course whether an agreement in principle to co-operate at an economic level can be translated into an agreement in practice – and here the developing countries have shown depressingly little willingness to prioritise long-term economic gains over short-term national advantage. Nevertheless, another declaration of good intent has been made, and another step in the right direction has been taken.

From a current affairs journal, based in Hong Kong, 13 August 1967.

Source F

The economies of Southeast Asia are fragmented, with each country pursuing its own limited objectives. Each state wastes its meagre resources in the overlapping or even conflicting endeavours of neighbouring states. States risk continuing weakness in their incapacity for growth and their remaining dependence on the advanced, industrial nations. ASEAN, therefore, could marshall the still untapped economic potential of this rich region through more substantial united action.

From a statement by the foreign minister of the Philippines at the signing of the Bangkok Declaration, 8 August 1967.

Now answer the following questions.

(a) Compare and contrast the evidence provided in Sources A and B about attitudes in Southeast Asia to foreign powers.  [10]

(b) How far do Sources A–F support the view that the main reason for the formation of ASEAN was to promote economic cooperation among Southeast Asian states?  [30]

Section B

You must answer two questions from this section.

You must support each answer with examples drawn from at least three countries.

EITHER

2 How far was the establishment of governments in newly independent Southeast Asian states shaped by their colonial legacies?  [30]

OR

3 ‘Traditional institutions did more to promote than hinder greater national unity in Southeast Asia after independence.’ How far do you agree with this view?  [30]

AND EITHER

4 Assess the impact of the Cold War on the economic development of independent Southeast Asian states.  [30]

OR

5 How important was the shift from import-substitution to export-oriented industrialisation for Southeast Asian economic development after 1945?  [30]