Dissertation Topics on History

Here are some topic for your history dissertation, check the list.

What was the main cause of the Crimean war?
Why could the Crimean War be considered to be a ‘modern’ war?
What was the most important event in the Crimean War?
Examine and explain French policy during the Crimean War.
What were the effects of the Crimean War?
What role did religion play in this conflict?
What one event served to settle the Crimean War?
Why did so many attempts at peace fail?
Why did the war end when it did?
Why is the involvement of women in the war considered to be so significant?

How and why did Napoleon III come to power?
What was Napoleon III’s attitude towards the Vienna system and how did he put this policy into practice?
What were the key facets of Napoleon III’s economic and social policies and how did they serve to allow him to retain power?
Was Napoleon III driven by a desire to liberalise or to rule?
What were the main problems that faced Napoleon III when he came to power and were they successfully overcome?
What was the significance of the role Napoleon III played in the Crimean War?
How did Napoleon III’s ‘authoritarian’ system of government differ from those of previous French Emperors?
What were the key principles behind Napoleon III’s foreign policy?
What was the key reason for Napoleon III’s demise? Why was it so significant?
How would you consider Napoleon III’s legacy to have influenced relations in Europe since his demise?
What were the main causes of Italian unification?

What were the biggest problems facing the newly formed united Italian government and how were they resolved?
Evaluate Cavour’s contribution to Italian unification – was he the key reason why Italy was successfully unified?
Which was more important to unification – economics or foreign policy?
What impact did the unification of Italy have on the functioning of the Vienna system?
How did Italy’s approach to foreign policy reflect that of other nations at this time?
Why had Italy existed for so long in a state of ‘disunity’?
Evaluate whether Italy’s unification served to improve people’s standard of living?
How successful was Italy’s unification? Did unification really achieve anything?
Why did Italy eventually fall to be susceptible to Mussolini’s fascist rule? Is this a sufficient marker for the success of Italy’s unification?

Was German unification always inevitable? Consider the events that led to unification to effectively determine whether Germany was always heading towards it.
In what ways did German unification represent a victory for German liberals during this period? Discuss.
Explain the significance of the Schleswig Holstein crisis to German unification – was it the key reason why unification was achieved?
How important was Bismarck to the unification of Germany?
Was Germany’s unification a success?
What was Germany’s biggest achievement upon its unification?
What failings did Germany’s unification fail to address?
Did Germany’s unification serve to remove the divisions within society and government?
Why was Germany’s unification so important for European society at this time?
Consider the reasons why Germany’s unification was so important.

Of the following events – (a) The Morocco Crisis (1905-1906); (b) The British agreement with Russia (1907); (c) The Bosnia Crisis (1908); (d) The Agadir Crisis (1911); (e) The Balkan Wars (1912 and 1913); and (f) The assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand – evaluate which led to the start of the First World War?
Was any one party to blame for the First World War, if so, who and why?
Why was there so much unrest and rivalry amongst the European nations in the early part of the twentieth century and how could this be said to have led to the outbreak of war?
Why did Gavrilo Princip assassinate the Archduke Franz Ferdinand? Was the reasoning for this decision misguided?
Why were the great powers of Europe able to contain the Balkan crises of 1912 and 1913, but unable to prevent this developing into a European wide war in 1914?
Why did German attitudes change towards Austria during this period? How could this change in attitude be said to have led to the outbreak of war?
How did events going on in the rest of the world at this time lead to the outbreak of war in Europe?
Did the war achieve anything? Was it successfully resolved?

What were the main problems facing Lloyd George’s government in the immediate aftermath of war and how successfully were these resolved?
How and why did the Labour government fall in this country in 1924?
Why were the effects of ‘The Great Depression’ so bad in Britain?
How did the way that the country was being run by the government in this period only serve to exacerbate the effects of ‘The Great Depression’?
What polices did the government introduce in an effort to resolve the ‘The Great Depression’ and did they achieve anything to limit its effects?
What were the main problems faced by the government in this period and were they ever effectively resolved?
What factors outside of Europe caused ‘The Great Depression? What was the most influential factor? Was it the economic breakdown in the US?
Why did the world economy ‘boom’ and ‘bust’ so quickly?
When the Second World War started was Britain ready for war?
What was Britain’s greatest achievement in this period and its biggest failing?

Why was Mussolini able to come to power so easily? What failings of the previous governments had made Italy so susceptible to fascist rule?
Why was fascism such an interesting alternative to the Italian people?
What is the concept of ‘totalitarianism’ and how ‘totalitarian’ was Mussolini’s system in Italy?
Critically evaluate Mussolini’s period of rule – could it be considered successful on the basis of the benefits that accrued to the people?
What happened in 1922 to ‘free’ the Italian Republic to Mussolini’s government and why was this event so significant?
How and why, once Mussolini had attained power, did the public’s view change?
Choose one event and consider why this could be considered to be the defining moment that led to Mussolini’s downfall – why is this even so important?
Consider whether Mussolini had the same level of control in Italy that Hitler had attained in Germany and explain your answer through the exploration of social, political and economic factors.
How well does Mussolini’s government compare to what had previously gone before in Italy?
How did Mussolini’s style of government serve to overextend Italy’s resources during the Second World War?

Why did the Weimar Republic’s collapse serve to make Germany so susceptible to the rise of the Nazis?
What was it about the Nazis that made them so popular with the nation’s people?
What was the Nazi party’s biggest failing that led to its downfall?
What did National Socialism stand for? Does the Nazis’ understanding serve to tell you anything about how to run a successful government?
Why was Adolf Hitler able to stay in power for so long in view of the fact that this period of German history is looked upon with such shame by its people today?
Why was Hitler so successful in his handling of domestic affairs up until 1939?
What were the key successes of Hitler’s government? Why did they not serve to offset his failings?
What was Hitler seeking to achieve when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939? Is there anyway Hitler could have achieved his policy goals in this regard? Why did he not achieve the domination and control he was seeking?
What were the Nazis most successful policies? Why did they succeed?
Why did the German people not respond more forcefully in an effort to prevent the Nazis policies from taking hold in relation to their dealings with the Jewish population of mainland Europe?

Why was Stalin able to rise to power in Russia?
What were the main problems facing Russian society and how did Stalin resolve them?
What was Stalin’s approach to governing Russia and was it necessary?
What were Stalin’s biggest successes and failings and why were they so significant?
How did Russia move from being one of the West’s staunchest allies during the Second World War to being universally feared thereafter?
Why was the USSR allowed to expand to encompass other countries when a similar policy in Nazi Germany led to war?
Consider the differences between communism and fascism through an evaluation of Hitler and Stalin’s policies, with a view to determining whether they are in fact the same politically.
How and why did communism spread to other parts of the world?
To what degree was Stalin’s style of rule in Russia different from Lenin’s?
How far could Russia’s policy goals under Stalin be considered legitimate?

Why did the Second World War start? What was the cause?
Why did Allies accept the US’ desire to not enter the war straight away? Would the US’ entry have been accepted if the Allies were winning?
What was the key event in the war that led to the war’s result? Why is the event you have chosen so significant?
How did Britain survive for so long as the key resistance to Nazi Germany’s complete conquest of Europe? What factor was particularly significant?
When did the Axis powers lose the war? Why?
What were the effects of the war upon European society in its aftermath?
What was the most significant military operation during the war? Was it one the Axis powers were actually successful in?
Why were the Germans almost completely successful until 1941? How did they so spectacularly lose their position of ascendancy?
How great was the US’ impact upon the war? What changed when they entered the conflict in Europe?
Could the Second World War have been resolved peacefully at any point?

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