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GCSE History · key term
Competition between rival states to develop more numerous or more powerful weapons.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Paper 1
Competition between states to expand their armed forces and develop more powerful weapons.
Competition between rival countries to develop and accumulate weapons in order to strengthen their security and military power.
Paper 2
Competition between rival countries to develop more powerful weapons and larger stocks of armaments.
Revise: Early TensionThe USA’s temporary advantage had helped stimulate an arms race, rather than establish lasting trust. Both powers increasingly sought security through stronger weapons, while interpreting the other’s preparations as dangerous.
Competition between rival countries to develop and accumulate weapons so that neither falls behind the other militarily.
Paper 1
A competition between countries to increase the size or power of their armed forces and weapons.
Revise: Britain’s power and wealthGermany developed its own dreadnought battleships, contributing to a naval arms race. Britain’s naval strength was therefore both an advantage and something it had to keep investing in to defend. The Boer War also showed that possessing great resources did not make imperial warfare easy or inexpensive.
For the significance of the arms race, explain how a development changed relations: more destructive weapons increased fear, encouraged further competition and also helped deter direct war.
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