History EE: Cambodian Genocide

[moidnighteye10124]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm in my first year of the IB and so I am just getting started on my extended essay in history and have decided on the topic of the Cambodian Genocide under Pol Pot. However, I'm not sure what to have as my research question or whether the ideas that I do have are too broad for it, I would like to focus on the year zero policy and what actually happened but I don't want the essay to end up being very narrative as I know that's not what the IB seems to be looking for. I've made a list of some ideas for titles below and any input on which to choose or further suggestions for research questions would be greatly appreciated:

 

1) What was the year zero policy and how did it affect Cambodia?

2) To what extent was the year zero policy the key reason for the Cambodian Genocide? (any help on other key reasons would be greatly appreciated for this one)

3) How did the political theory of 'Year Zero' wipe out 25% of the Cambodian population when implemented?

 

Thank you so much for any help provided in advance! 

[Emmi]

Your best title from the three that you listed is number 2. The main reason is because it's the only one that outright seems like it would be an analytic essay, whereas the other two seem to be more narrative-like. If you decide to go with number two, it's relatively good to go as it sits and wouldn't really need much editing, if at all.

[sanpatricio13]

Hello, I was also thinking of doing an EE on the Cambodian genocide specifically a World Studies one. However, I don't know what to do. Should I compare it to another genocide or should I talk about education after the genocide or the instability in government? I'm struggling guys