China, 1937–1945
Autocracy · Republic · East Asia · World War II era
China during the war of resistance against Japan, a devastated Nationalist state fighting occupation while the Communist movement grew in the countryside.
From 1937 China fought a full-scale war of resistance against Japanese invasion, suffering immense casualties and destruction as the Nationalist government retreated to Chongqing. The state was fragmented, its economy wrecked by inflation, while the Communist Party expanded its base areas and support in the countryside. Victory in 1945 was followed by the resumption of civil war.
Dominant patterns
- External Expansion
- Militarization
- Economic Crisis
- Institutional Decay
- Revolutionary Risk
Political-science factor profile
Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).
| Centralization of Power | 40 |
| Media Control | 58 |
| Repression | 60 |
| Nationalism | 78 |
| Militarization | 88 |
| Economic Stress | 88 |
| External Conflict | 95 |
| Cult of Personality | 62 |
| Elite Fragmentation | 78 |
| Institutions | 32 |
| Social Polarization | 65 |
| Corruption & Patrimonialism | 72 |
| Ideological Mobilization | 60 |
| External Sovereignty | 55 |
Economy & society
| GDP per capita | $700 (intl-$) |
| GDP growth | -3%/yr |
| Population | 500.0M people |
| Share of world population | 22% |
| Urban share | 11% |
| Territory | ~11.0M km² |
| Capital population | ~1.0M |
Closest historical twins
The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles China 1937–1945, by similarity score (0–100).
- Ottoman Empire, 1908–1918 – similarity 91/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis, Institutional Decay, Revolutionary Risk
- Haiti, 1791–1804 – similarity 90/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis, Institutional Decay, Revolutionary Risk
- China, 1927–1937 – similarity 89/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Institutional Decay, Revolutionary Risk
- Ukraine, 2013–2015 – similarity 86/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis, Institutional Decay, Revolutionary Risk
- Syria, 2011–2019 – similarity 83/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk
- Qing Dynasty, 1820–1860 – similarity 82/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk
- Spain, 1788–1814 – similarity 78/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Institutional Decay
- Qing Dynasty, 1861–1895 – similarity 76/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Institutional Decay
What followed
- Eight years of total war against Japanese invasion.
- Renewed civil war with the Communists after 1945.