Poland, 1918–1935
Hybrid Regime · Republic · Eastern Europe · Interwar Years era
The reborn Polish Second Republic, a parliamentary state that turned to Piłsudski’s authoritarian "Sanacja" regime after the 1926 coup.
Reconstituted after more than a century of partition, the Polish Second Republic began as a parliamentary democracy but suffered from fragmentation, economic difficulty and ethnic diversity. Józef Piłsudski’s 1926 coup inaugurated the authoritarian "Sanacja" regime, which curbed parliament while preserving some pluralism. The state consolidated between powerful and hostile German and Soviet neighbors.
Dominant patterns
- External Expansion
- Militarization
- Economic Crisis
- Revolutionary Risk
- Institutional Decay
Political-science factor profile
Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).
| Centralization of Power | 52 |
| Media Control | 48 |
| Repression | 50 |
| Nationalism | 68 |
| Militarization | 62 |
| Economic Stress | 60 |
| External Conflict | 62 |
| Cult of Personality | 55 |
| Elite Fragmentation | 62 |
| Institutions | 45 |
| Social Polarization | 60 |
| Corruption & Patrimonialism | 52 |
| Ideological Mobilization | 55 |
| External Sovereignty | 85 |
Economy & society
| GDP per capita | $2100 (intl-$) |
| GDP growth | +1.5%/yr |
| Population | 30.0M people |
| Share of world population | 1.5% |
| Urban share | 27% |
| Territory | ~390k km² |
| Capital population | ~1.1M |
Closest historical twins
The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Poland 1918–1935, by similarity score (0–100).
- Ottoman Empire, 1908–1918 – similarity 83/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk, Institutional Decay
- Haiti, 1791–1804 – similarity 82/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk, Institutional Decay
- France, 1723–1774 CE – similarity 79/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis
- Gran Colombia, 1819–1831 – similarity 78/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Revolutionary Risk, Institutional Decay
- Mexico, 1910–1920 – similarity 77/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk, Institutional Decay
- Japan, 1918–1931 – similarity 75/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization
- Roman Republic, 80–44 BCE – similarity 74/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Revolutionary Risk, Institutional Decay
- Mughal Empire, 1658–1707 CE – similarity 74/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Revolutionary Risk
What followed
- The Sanacja regime after the 1926 coup.
- Consolidation of the interwar Polish state.