Militia Command and Control in the Chinese National Revolution, Hunan 1926-1927

Abstract

This article uses a case study of Hunan province to examine the role of militia in the struggle for the control of local society during the 1926-1927 National Revolution. Although the Nationalist and Communist Parties both agreed on the need eliminate militia leadership by “local bullies and evil gentry,” differences quickly arose over how to reconstruct militia following this action. Nationalist Party activists tended to favor a “statist” approach that would replace abusive militia leaders with “upright” local elites but place them under stricter and more direct official control. Communist Party activists in contrast sought a “popular” mass militia free of elite influence and controlled by new peasant and worker unions. As such, this struggle over militia command and control became a key component in the broader political competition between the two parties and their alternative revolutionary visions.