The “Anti-Fascist” Narrative in the Construction of State Ideology: Evidence from China’s 2025 Commemoration Campaign

The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The Chinese government has strategically utilized this historical milestone as a critical opportunity for reaffirming political legitimacy and reproducing state ideology through a series of highly organized, institutionalized, and multi-layered commemorative activities. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Ideological State Apparatuses, political ritual and visual power, cultural hegemony, and the politics of national memory, this study employs textual analysis, discourse analysis, and policy document analysis to examine the narrative structure and ideological functions of the commemorative campaign. It finds that the Chinese state integrates political rituals, educational systems, cultural production, and digital communication to reconstruct national identity, reassert historical interpretive authority, and strategically reshape its global discursive influence. These practices not only reinforce domestic ideological unity but also enhance China's historical legitimacy and institutional confidence on the international stage, offering a distinct Chinese paradigm for understanding the intersection of historical politics and cultural governance in statecraft.