In late 1938, Carol created a single-party state around the National Renaissance Front (FRN), with Ralea as one of its prominent figures. In 1940, however, the FRN regime was unable to secure Romania against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union: the country ceded Bessarabia and Northern Transylvania, after which the regime crumbled. It was replaced by the Nazi-aligned National Legionary State, an uneasy partnership between Antonescu and the Iron Guard. The latter made efforts to prosecute figures associated with the FRN, and Ralea was consequently stripped of his academic postings. He was reinstated in 1941, after the clash between the Guard and Antonescu. However, owing to Ralea's communist sympathies, Antonescu ordered his constant surveillance by "Siguranța", the country's secret police.