Negulescu was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1915. A year later, Romania entered World War I, and suffered a German invasion. Negulescu fled occupied Bucharest, and in early 1917, took refuge in the Russian Republic, at Odessa. It was there that he came up with the idea of creating a new party "of National Renaissance", to challenge both the dominant National Liberal Party (PNL) and the pro-German Conservatives, and to promote a functional electoral democracy. Over the following months, he co-opted members of the old establishment: the "Junimist" Gusti, the Conservative Constantin Argetoianu, and the PNL's Constantin Angelescu.