해방 이후 이범석의 정치 이념: 민족주의와 반공주의 중심으로

Abstract

This article studies Yi Beom-seok’s political thoughts. Yi worked actively as an independence fight during Korea’s colonial period and as a politician after the country’s liberation. His political thoughts essentially come from a combination of nationalism and anti-communism. Their characteristics are as follows: First, Yi’s nationalism is based on social Darwinism, which understand history as conflicts among nations. Therefore, he attached great importance to military power and the youth movement. Second, based on his personal experience, Yi adopted anti-communism against the anti-nationalist nature of communism. His experience in the Nationalist Party of China, which embraced fascism in the late 1930s, drove him to subscribe to totalitarianism, anti-imperialism, and anti-capitalism. To him, nation and state were more important than individuals, and therefore he couldn’t understand or accept liberal democracy. Although most of his thoughts are similar to those of other right-wing politicians of the time, the emphasis on military power and the youth movement, the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist stance, and the influence of the Nationalist Party of China on political thoughts were unique features of Yi’s thoughts.