Late Authoritarianism: Change and Continuity in South Korea's Far‐Right Politics

ABSTRACT

This commentary examines South Korea's recent martial law crisis as an untimely or ‘late’ instance of authoritarian politics. To do so, we note the utility of Hart's (2020) ‘global conjunctural frame’ for situating this event within the broader, global context of right‐wing reaction. We highlight how this approach can help examine not only the discursive connections among far‐right movements but also the novel geopolitical visions and transformations that underlie them. We pay specific attention to how changing political attitudes towards both China and North Korea, and especially the rise of anti‐China sentiment, have shaped the identity, strategies and networks articulated by South Korea's far‐right.