2384 – South Korea Coup Fails; Syrian Civil War Flares Up w/ John Carl Baker, Giorgio Cafiero

It’s an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with John Carl Baker, director of programs at Ploughshares, to discuss the ongoing political unrest in South Korea. Then, she speaks with Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics & adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University, to discuss the recent developments in Syria after rebel forces entered Aleppo. First, Emma runs through updates on the search for the UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer, SCOTUS’ oral arguments on Tennessee’s ban on trans care for minors, Memphis Police discrimination, Trump’s elite-led cabinet, questions about Tulsi Gabbard’s loyalties, Pete Hegseth’s myriad embarrassments, Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Trump’s legal woes, and the future of Democratic leadership, before parsing a little deeper through yesterday’s oral arguments for US v. Skrmetti in front of the Supreme Court, and the fear that they might uphold Tennessee’s violently transphobic policy. John Carl Baker then joins, diving right into a step-by-step breakdown of how South Korean President Yoon’s attempt (and failure) to declare and enforce martial law last Tuesday developed, beginning with his declaration and assembling of soldiers and police around the National Assembly, through the rampant protests to allow legislatures to enter the assembly to vote down Yoon’s attempted coup, and to the overwhelming 190-0 (in an assembly of 300) veto of the President’s martial law. After briefly touching on the limited vocal support for Yoon from among his conservative allies, Baker steps back to explore the history of South Korea’s conservative ties to dictatorship, beginning with Japan’s brutal 30-year occupation of Korea through the end of the Second World War – an occupation bolstered by cooperation and support from conservative, capitalist, and right-wing Koreans – and through the sequential regimes of Chon Doo-hwan and Park Chung-hee from the 1960s-80s, with Park Geun-hye (daughter of Chung-hee) even rising to the Presidency just a decade ago only to be impeached over her corrupt practices, also unpacking the continued prevalence of authoritarian strains within the South Korean right over the last century. He and Emma then look at the non-coup-related failures of Yoon’s regime that created both his overwhelming unpopularity and the strong opposition he sought to undermine via coup, wrapping up the interview by unpacking the role of the US in backing Yoon’s regime, and what the ideal future of US-Korean relations would look like to the Korean electorate. Professor Giorgio Cafiero then joins, first running through updates on the recent sweeping offensives by Syrian rebels, successfully taking both Aleppo and Hama from the Assad regime, before taking a sharp step back as he walks us through the evolution of the 13-year Civil War, beginning with the Arab spring and spurring the intervention of myriad regional and international actors, through the 2015 intensification of conflict at the hand of increased Russian support for Assad and Iranian-backed groups, and to the lull in tensions that started in 2020, only to break this past week. After parsing through the more specific history of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the deep and complex ties between the Syrian and Iranian regimes, Emma and Professor Cafiero tackle the prevalent role of external conflicts in how the impact of these Syrian Rebel conquests will unfold, with Iran’s involvement in Hezbollah’s conflict with Israel and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine giving two major parties conflicting interests. Cafiero expands on the precarious state of the Syrian state at this moment, looking both at what that means for a potential (however brief) lull in conflict and for the future of the Syrian government, before wrapping up with the ongoing role of Israeli relations in shaping Middle Eastern politics.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton and Matt Binder as they listen to Eddie from Fort Worth’s Stetson Kennedy recommendations, talk with Gary from North Carolina about the divide between Trump voters and down-ballot GOP voters, and admire Jane Fonda’s performance on Bill Maher. Meg from Seattle unpacks the harrowing and life-threatening impacts of repressive reproductive care, and Megyn Kelly aids in the attempted resuscitation of Pete Hegseth’s potential career, plus, your calls and IM!

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