Erin A. Snider

@erinsnider

IR, Middle East political economy, democracy aid, & development • Egypt she/her • Author, Marketing Democracy:

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Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· 18d

Yet until recently, researchers paid little attention to how leaders convince and recruit ground-level workers to go along with their demands. The incentives for elites to stay loyal have been studied extensively, but the rank and file have remained something of a black box. In the absence of real data, researchers have tended to assume that they cooperate because of ideological extremism, fear of persecution or some combination of the two.

New research, drawing on an extraordinary data set from Argentina’s Dirty War in the 1970s and ’80s, suggests a very different explanation. It turns out that the kinds of career pressures familiar to employees everywhere — the desire to revive a stalled career or obtain a minor promotion — can be enough to incentivize lower- and midlevel officials to violate professional obligations, fundamental norms and even basic morality. The people who make those decisions, the research suggests, are neither extremists nor victims. They are often just middling workers looking for a way to get ahead.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jul 7

Earlier from our Egyptian cheering section in London. It should’ve been 3-3 but what a brilliant effort Masr❤️🇪🇬🇪🇬

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jun 4

Quote from graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi: “If I have one message to give to the secular American people, it’s that the world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don’t know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.”

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Apr 10

Here, war has only changed form. It manifests in the smaller wars that repeat in our lives every day. Life in Gaza is lived in fragments: searching for water, charging a phone, cooking on a fire when fuel is available, checking the news, waiting. What exists now is not a return to normal life, but a warped version of it — where the mundane persists alongside the unbearable.

How will Ms. Musleh overcome her loss? How will her daughter, Mariam, live with injury, displacement? How will Mr. al-Af look at rubble without choking back tears? How will Ms. al-Hayek rebuild her future?

Hearing their stories, I think of my parents, my grandparents and other older generations, how their lives have been shaped by the Nakba, the “catastrophe” that Palestinians faced as the State of Israel was created in 1948: the displacement, the loss, the grief, the uncertainty. And above all, the memory. How that war became something they carried through the rest of their lives. I am afraid that this war will remain living within us as it did with them. Every time I recall these stories, a few of many, I try my best to move on. But there’s one question that comes back to me: not how will we survive war, but how will we learn to continue living after it?

We are alive, but there’s no going back to once upon a time. We are learning how to live in the in-between.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Apr 7

The results of the U.S. intelligence analysis were shared the following day, Feb. 12, in another meeting for only American officials in the Situation Room. Before Mr. Trump arrived, two senior intelligence officials briefed the president’s inner circle.

The intelligence officials had deep expertise in U.S. military capabilities, and they knew the Iranian system and its players inside out. They had broken down Mr. Netanyahu’s presentation into four parts. First was decapitation — killing the ayatollah. Second was crippling Iran’s capacity to project power and threaten its neighbors. Third was a popular uprising inside Iran. And fourth was regime change, with a secular leader installed to govern the country.

The U.S. officials assessed that the first two objectives were achievable with American intelligence and military power. They assessed that the third and fourth parts of Mr. Netanyahu’s pitch, which included the possibility of the Kurds mounting a ground invasion of Iran, were detached from reality.

When Mr. Trump joined the meeting, Mr. Ratcliffe briefed him on the assessment. The C.I.A. director used one word to describe the Israeli prime minister’s regime change scenarios: “farcical.”

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Apr 7

And this scene, which isn't a shock at this point:

U.S. and Israeli officials gathered first in the Cabinet Room, adjacent to the Oval Office. Then Mr. Netanyahu headed downstairs for the main event: a highly classified presentation on Iran for President Trump and his team in the White House Situation Room, which was rarely used for in-person meetings with foreign leaders.

Mr. Trump sat down, but not in his usual position at the head of the room’s mahogany conference table. Instead, the president took a seat on one side, facing the large screens mounted along the wall. Mr. Netanyahu sat on the other side, directly opposite the president.

Appearing on the screen behind the prime minister was David Barnea, the director of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, as well as Israeli military officials. Arrayed visually behind Mr. Netanyahu, they created the image of a wartime leader surrounded by his team.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Mar 11

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One sociologist in Tehran, who is critical of the regime and the war, said there was anecdotal evidence of a growing “sense of nationalism emerging from the war” as happened during Israel’s 12-day conflict against Iran last year, when people rallied around the flag.

“The fear of Iran’s destruction is increasingly uniting people as they fear the consequences of such a large-scale conflict,” the sociologist said, asking not to be named.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Feb 25

I rarely read comment sections, for all the usual reasons, but this addition from the author adds important nuance and complication that those in DC should sit with, especially the comment below from a doctor in Shiraz, grappling with despair, intervention, & its limits.

What didn’t make it into the final piece: A few of our respondents did raise the possibility of targeted military strikes - alongside other forms of support - as a reflection of the desperation they felt after witnessing the regime’s mass killing of unarmed protesters last month.

For example, a medical worker in Rasht told us: “The average Iranian … wants more direct international action, whether it is military action or financial aid to the opposition … because what we saw was a massacre. As much as it pains me to admit, … we are powerless to stop it if it happens again.”

Another doctor from Shiraz said: “The world should know that we are trapped under a strange and insane authoritarian regime, and we can no longer stand up to it on our own. At the same time, we do not support foreign military intervention. These thoughts have only pushed many of us psychologically toward helplessness and devastation.”

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Feb 25

Quote from a medical worker in Iran treating protestors: "Every reminder of spilled blood, every tear and every name sets off a flood of questions. How did such a level of crime become possible, and what should be done in response? Where is the limit of psychological endurance? How far does our voice reach, and at what point does it go silent? Will accountability, justice, or even full recognition of what happened ever be possible one day?"

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Feb 12

Our pup gave us his first side-eye two hours into his first day home. His game's only gotten stronger and more discerning over the years.

small goldendoodle puppy giving his first side-eye look

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Feb 5

A very normal thing to do when you want to go the college of your choice is to email that intention directly to the college president himself. After Epstein arranges the intro, of course, as a favor to your dad, Woody Allen. No need to worry about formalities & dusty things like salutations.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jan 31

Judge Fred Biery of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas has ruled that the detention of Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, was unconstitutional. They are both asylum seekers.

In a scathing opinion, the judge wrote that the father and son “seek nothing more than some modicum of due process and the rule of law,” adding that immigration agents were “traumatizing children.”

The father and son’s case “has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children,” the judge noted.

Biery wrote of the detainment: “Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency.”

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jan 31

Moira Rose, dressed as the pope, to officiate David's wedding

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jan 25

When we think of the terror regimes of the past, it is tempting to superimpose a logical narrative on them, as though totalitarian leaders had an extermination to-do list and worked their way through it methodically. This, I think, is how most people understand Martin Niemöller’s classic poem “First They Came.” In reality, though, the people living under those regimes never knew which group of people would be designated an enemy of the state next.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jan 25

After the past three weeks of brutality in Minneapolis, it should no longer be possible to say that the Trump administration seeks merely to govern this nation. It seeks to reduce us all to a state of constant fear — a fear of violence from which some people may at a given moment be spared, but from which no one will ever be truly safe. That is our new national reality. State terror has arrived.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jan 14

US suspending immigrant visa processing from 75 countries according to AP. Full list below including Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco. apnews.com/article/trum...

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Dec 24

Our king of Festivus with his new reindeer, post airing of his many grievances.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Dec 23

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post on twitter from Matt Duss: The question is where Bari fails up to from here.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Dec 16

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in her interview with Vanity Fair says Trump “has an alcoholic’s personality,” and calls JD Vance a “conspiracy theorist” and says this on USAID and Elon Musk:

Ms. Wiles described frustration with Mr. Musk, the billionaire who early in the year was empowered to eviscerate federal agencies and fire employees en masse with almost no process. “He’s an odd, odd duck, as I think geniuses are. You know, it’s not helpful, but he is his own person.” When he shared a post saying that Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn’t murder millions, their public sector workers did, Ms. Wiles said, “I think that’s when he’s microdosing.” Asked what she meant, she said, “he’s an avowed ketamine” user.

Mr. Musk has acknowledged trying ketamine “a few years ago,” but denied reports of more recent use. In the interview with The Times on Monday, Ms. Wiles took issue with the quote attributed to her about his drug use. “That’s ridiculous,” she said. “I wouldn’t have said it and I wouldn’t know.” But Mr. Whipple played a tape for The Times in which she could be heard saying it.

Mr. Musk’s demolition of the U.S. Agency for International Development including its lifesaving aid to impoverished people around the globe upset Ms. Wiles. “I was initially aghast,” she told Mr. Whipple. “Because I think anybody that pays attention to government and has ever paid attention to U.S.A.I.D. believed, as I did, that they do very good work.”

Mr. Musk’s approach was “not the way I would do it.” She said she called Mr. Musk on the carpet. “You can’t just lock people out of their offices,” she recalled telling him. She said that Mr. Musk was a disrupter. “But no rational person could think the U.S.A.I.D. process was a good one. Nobody.”

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Dec 6

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Nov 17

A beautiful sunrise to start the day meeting old and new colleagues in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan. So thrilled to be back.

Sunset over mountains in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Oct 26

Testing out the new juicer from Turkey for a massive amount of pomegranates from the tree this year. Strangely cathartic to do this after this week’s news cycle and worth it despite the kitchen looking like a murder scene afterwards.

Knife, juice, pomegranates, aka the murder scene

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Oct 19

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Oct 18

Joyful turnout at the #NoKings protest on Jefferson in Newport News, VA with supportive honks from drivers so loud we had to make a quick exit sadly with our freaked out pup.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Sep 29

Excellent piece by historian Tim Shenk on the future of the Democratic Party in today's NYT. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/o...

Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Osborn might not seem like they have much, or anything, in common — the child of an award-winning director and an Ivy League professor; the other a college dropout turned labor leader. But they both tapped into the roiling populist energies that have rocked the country since the financial crisis.

It’s a simple recipe, really: a scorching economic message delivered by political outsiders standing up to the powerful. The villains in this narrative — and it’s essential to have villains — are the elites at the top of a broken system. Neither Mr. Mamdani nor Mr. Osborn dwelled on cultural issues; instead, they concentrated on subjects like increasing wages and affording a home. Although their signature positions have strong public backing, their platforms are more than just a grab bag of whatever does best in the polls. They tell a story that reframes the debate, enlisting voters in a battle between the many and the few, with stakes that reach into everyday life.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jul 30

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jul 25

From Isaac Chotiner's interview with Michael Milshtein, former head of the Dept for Palestinian Affairs in the I.D.F.’s military-intelligence wing:

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Jun 27

Behold the cowardice of the board, appointed by Governor Youngkin. This will be absolutely damaging to one of the top public universities in this country. UVA won't be the last unless there is push back.

Erin A. Snider@erinsnider· Apr 17

I fell in love with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond a million years ago on a middle school field trip—and today reminded me what a gem it is. Their Frida Kahlo exhibit (on thru Sept) blew me away. Exactly the kind of beauty and power we need right now. Go see it and support the VMFA.