Formal Interviews:

These interviews were initially aimed at political figures and activists148 and served two purposes. First, they were designed to formulate an analytical framework of what was actually occurring politically in Egypt and Syria based on the interviewee’s participatory experiences and personal knowledge. Secondly, I attempted to elicit information on the character and personal political convictions of these individuals. Each formal interview took between one hour to two hours and two sets of questions were raised during that time. The first set of questions was personally oriented and required fixed answers. Thus, questions touched upon the interviewee’s professional background, local origin, and number of years active in politics. This usually calmed an interviewee and lowered their suspicions of me. After the initial set of questions, the interview was guided towards more open ended questions about personal views of the political system, the reason for their participation (or non-participation) in politics, examples of problems encountered, examples of successes when participating, and political beliefs and aims in the past, present, and future. Such questions allowed the respondents the freedom to express their opinions in a less constricted manner, to recount personal or general experiences, and give as much detail as possible to clarify and qualify their answers.

148 _{In Syria, those most relevant to my research include: `Abdallah Dardari (head of State Planning}

Commission), Anwar al-Bunni (lawyer and HRAS member), Ayman Abd al-Nor (former consultant to President Bashar al-Asad), Bothaina Shab`an (Minister of Expatriates), Faris Tlas (CEO of MAS, businessman), George Jabbour (MP, formal advisor to President Hafiz al-Asad), Haytham al-Malih (lawyer, head of HRAS), Hashem Akkad (MP and prominent businessman), M`an `Abd al-Salam (Women’s rights activist), Michel Kilo (Civil Society movement member), Mohamad Sawwan (Secretary-General of the Group for the Sake of United Democracy in Syria), Ratib Shallah (Head of Syrian Chamber of Commerce), Salam Kawakbi (Civil Society movement in Aleppo), Samir Al-Taqi (ex-member of the politburo of al- Faysal wing of Communist Party), Sarab al-Atassi (coordinator of Jamal al-Din al-Atassi forum), and Zuhair Jannan (consultant to Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations during 1990s). In Egypt, `Abd al-Gaffar Shukar (Political Bureau of the Tugam`u party) `Abd al-Halim Qandil (Editor of al-`Arabi opposition newspaper) `Abd al-Min`um Abu Futuh (Member of Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Council), Abu `Ala Madi (ex- member of Muslim Brotherhood and founder of al-Wasat Party), `Adil Bishai` (economist and member of Higher Policies Committee of NDP’s Policies Secretariat), Ahmed Saif (director of Hisham Mubarak Legal Center), `Aida Saif al-Dawla (head of Nadeem Center against Torture), Ali al-Din Hilal (Minister of Youth), Ali Shams al-Din (ex-member of NDP), Assam al-Arian (Member of Muslim Brotherhood), Ayman Nor (former MP), Bahey al-Din Hassan (member of National Council of Human Rights and director of Cairo Center for Human Rights), Boutros Boutros-Ghali (former Secretary-General of the United Nations, President of the National Council of Human Rights), Dia` al-Din Dawoud (President of Nasserist Party), Gasir Abd al-Razik (member of the EOHR), Hafiz Abu Sa`ada (member of National Council for Human Rights, Head of EOHR), Hala Mostapha (al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and member of Higher Policies Committee in NDP Policies Secretariat), Humdeen Sabahi (MP, head of the unlicensed al- Karama Party), Husayn Abd al-Razik (Secretary-General of Tugam`u Party), Ibrahim Abaza (head of economic section of Wafd Party), Mohamad Kamal (member of youth committee of the NDP’s Policies Secretariat), Mohamad Mahdi Akif (Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood), Mohamad Rageb (head of NDP in Shura Council), Mahmoud Mohy al-Din (Minister of Investment), Mukhtar Nor (ex-member of Muslim Brotherhood), Rif`at Said (President of Tugam`u Party), Sherif Wali (NDP, member of Shura Council, head of Youth in Giza governorate),and Safinaz al-Tarouty (NDP youth member).

Most of the respondents were open and provided me with a wealth of information to construct a clear idea of authoritarianism in Egypt and Syria and those who are involved or blocked from participating in each county. The problem I encountered then was filtering the information and trying to understand how the systems varied in relation to historical background, degrees of decompression and co-optation power, and societal management. In each country, these notions tend to be understood in the abstract, which obliged me to reason deductively. For example, co-optation in Syria can be seen to function and operate differently than in Egypt because it is designed and understood differently. Although the tactic produces a similar aim of maintaining authoritarian rule, I gained a sense why the systems vary in comparison to one another. During the course of this research, the majority of respondents were somewhat biased depending on their orientation or in relation to their allowed level of participation. Members of the government, especially from the ruling B`ath or National Democratic Parties, were more cautious in their responses. The opposition participants were more straightforward but more extreme in their perceptions. In any case, after completing the first few formal interviews with political activists, it became necessary to find supplementary research sources to overcome some of the inadequate responses obtained from the activists to conceptualize the adequate ones. The research avenues I pursued in parallel with the formal interviews with political activists consisted of formal interviews with political specialists and more informal interviews and interaction with the politicians previously mentioned.

The political specialists were chosen on the basis of their expertise on issues pertaining to authoritarianism in Egyptian and Syria. These comprised mostly of academics, retired politicians, journalists, political and economic analysts, researchers, and diplomats.149 The questions addressed to these specialists centered upon the main research questions of the study. Each interview lasted between 45 minutes to two hours. Open-ended questions again allowed the respondent freedom and flexibility to discuss what they personally considered as important issues regarding Egypt and Syria’s authoritarian systems. Specific questions usually addressed aspects of answers provided by

149 _{The most relevant from this category include: In Syria, Ali al-Atassi (An-Nahar journalist) Ali Salih}

(economist, Civil Society movement member), `Ammar Abd al-Hamid (political analyst and NGO activist), Hisham Dajani (Civil Society Movement and democratic activist), Ibrahim Hamidi (al-Hyatt Damascus bureau chief), `Imad Shuebi (philosophy Professor), Nabil Sukkar (leading economist), Osama al-Ansari (head of an NGO working with Expatriate Affairs), Sadiq al-Azm (philosophy professor), Sami Moubeyid (businessman and Administrative Member of Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association), and Ziad Haydr (al- Safir and al-Arabaya journalist). In Egypt, Abd al-Men`um Said (director of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies), Ali Sawi (Political Science professor at Cairo University), `Amr Hashim Rabei (al- Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies), Gamal Assam al-Din (al-Ahram Weekly journalist), Hisham Kassem (publisher of Cairo Times), Mohamad Salah (al-Hyatt Cairo bureau chief), Mohamad Sayid Said (Deputy Director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies), Mohamad Sid Ahmed (journalist and liberal thinker), Nagla Mostapha (USAID good governance section), Moheb Zaki (interim director of Ibn Khaldun Center), Mostapha al-Sayid (political science professor), Nader Ferghany (co-author of Arab Human Development Report and director of al-Mishkat Research Center), Negad al-Bora`i (director of now defunct Group for Democratic Development) and Saad Eddin Ibrahim (sociologist and director of Ibn Khaldun Center).

the politicians who were previously interviewed. For example, if a politician was not direct about why he could not do certain things, such as resign a post, it was useful to ask specialists why this was the case.

The specialists’ knowledge was useful in providing a more detached and analytical insight of how authoritarianism adapts in Egypt and Syria. When one understands how authoritarianism adapts, variances become noticeable. Yet, the specialists, too, had their limitations because they were indirect participants in politics, so the data accumulated from these interviews generally supplemented and compensated for the inadequate and occasionally non-existent literature available on the subject. As mentioned, they further clarified the formal interviews conducted with the political actors. Although this group was not this study’s focus, maintaining contact with them periodically for the purpose of general guidance and to benefit from their experiences as close observers of the political area was necessary.