AGSI Welcomes Sara Bazoobandi as a Visiting Scholar

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2026 – The Arab Gulf States Institute is pleased to announce that Sara Bazoobandi has joined the institute as a visiting scholar. 

Bazoobandi is also a non-resident researcher at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies in Milan. She was previously a Marie Curie fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies, a senior lecturer in international political economy at Regent’s University London, and a visiting scholar at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore. Bazoobandi has served as an economic analyst for various international corporate organizations, policy advisory institutions, and think tanks, including Nomura International. Her current research focuses on autocratic application of artificial intelligence, AI governance, cybersecurity, and cyber-enabled repression and influence operations.  

Bazoobandi has contributed to various global and regional Track II initiatives and research projects on political, economic, and social affairs of the Middle East and North Africa. She was an associate fellow at the MENA program of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House (2013-16), and a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa (2014-16).   

She holds a PhD in Arab and Islamic studies from the University of Exeter and an MSc in economic development in emerging markets from the University of Reading.  

Bazoobandi commented, “I am honored to join AGSI as a visiting scholar, a milestone that marks a new chapter in what has been a profoundly meaningful partnership for me. Since 2018, my affiliation as a non-resident fellow has been one of the most formative experiences of my academic life. AGSI’s work reflects a serious and sustained commitment to advancing knowledge on the MENA region, and I count it a privilege to be part of that endeavor. It is in that spirit that I am particularly grateful for the institution’s generous support of my book project, which is being generously supported by a foundation grant. The project is an examination of Iran’s concept of ‘Jihad of Knowledge’ and its role in shaping the country’s transnational politics, technological ambitions, and strategic autonomy. My work has benefited enormously from the intellectual environment that the institute fosters, and I look forward to bringing this work to completion here.” 

AGSI Executive Vice President William Roebuck welcomed Bazoobandi’s appointment as a visiting scholar. “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Bazoobandi as AGSI’s latest visiting scholar. Sara has been a regular contributor to our publications and programs, where her insights on intellectual currents in Iran have long illuminated how an autocratic regime mobilizes knowledge as an instrument of ideological and strategic power. We look forward to the conversations and insights her work will continue to generate.”   

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The Arab Gulf States Institute is an independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to highlighting the importance of the relationship between the United States and the Gulf region through free and open exchange of multiple points of view on issues that concern the Gulf.  

AGSI strives to support this goal by:  

• Providing expert analysis and thoughtful debate on the economic, energy, environmental, security, social, cultural, and political dimensions of the Gulf Arab states as well as their relations with the United States and other countries.  

• Informing a global audience of policymakers, legislators, businesspeople, academics, media, youth, and others as the foundation for strategic decisions regarding this important region.  

• Employing multiple avenues to inform public understanding of the importance of the relationship between the United States and the Gulf Arab states.  

• Encouraging strong academic coverage by developing scholars who concentrate on the study of the region.