Biography

Alexander Bani is the Spring 2022 Middle East and North Africa Intern for the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives. He is a junior at the University of Central Florida pursuing an undergraduate degree in Political Science with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies.

Bani is an officer of the Club on Security and Intelligence at UCF and is a UCF Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence participant. His research interests include the politics of the Arab Gulf states, the regional impact of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry, and the influence of non-state actors in the Middle East. Upon graduation, he plans on pursuing an analysis position in the public sector with a focus on the MENA region. A student of Arabic and French, Bani has resided in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and has traveled to various countries within the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, including Jordan, Morocco, Turkey, Oman and India.