Hussein "Huss" Banai

Distinguished Visiting Fellow
Non-Resident Senior Advisor
2025-2026 Academic Year
Past Roles

Distinguished Visiting Fellow, 2024-25

Hussein “Huss” Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he is also faculty affiliate in the departments of Political Science, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, and Central Eurasian Studies. He is also a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai’s research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, U.S.-Iran relations, and Iran’s political development.