Michael Woldemariam worked with ISS as a research specialist while pursuing his Ph.D. in the Department of Politics at Princeton. In 2010-2011, Woldemariam conducted research in South Africa and Somaliland for ISS. His dissertation and book project, titled “Why Rebels Collide: Factionalism and Fragmentation in African Insurgencies” investigates a common feature of civil wars: the fragmentation of rebel organizations into mutually exclusive, competing groups. The project is based on a comprehensive analysis of Ethiopia’s civil wars and original data on patterns of rebel fragmentation across post-colonial Africa. He is now is an Assistant Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Boston University.