Foreign Policy, comparative politics, and ethnic politics and conflicts. Piombo has been a visiting scholar at the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, George Mason Universitys School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and Stanford Universitys Center for African Studies. Her teaching and research specializes on political transitions and post-conflict governance; statebuilding and peacebuilding; mechanisms to manage ethnic conflict; African security; and U.S. foreign policy in sub-Saharan Africa. Piombo joined NPS in 2003 after completing her Ph.D. at the Department of Political Science of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.