Samii wrote his dissertation on the Burundian Civil War that lasted from 1993 to 2005, where an estimated 300,000 people were killed. The conflict ended with a peace process that brought in the 2005 constitution providing guaranteed representation for both Hutu and Tutsi, and parliamentary elections that led to Pierre Nkurunziza, from the FDD, becoming President. Samii has been vocal on social media, specifically Twitter, on Burundi. His work has appeared in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Political Analysis, and Survey Methodology. He has designed and carried out field studies, among others, in Burundi.