Khristopher Carlson’s areas of research include illicit small arms proliferation, non-state armed groups, and pastoral conflict, with a particular focus on the East and Horn of Africa. He currently coordinates the Human Security Baseline Assessment (HSBA) project for Sudan and South Sudan and the Mapping Actors and Alliances Project in South Sudan. Since his first visit to Sierra Leone in 2002, he has conducted field work and managed research projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is based in Nairobi, Kenya.