Jared Oestman (Political Science) and Rick K. Wilson (Political Science, Rice University) published "The Effect of Biased Peacekeepers on Building Trust" in the Journal of Experimental Political Science. The authors used a laboratory experiment to evaluate the extent to which impartiality matters in efforts by third-party peacekeepers to aid ex-combatants in overcoming mistrust. They found evidence that peacekeepers that are biased toward a group previously involved in conflict impede trust while unbiased peacekeepers are effective at promoting cooperative exchanges between disputants over time. The findings contribute to a growing area of research that highlights the different ways in which third-parties promote and sustain peace in post-conflict settings.