Adding a third party changes a relationship in kind: coalitions, mediation, and divide-and-rule become possible, and none of them exists in a pair.
Simmel's 1908 analysis. The third party can mediate, can play the other two off against each other, or can be excluded — and the mere possibility changes how the original pair behave.
In practice
- A manager mediating between two colleagues discovers that the mediation is now a permanent feature of their relationship.
- A couple's argument changes character entirely the moment a friend is in the room, whatever the friend says.
- Standing
- Distinct from triadic closure, Simmel's other contribution listed separately.
- Subject
- Sociology & Culture
- Essay
- How societies hold together, sort people, and change