A participant who can no longer win retains the power to decide who does, and answers to nothing.
Common in coalition politics and multi-party negotiation. The kingmaker has no stake in the outcome's quality and every incentive to extract, which is why third-party leverage often exceeds third-party support.
In practice
- A third-placed party with 4% of seats decides which of the other two governs and extracts terms neither would have offered.
- A departmental vote where one abstaining director determines the outcome gives them leverage no argument on the merits would have won.
- Standing
- A recurring pathology in coalition politics and multi-party negotiation.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Play & Game Design
- Essay
- Small worlds with visible rules