Selfish third parties act as peacemakers by transforming conflicts and promoting cooperation
Abstract
Six experiments show that the mere possibility of third-party intervention increases cooperation in interpersonal and intergroup interactions, that third parties often fail to increase collective gains by withholding intervention, and that reducing the risk associated with intervention significantly increases peacemaking by self-interested third parties. These findings highlight the interdependence between disputants and third parties, thereby complementing existing models that solely focus on unidirectional influence of third parties on disputants. These findings underscore the role self-interest plays in shaping third parties' intervention decisions and demonstrate that selfish third parties can promote peaceful conflict resolution by literally changing the game disputants are playing. Overall, we explain why, how, and when self-interested third parties intervene in others' conflicts, to everyone's benefit.
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