From the author: I decided to repeat this article because... this problem will always be relevant both in politics and in everyday life. If the usual methods of solving problems worked as they should, society would undoubtedly prosper. Living by invented laws, people sometimes spend decades trying to solve the simplest conflict problems with their help. The history of mankind is full of bloody dramas and wars; conflicts permeate all life, starting with the state, ending with a family of two people. However, the world is ruled by laws that humanity has long forgotten about and, perhaps, the Apocalypse is nothing more than a sum of mistakes that resonated. Baroque conflict. Where is the third?... Conflict and the third force When a conflict arises, people see a lot of reasons that, in their opinion, make such a turn of events inevitable. But not everyone is able to consider another one. It can be obvious - then everyone sees it, or hidden - then no one sees it. But she is always present. It, like a tiny weight thrown on a scale, can upset the balance of interests and push the parties far apart in the space of mutual understanding. The law says: In a conflict between two parties, there is always a hidden participant. If there is a quarrel in the family, the Hidden participant will be one of the relatives or friends . In a labor conflict - one of the employees or the administration. A hidden participant in an interstate conflict will be a group of people or a third state that initiates and fuels events in their own interests, increasing activity when the conflict approaches a denouement. The hidden participant may be in a group that openly supports one of the parties. He may be very respectable - one of those who are “beyond suspicion” and efforts are needed to “figure him out.” The example of the Russian Revolution of 1917, when the upper classes could not, and the lower classes did not want, has already become a textbook example... Yes, everyone was tired of the monarchy, Yes, the Bolsheviks were better organized than others. There were many more objective and subjective reasons. Now it is difficult to restore the exact picture of events, but there is reason to believe that they could have developed according to a different scenario. Many years later, at the end of World War II, secret details of Germany's participation in the preparation of the October Uprising of 1917 emerged from the captured archives of the German government. Germany was a Hidden Participant in the Russian Revolution - a historical drama that shook the world. Even someone who is unaware of his role can be a Hidden Participant. In psychology there is the concept of “referent factor”. This is when there is a person or group of persons (or a state) whose mere existence influences opinions or decision making. Such opinions or decisions are usually called “opinion with caution”, “decision with caution”. The referent factor has an important property - it is always present. If it were possible to exclude any influence on the conflict, then the last survivor would be the “referent factor.” He will act as a Hidden Participant. The analysis of the causes of any conflict will always be incomplete until the Hidden Participants are identified. Timely neutralization of their influence can ensure a quick and favorable outcome of events. The two sides will always agree. Negotiations between the two sides should be focused not on mutual accusations, but on identifying the causes and parties who benefit from the conflict. The rebels and the government will always find a compromise by providing each other with information about those who can contribute to the conflict. Sometimes in a protracted crisis the role of the Hidden Participant changes. A country that was a hidden “third rejoicing” in an international conflict can move into the position of an openly conflicting party. Often such a country comes in the role of a peacemaker. In such cases, the place of the hidden participant goes to either one of the political groups or another country. For example, the Soviet Union in the Afghan crisis quickly moved from the role of a “third rejoicing” to the position of a conflicting party. The role of the Hidden Participant was shared among several third countries and the military..