interposition

In third party nonviolent intervention, interposition is the act of literally getting in between conflicting parties to deter them from using violence against one another. Commonly, it is assumed that interposition owes its effectiveness to the conflicting parties’ unwillingness to harm an innocent bystander. However, there is also a more subtle and compelling reason for why it works. This is because violence against another human being depends on the ability of the perpetrator to dehumanize the intended recipient of the violent act. Because nonviolent interveners are seen as innocent, they are humanized in the view of the conflicting parties.  This makes proceeding with violence much less likely.