In the case of external relationships such system-structural reasons for trust and distrust are irrelevant and things come to depend more on the specific learning and confirming of trust relationships in the contact between system and environment, on the freedom of traffic allowed by the system boundaries, or on the strength of the system and the cover it guarantees its members in the case of distrustful behaviour leading to disruptions and conflicts in relationships with the environment.

DEFINE: Distinguishes internal from external trust: internal trust rests on system-structural reasons, while external trust depends on boundary interactions and system strength.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 317