First of all there has to be some cause for displaying trust. Some situation has to be defined in which the person trusting is dependent on his partner, otherwise the problem does not arise. His behaviour must then commit him to this situation and make him run the risk of his trust being betrayed. In other words he must invest in what we called earlier a 'risky advance'. One fundamental condition is that it must be possible for the partner to abuse the trust; indeed, it must not merely be possible for him to do so but he must also have a considerable interest in doing so.

DEFINE: Clarifies the structural preconditions for genuine trust: dependence, a risky commitment, and a betrayal incentive for the partner.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 195