Zaungast

Ok, admit it, have you ever hung around outside the gates at a hot concert you didn't have tickets for. After all, at an open-air event, the sound doesn't stop at the fence. If you have, that would make you a "Zaungast" (or "fence guest"). The word, however, can also be used to refer to onlookers who aren't in the way, but don't actively participate either. On a more serious note, the media, for example, has called the developing world a "Zaungast" to global politics, quietly observing but lacking influence.