Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:512:Ambassadorial standoff (Neal Stephenson)

From the Quicksilver Metaweb.

Though this particular instance is fictitious, this sort of standoff was known to occur in capitals like the Hague where foreign delegations were always going to and fro in narrow streets. In some cases the host had to resolve such a dispute by removing a railing or otherwise devising some way for one delegation to back down without a loss of face.