ABSTRACT
Complexity theory, otherwise known as complex systems theory, has its roots in the general systems theory that Von Bertalanffy (1968) published in the 1930s. Systems theory is an interdisciplinary fi eld of science that studies the nature of complex systems in society, nature, science and technology. It provides a framework for analyzing a group of interrelated components that infl uence each other, such as a sector, branch, city, organism or even a society. Systems theory evolved over the last century. The fi rst generation, roughly from the beginning until the 1960s, focused on general systems theory and was quite deterministic, arising from cybernetics and control engineering, which often led to blueprint thinking. Topics like complexity, self-organization, emergence and adaptive systems were already studied in the 1940s and 1950s, albeit only as niche-studies.
