Complexity in a bureaucratic-federalist education system

On the case of Austria the chapter explores some main issues of complexity in centralised systems. In a first part, the chapter describes that while most sources of complexity in centralised systems generally add to those found in decentralised systems, the degree of centralization (or decentralisation) should not be perceived as dichotomy as crucial for a systems structural complexity is its specific setup. Building on this, the chapter describes how the tensions between policy and politics as basic dimensions of governance and policy making are greater in bureaucratic-federalist systems such as Austria due to their structurally complex setup. An important aspect of the whole interrelations in a centralised system lies in the fact that much part of the complexity is hidden behind the existing formal regulations that superficially seem to “rationalise“ practices, however, might create a substantial gap between formal structures and informal practices.