Klijn suggests that some elements of this approach, specifically non-linearity and behaviour that is not dependent on central control, can be found in existing policy theories

Klijn suggests that some elements of this approach, specifically non-linearity and behaviour that is not dependent on central control, can be found in existing policy theories. For example, the garbage can model (from 1972) conceives of organisations as organised anarchies where decisions are made by chaotically mixing problems and solutions together like rubbish in a bin, rather than being the result of a single rational decision-maker. Similarly, Kingdon’s multiple stream analysis (1984) suggests that decisions are made only when three “streams” – policy problems, solutions, and political events – happen to coincide, and when there is a “policy entrepreneur” on hand to take advantage of this. Lindblom’s advice from the late 1950s and early 1960s that, given the uncertainty of the policy environment (or non-linearity), changes are, and should always be, incremental, also seems to be a pragmatic response to some concerns raised by complexity theory. — http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2018/10/12/what-are-the-implications-of-complex-systems-thinking-for-policymaking/