Abstract
This introduction explores several approaches to the analysis of administrative culture. It argues that we should go beyond an often simplistic equation of culture to the informal dimensions of an administrative organization. Instead, administrative culture emerges from the interrelations between the formal and informal aspects of administration and, in turn, shapes both. This argument builds on Niklas Luhmann’s concept of complementary »expectation structures«. It has been developed in the study of the public administration of the nation state, which has been the unquestioned framework for research on administrative cultures. There is an intellectual surplus in testing the approach with the formation and transformation of international public administration. The introduction also proposes an investigation into personnel, communication, and knowledge management in international organizations as avenues for further research on the administrative cultures of International Organizations.