Power in sustainability transitions research: A scoping review of conceptual views and methodological patterns for newcomers

Power has become a central theme in sustainability transitions research (STR) since the field’s political turn in the 2010s. Yet this literature remains difficult to navigate because it draws on diverse conceptualisations whose differences are not always made explicit. Readers may therefore struggle to identify how power is understood and how it is traced empirically. This article addresses this problem through a scoping review of 57 peer-reviewed journal articles that explicitly engage with power, combining a systematic Scopus search, backward and forward snowballing, and thematic analysis. The review identifies three broad analytical views of power centred on agency, structure, and their interaction. It also develops two practical tools. The first is a glossary that introduces recurring power-related concepts and points readers towards further reading. The second is a reading template that helps identify how studies define, locate, and operationalise power through their conceptual views, units of analysis, methods, adjacent traditions, and empirical signals. Together, these contributions provide an accessible entry point into power research in STR, while supporting experienced researchers in reflecting on their approaches and their dialogue with other conceptualisations in the field.