The sustainability transitions literature addresses globally pressing sustainability challenges. However, the scholars in the field trend towards using the term “sustainability” in a manner that is not reflexive, often just assuming that the studied cases contribute to more sustainable modes of production and consumption. In this paper, we suggest an alternative: a reflexive sustainability perspective that takes into account case selection issue, sources of unsustainability, double-edged sword dilemma, and boundary problem. Using this perspective as our starting point, we conduct a case survey, analyzing the extent to which such a perspective is considered in a number of selected case-based transition studies. We find that the deeper reasons for unsustainability and alternative sustainability solutions are often overlooked, sustainability trade-offs are mostly not considered, and the potential sustainability effects beyond the case boundaries are typically not reflected on. Based on these considerations, we provide scholars with some implications and suggestions on how to reflect on their own sustainability assumptions and contribute to more reflexive scholarship in the future.

可持续性转型文献解决了全球紧迫的可持续性挑战。但是，该领域的学者倾向于以一种不反身的方式使用“可持续性”一词，通常只是假设所研究的案例有助于更可持续的生产和消费方式。在本文中，我们提出了另一种选择：反思性的可持续性观点，其中要考虑案例选择问题，不可持续性的根源，双刃剑的困境和边界问题。以这种观点为出发点，我们进行了案例调查，分析了在一些选定的基于案例的过渡研究中对这种观点的重视程度。我们发现，不可持续性和替代性可持续性解决方案的更深层原因经常被忽略，大多数情况下，都不会考虑可持续性的折衷，而且通常不会反映超出案例边界的潜在可持续性影响。基于这些考虑，我们为学者提供一些启示和建议，以帮助他们反思自己的可持续性假设，并为将来的反思性研究做出贡献。