We present a systematic review of studies of grassroots innovations for sustainability transitions that employ power and empowerment theory.
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The analysis integrates sociological and political science theories of power and empowerment that are fairly new to the sustainability transitions scholarship.
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Conceptual development of power and empowerment related to grassroots innovations is limited.
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We identify a reproduced epistemic bias that favours analyses of power and empowerment as strategic exercises.
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Three main avenues for future research are proposed.
Abstract
The sustainability transitions scholarship is increasingly applying power and empowerment frameworks to investigate the role of grassroots innovations in the politics of societal change; however, theoretical fragmentation persists. This paper presents a systematic literature review of 88 studies on grassroots innovations for sustainability transitions that employ the lenses of power and empowerment. We take stock of the conceptual development of power and empowerment in the grassroots innovations literature and propose directions for future research to stimulate further theorisation of these terms. Our study shows that grassroots innovation scholars reproduce an epistemic bias towards power and empowerment as strategic exercises, thereby inhibiting our understanding of the range of forms of power and empowerment manifested in and through grassroots innovations and how these forms shape innovators’ struggles and achievements to leverage societal change. We call for a richer theorisation of power and empowerment of grassroots innovations beyond strategic conceptualisations of these terms.
