Drawing on four complementary studies that integrate bibliometric mapping, network analysis, and interpretive analysis of editorial discourse, the thesis traces three decades of intellectual and institutional development in sustainability science.

The analysis identifies three historical phases—Foundation, Introspection, and Diversification—each marked by shifts in epistemic orientation and the redistribution of symbolic capital. Editorial discourse emerges as a central site of symbolic struggle, where competing visions of the field and rival claims to definitional authority are articulated and contested.

By treating bibliometric indicators not merely as analytical tools but as socially embedded instruments of valuation, the thesis contributes to library and information science—particularly scientometrics, bibliometrics, and scholarly communication—while providing a critical account of how emerging interdisciplinary fields institutionalise authority and reproduce academic stratification.