And yet it moves: epistemological explorations of power and its contexts in anthropological research

This paper reviews selected key perspectives on the concept of ‘power’ from the 1950 s to the present, highlighting overlooked aspects in critical interpretations that have impacted on the term’s reduction and banalization in academic discussions. Building on this review, and drawing on more recent texts, it advocates for a definition that highlights power’s heuristic utility in anthropological research, presenting power as contextual, dynamic, multilayered and contradictory forces shaping actions that offer insights into how individuals/networks navigate and re-contextualize constraints, limitations and uncertainties.