Christian Schmidt-Wellenburg, Stefan Bernhard

• In this programmatic introduction, we lay out the foundations of an approach to analyzing knowledge-based political phenomena beyond the nation state from a field perspective. We understand transnational field analysis as a research program comprising genuine theoretical and methodological assumptions. While extant research is well aware of the theoretical assumptions of transnational field analysis, there is thus far relatively little awareness of the importance of its methodological premises. Addressing this imbalanced picture, we identify five methodological principles and specify consequences for studies of transnational fields. Our approach emphasizes that performing transnational field analysis goes beyond “taking a theory to the field”; it means engaging in and reflecting upon a complex research process that simultaneously draws upon and constructs theories of fields.