Cascading Lock-Ins in the Energy Transition of Post-Mining Regions: Towards an Integrated Governance Framework

The energy transition of post-mining regions requires not only the replacement of fossil fuel-based technologies but also the restructuring of infrastructures, institutions, labour markets, local economies and social relations shaped by mining and conventional energy production. This article develops a conceptual framework of cascading lock-ins through a critical literature review and conceptual synthesis of research on path dependence, carbon lock-in, socio-technical transitions, just transition and regional governance. The framework distinguishes infrastructural, technological, institutional and social lock-ins and examines the mechanisms through which constraints are transmitted and reinforced across these domains. Cascading is defined as a context-dependent process in which a mechanism operating in one domain changes the incentives, capabilities, decisions or expectations in another, potentially generating cumulative effects and feedback. The main contribution of this study lies in shifting attention from the classification of individual barriers to the cross-domain transmission mechanisms through which they reproduce regional transition inertia. The conceptual synthesis suggests that addressing cascading lock-ins requires coordinated interventions linking infrastructural modernisation, technological and economic diversification, institutional reform, skills development and meaningful community participation.