ABSTRACT
As described in Chapter 2, narratives express underlying beliefs and values; they are a constituent part of discourses and habitual strategies. The identification of the main narratives, along with their regular patterns, calls for a theoretical framework that I have proposed to name ‘epistemic selectivities’. However, in order to allow for a more accurate understanding of the IPBES process and the characteristics of the science-policy interface, it is important to understand inconsistencies, contingencies and disruptions of the narratives. In short, what are the conflicts underlying them and how do implicit conflicts become explicit? This question is important insofar as narratives are to some extent about conflicts. They enable political discourse to be a connecting point for the formulation of state interests, but at the same time they delimit the space within which conflicts can be addressed appropriately.
