Concluding Discussion

Abstract

A central premise of this book has been that in order to gain a more nuanced and accurate understanding of US-Chinese behaviour during critical junctures we, as researchers, need to pay attention to social, as well as material dynamics. The reason for this relates back to the puzzles identified at the start of the book. The following discussion aims to tie together a number of themes that have been highlighted through the course of the investigative journey. In doing so, each of the cases will be revisited in relation to the central themes of the research before finishing with a brief overview of the nature of the relationship in the post-9/11 decade.