This book explores the historical relationship between China and Japan, and how this has exacerbated their dispute over the Senkaku/ Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. There are three paradoxes in the bilateral relationship - complex interdependence does not preclude the possibility of open conflict; cool-headed assessments are quickly being overtaken by nationalism and a proclivity for irrational behaviour and lastly, both countries have invested so much resources in claiming the islands, such that they have neglected the costs of conflict. These paradoxes in turn stem from two...