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What explains the twists and turns in U.S.-China relations since Richard Nixon initiated a policy of engagement in the early 1970s? Addressing this question, Jean Garrison examines the politics behind U.S. China policy across six administrations - from Nixon to George W. Bush. Garrison finds that a focus on the internal decisionmaking process is key to understanding both continuity and change in more than three decades of U.S.-China relations. Incorporating interactions at the levels of strategic context, presidential beliefs and leadership style, and bureaucratic politics, she constructs a comprehensive explanation of how China policy was formed in each administration. Her thorough - and engaging - account sheds new light on U.S. foreign policy making in general, as well as on Washington's China policy.