A General Theory to Explain the Variety of Economic and Security Relations in the Former Soviet Union. This occurs in both economics and security, the two primary realms of international politics. The former Soviet Union reflects this variety in the international system. What appears to be chaos in the former Soviet region can be seen as patterns of relationships that fall on a range from autonomy to hierarchy.
Autonomy represents what analysts consider Westphalian state relations.
Hierarchy indicates that both states understand that the strong state will make some decisions for the weak state. There are various levels of hierarchy with the strongest form being empire. The greater the vulnerability and the fewer the potential white knights, the more likely the two states will form a hierarchical relationship. Economic vulnerability is measured by the degree of specific assets, while security vulnerability is measured by the internal and external threats to the leadership. My theory builds on several bodies of literature, including that on empires, alliance formation, and the New Economics of Organization.