David Lake provides a theoretical framework for under-standing the security choices made by the United States inthe twentieth century. He grounds his work in the metaphorthat polities may be understood as firms producing security.The fundamental choices before states are unilateralism andcooperation. The former is equated with production within asingle firm, and the latter can take several forms. Principalamong these are alliances, in which polities act as if they wereseparate and independent firms entering into joint produc-tion agreements, and empire, which is similar to the integra-tion that takes place in the modern multidivisional corpora-tion. Alliances and empires form the end points of acontinuum of security relationships. Alliances are at theanarchy end, as each polity retains full decision authority.