Cultural Evolution: The Empirical and Theoretical Landscape integrates work from diverse fields of science to construct an interdisciplinary theory illustrating how fusion-fission cycles actually constitute what we call "culture." When people perceive threats in their environment that seem too complicated to understand, they express more deference, loyalty and submissiveness to group authorities who promise protection. Conversely, as the perception of threat recedes (or as problems appear increasingly tractable) people express more individuality, personal creativity and desires for autonomy. This dynamic will be revealed as a universal fractal process occurring among all animals, from insects to humans. Among humans, this process occurs at the national, organizational and individual levels simultaneously, and formal mathematical models of these dynamics are offered.