  We use analytic continuation to extend the gauge/gravity duality
nonperturbative description of the strong force coupling into the transition,
near-perturbative, regime where perturbative effects become important. By
excluding the unphysical region in coupling space from the flow of
singularities in the complex plane, we derive a specific relation between the
scales relevant at large and short distances; this relation is uniquely fixed
by requiring maximal analyticity. The unified effective coupling model gives an
accurate description of the data in the nonperturbative and the
near-perturbative regions.
