Conflict Brief — IR Explained. Geopolitical Analysis.
Updated June 2026

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The Conflict Brief
Security & Conflict

Russia’s Drone Incursions: Hybrid Warfare at NATO’s Border

Analysis · 10 min read
Non-State Actors

Narcos as IR Actors: Non-State Power in a Multipolar World

Analysis · 6 min read
IR Theory

IR Theory Personality Test — Which school of thought are you?

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Glossary now 58 terms — Hybrid Warfare, Jus Cogens, Brinkmanship

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Drone flying against overcast sky

Russia’s Drone Incursions: Hybrid Warfare at NATO’s Border

Ukraine’s drones are aimed at Russian oil infrastructure. Russia is redirecting them into allied airspace — and that is entirely the point.

Narcos as IR Actors: Non-State Power in a Multipolar World

Drug trafficking organizations have grown into transnational entities with geographic reach, economic power, and political influence that rival those of sovereign states.

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The analysis on this site means more when you know the frameworks behind it. The glossary is free to access.

Balance of Power +
Security Dilemma +
Deterrence +
Hybrid Warfare +
Coercive Diplomacy +
Brinkmanship +
Soft Power +
Proxy War +
Westphalian System +
Distancing +
Signalling +
Trans-Atlantic +
ASEAN +

Power in the twenty-first century will depend less on tanks and missiles, and more on whose story wins.

— Joseph S. Nye Jr., The Future of Power (2011)

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