The Escalation Brief

Learn more

Hello world, welcome to my page.

Here I share reflections and analysis on conflict, geopolitics, and international affairs. Writing allows me to explore complex global dynamics and think critically about the systems and structures shaping our world.

Posts

  • The War Before the War: Persia, Sectarian Statecraft and the Structural Roots of Iran’s Escalation

    By Fauzia Kaka Shafi This war did not begin with airstrikes. It began centuries ago, long before the Islamic Republic, before the Shah and even before the modern state system. Iran’s divergence from its neighbors was already taking shape through the fusion of Persian civilizational , identity and a state-imposed Shi’a order. What is unfolding…

  • The Lion of Persia Roars: Structural Rivalry and Escalation in West Asia

    By Fauzia ShafiInternational Affairs Scholar | Sustainability & Geopolitics | Why war was the predictable outcome of a fragile regional security architecture. On 28 February 2026, coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes struck targets across Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and transforming a long-simmering confrontation into open war. The strikes targeted military infrastructure, missile facilities, and nuclear-linked…