The State Management Landscape Has Simplified The React state management ecosystem has consolidated significantly in 2026. Redux, once the default choice for any non-trivial React application, is now used primarily for applications that specifically need its middleware ecosystem, DevTools, or time-travel debugging. Zustand has emerged as the practical default for most new applications — it provides global state without boilerplate, excellent TypeScript support, and a simple mental model. Context API handles truly static global state well. The question is no longer "Redux or not" but "which minimal state solution fits this specific use case." React Context API: For Static or Infrequent Updates React Context is built-in, requires no additional dependencies, and works well for data that changes infrequently — authentication state, theme, user preferences, feature flags. The critical limitation: every component that consumes a context re-renders when any value in that context changes.…