Our Chancellor Dr Fiona Hill has delivered the 39th Annual World Traders’ Tacitus Lecture to an audience of business, politics, and society leaders at London’s Guildhall.
Organised by the Worshipful Company of World Traders, the Lecture began in 1988 and is now believed to be the largest event of its type in the City of London.
It takes its name from the Roman senator Publius Cornelius Tacitus, a renowned orator.
The 2026 Lecture was supported by Durham University, and sponsored by Sphere Legal.
Dr Hill, an acclaimed foreign affairs specialist, former advisor to three US Presidents, and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, spoke to a title: ‘Peril and Possibility: Collapsing old order, emerging disorder or new order’.
The world is moving to a “post-American” era, she said, and must build a new order where power and prosperity are more evenly spread.
The world was facing “the end of the modern American empire”, and the UK “cannot count on the US anymore”, she added.
Reflecting on the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse, Dr Hill said: “We are at a point where crisis and opportunity co-exist, where there are perils but all kinds of possibilities.
"Those of us who want to protect what we value or hold to be true and good from the old order will have to respond with great agility this year. We will have to try to ride or tame the horse, or get out of its way as it gallops ahead.”
Richard Burge, Master of the Worshipful Company of World Traders, said: “In today’s fastmoving world, trade can no longer rely on historic routes or familiar partners alone.
"Businesses must be ready to rethink supply chains, pivot towards emerging markets, and build resilience across regions such as Asia, Europe, and Mercosur.
“Those who adapt their trading patterns to shifting geopolitics, new agreements, and evolving sustainability standards will be best placed to seize the next wave of global opportunities.”
Left to right: Lucian Hudson, Dr Fiona Hill, Master Richard Burge, Professor Kieran Fernandes
Lady Mayor of the City of London with Dr Fiona Hill
Dr Fiona Hill
Left to right: Lucian Hudson, Professor Karen O'Brien, Dr Fiona Hill and Master Richard Burge
Guildhall: Audience at the Tacitus Lecture 2026
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