The World in 2026: A Chatham House video podcast special 

Editors of The World Today, the international affairs magazine of Chatham House, discuss with experts from across the institute the global trends, looming flashpoints and potential areas for dialogue that may lie ahead in 2026.

Video Audio

Published 19 December 2025

Updated 7 January 2026 — 33 minute watch

Video

With Chatham House’s foreign policy podcast ‘Independent Thinking’ on a seasonal break, Mike Higgins, editor of The World Today, parachutes down the chimney to host a special seasonal video podcast looking ahead to what we can expect in 2026.  

Mike is joined in London by his Chatham House colleagues Tighisti Amare, director of the Africa Programme; Creon Butler, director of the Global Economy and Finance Programme; Dr Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme; and Orysia Lutsevych, head of the Ukraine Forum – to talk about global security, tariffs, economics, new technologies and regional developments. 

The magazine’s assistant editor Iona Allan speaks to Laurel Rapp, director of the US and North America Programme, about what she expects to see from President Donald Trump’s administration in the year ahead. 

Read the entire ‘World in 2026’ article in the winter issue of The World Today

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Production team: Chris Holmes, Robin Gardner, Matthew Docherty and Stephen Farrell. Edited by Chris Holmes and Stephen Farrell.