Ulrich Speck

Ulrich Speck is a nonresident senior fellow with the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. His research focuses on transatlantic relations, European security, German foreign policy, and the evolving global order. He also writes a column on geopolitics for the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ).

At Hudson, Mr. Speck’s work examines the renewal of the transatlantic alliance and its role in addressing today’s strategic challenges. He is a frequent commentator on European and international affairs and has published extensively in leading international media outlets. He also regularly participates in security conferences and policy forums across Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.

Mr. Speck has advised German political leaders on national security and foreign policy. He contributed to the German CDU/CSU’s 2025 report on Germany's security strategy, Security and Peace in Europe, commissioned by party leader Friedrich Merz.

He is the author and coeditor of several books on international affairs. His most recent book, The Will to World Power: How Russia and China Attack the Liberal Order (2025, in German), examines the growing strategic partnership between Russia and China and argues that a revitalized transatlantic alliance, working alongside allies in the Indo-Pacific, is essential to preserving the free and open international order. His earlier works explored the future of US foreign policy and debates surrounding Israel and antisemitism.

Mr. Speck has served as a member of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) Action Group on Germany's Zeitenwende and as a member of the Russia experts group at the Center for Liberal Modernity in Berlin. He has also held positions at leading think tanks in Berlin and Brussels, including fellowships at the American-German Institute and the Transatlantic Academy in Washington, DC.

From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Speck worked in the newsroom of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague. He previously worked as a journalist for several German newspapers.

Mr. Speck earned his PhD in modern history from the University of Frankfurt. In addition to his native German, he speaks and writes English and French.