Dr. Ulrike Franke is a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and part of ECFR’s New European Security Initiative. Her areas of focus include German and European security and defence, the future of warfare, and the impact of new technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence.

Franke has published widely on these and other topics, among others in Die Zeit, FAZ, RUSI Whitehall Papers, Comparative Strategy, War on the Rocks, Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik, and regularly appears as commentator in the media. She co-hosts the Sicherheitshalber Podcast, a German-language podcast on security and defence.

Franke holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Oxford - her PhD thesis concerned the military implications of drones. She also holds a BA from Sciences Po Paris and a double summa cum laude MA degree from Sciences Po Paris (Affaires internationales/Sécurité internationale) and the University of St. Gallen (International Affairs and Governance).

Before joining ECFR, Franke was Managing Editor of the St. Antony’s International Review (STAIR), Oxford's journal of international affairs. She was also part of UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism Ben Emmerson's research team, examining drone use in counterterrorism contexts. Prior to this she worked as a part-time research assistant at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) in London.

Publications

Franke, Ulrike E., “Military Robots and Drones”, Routledge Handbook of Defence Studies, 2018

Franke, Ulrike E., “Germany charts its place in the world, but struggles to adapt to changing realities”, War on the Rocks, February 2018

Franke, Ulrike E., “Flying IEDs: The next big threat?”, War on the Rocks, October 2016

Franke, Ulrike E., “Proliferated Drones. A Perspective on Germany”, Center for a New American Security, 2016

Franke, Ulrike E., Mark Leonard, “A Global survey of economic coercion”, in: The Age of Economic Coercion, World Economic Forum, White Paper, 2016 

Franke, Ulrike E., “Automatisierte und autonome Systeme in der Militär- und Waffentechnik“, Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte (APuZ), 35-36/2016

Franke, Ulrike E., “Civilian Drones: Fixing an Image Problem?” CSS Zürich, January 2015

Franke, Ulrike E., “The global diffusion of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or ‘drones‘“, in: Aaronson et al (ed.) Precision-Strike Capabilities and International Intervention, Routledge, 2014

Franke, Ulrike E. and Alexander Leveringhaus, “Militärische Robotik“, in: Jäger (Hrs.) Handbuch Sicherheitsgefahren, Springer: 2014

Franke, Ulrike E., “Drone Proliferation: A Cause for Concern?”, International Relation and Security Network(ISN), ETH Zurich, 13 November 2014 

Franke, Ulrike E., “Armed Drones? Jein! Germany’s Qualified Decision for Armed UAVs”, ISN, 8 August 2014 

Franke, Ulrike E., “The Flawed German Debate on Armed Drone Acquisition: “What Does This Have to Do with Our Procurement Plans, for God’s Sake?”, ISN, 20 June 2014 

Franke, Ulrike E., “U.S. Drones are from Mars, Euro Drones are from Venus”, War on the Rocks, 19 May 2014 

Franke, Ulrike E., “Drones, Drone Strikes, and US-policy. The politics of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,” US War College Quarterly, Parameters, 44.1, Spring 2014 

Franke, Ulrike E., Which Drone Suits Me Best? Germany’s Difficult Decision to Procure an Armed ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’“, Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik, 6.4, Oct. 2013

Franke, Ulrike E., “Verbreitung von unbemannten Flugzeuge für den militärischen Gebrauch“, Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte (APuZ), 37/2013

Franke, Ulrike E., “Drone Wars”, Commentary and Reply, US War College Quarterly, Parameters, 43.2 

Franke, Ulrike E. “A tale of stumbling blocks and road bumps –Germany’s (non-) Revolution in Military Affairs,“ Comparative Strategy, 31.4

Franke, Ulrike E., “The Five Most Common Media Misrepresentations of UAVs”, in: Michael Aaronson and Adrian Johnson (ed.) Whitehall Report 2-13, RUSI, March 2013

Franke, Ulrike E. “Politik studieren und Plakate kleben”, Internationale Politik, Januar/Februar 2013