David Speedie is the founder and former director of the Council's program on U.S. Global Engagement. He is a founding member of The American Committee for East-West Accord.
In 2007–2008, Speedie was also a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Speedie worked at Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1992 to 2007. He joined the Corporation as a program officer in the cooperative security program and was appointed program chair in March 1993, a position he held for almost 12 years. In 2004, he was appointed to serve as special advisor to the president and director of the Corporation's project on Islam.
He was recruited from the W. Alton Jones Foundation where he was codirector of the secure society program and directed, over a five year period, programs in the arts, urban affairs, and the environment. In the 1980s, Speedie was a consultant to nonprofits in management, marketing, and fund-raising as well as director of cultural affairs for Mayor Bill Green in Philadelphia. He also served as the bicentennial liaison officer at the British Embassy in Washington.
For three years, Speedie was a professor of English and drama at the University of St Andrews in his native Scotland. Speedie holds an Honours M.A. [First Class] in Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Studies and an M.Litt. from the University of St Andrews. He was a visiting research fellow as a Kennedy scholar at Harvard University from 1971–1973. He has been a book editor and writer for the National Endowment for the Arts' Community Vision, a freelance journalist on politics for The Scotsman, and most recently, a reviewer for the International Journal of Middle East Studies. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Featured Work
JUL 21, 2014 • Podcast
Iran Nuclear Threat: Fact or Fiction?
Senior Fellow David Speedie interviews Dr. Gareth Porter, scholar, journalist, and skeptic concerning U.S. claims of an Iranian nuclear weapons program.
JUN 6, 2014 • Article
The European Parliament Elections and Rise of the Far Right: Three Reasons for Reassurance, Three for Concern
The European Parliament election results are in, and the ominous has become the grim reality. Fueled by high unemployment across the continent and anti-immigrant anger, ...
MAY 30, 2014 • Podcast
Ukraine Update: The Presidential Elections and Beyond
David Speedie discusses the election of new Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko with University of Rhode Island's Nicolai Petro and University of Kent's Richard Sakwa, both ...
MAY 13, 2014 • Podcast
The Rise of the New Far Right in Europe and Implications for European Parliament Elections
This panel gives an excellent overview of the complexities of the rise of right-wing populism across Europe, focusing in particular on France, the UK, and ...
MAY 9, 2014 • Podcast
Ukraine Update: Report from Odessa
With the deadly conflict in Ukraine spreading to this hitherto calm southern city, David Speedie speaks again with Dr. Nicolai Petro, professor of international relations ...
APR 24, 2014 • Podcast
Ukraine and U.S.-Russian Relations
With balance and objectivity, seasoned Russian policy expert Tom Graham tackles the thorny question of Ukraine and the wider scope of U.S.-Russia relations ...
APR 23, 2014 • Podcast
Report from Ukraine: The Crisis Moves East
David Speedie discusses with Dr. Nicolai Petro, currently a Fulbright Fellow in Odessa, the recent outbreaks of violence in pro-Russia majority regions of Eastern Ukraine, ...
APR 16, 2014 • Podcast
Iran and Nuclear Proliferation: Update with Joseph Cirincione
Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, discusses the status and prospects for the ongoing P5+1 talks in Vienna on Iran's nuclear program, and the ...
APR 11, 2014 • Podcast
An Update from Ukraine
From Odessa, political scientist Dr. Nicolai Petro discusses the unrest in the eastern Donbas region and possibilities for a diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine crisis.
APR 4, 2014 • Podcast
Iran's Nuclear Program: Status and Prospects for the P5+1 Negotiations
Discussions among the Iran and the P5 countries and Germany on the Iranian nuclear energy program are ongoing in Vienna. William O. Beeman, professor and ...