User blog comment:ShawnCognitionCP/The Empire vs Stormcloaks, the most likely answer/@comment-24728100-20140613040954/@comment-17114085-20140615151352

Canuck has a good point. Ulfric had been studying since his childhood to become a Greybeard but when the Great War started he left to fight against the Dominion. He only became Jarl because the people of Windhelm put him on the Throne. If anything I say Ulfric was the first case of a democratic leader in Tamriel's history, he was "elected" as Jarl by his people. Everything he does is for the good of Skyrim. The reason he wants to be High King is because he believes that Skyrim needs a strong rulers, one that can give Skyrim its freedom.