Christoph Zürcher

Senior Research Fellow

Christoph Zürcher is a 3ie senior research fellow and a professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. Christoph has also worked with the University of Konstanz, Germany, the Institut d’études politiques d’Aix-en-Provence, and Freie Universität Berlin.

His research and teaching interests include conflict research, methods of conflict research, state-building and intervention, and international development. His regional focus is on the former Soviet Union especially on Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia including Afghanistan.

He has been a consultant and advisor for, among others, Global Affairs Canada, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the German Federal Ministry of Defence, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the GIZ and the World Bank, mainly in the field of international development and impact evaluations. He is especially interested in the intended and unintended impacts of development aid on violence and stability. In the context of Afghanistan, Christoph has worked on strategic portfolio reviews, summative evaluations, impact evaluations, the development of an Aids Management System, survey instruments and the use of geo-coded micro-level data for impact evaluations.

He received his PhD from the University of Bern, Switzerland.


The Research Fellows Program brings together experts from diverse backgrounds to provide intellectual leadership and technical support to strategic areas for 3ie. Our fellows work with our global team and are uniquely positioned to lead or support new and ongoing initiatives and programs in their areas of expertise.