Prof. em. Dr. Jürg M. Gabriel

Jürg Martin Gabriel was a full professor of political science (International Relations) at ETH Zurich from 1995 until his retirement in 2005. He was a founding member of the Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS).

Jürg Gabriel was born in 1940 and studied political science at the American University in Washington, D.C. He received his doctorate in 1971 with a dissertation on Clausewitz and his relevance for the nuclear age. Subsequently, he was assistant professor at the University of Yaoundé (Institut des Relations Internationales du Cameroun) for three years.

Upon his return to Switzerland, he held various part-time posts and later became a permanent lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, where he also wrote his professorial habilitation. In 1991-92 he spent two terms as a visiting professor at Stanford University (Palo Alto, California) and in 1992 became full professor at the University of St. Gallen.
Three years later, Jürg Martin Gabriel transferred to ETH Zurich, where he headed the Research Center on International Relations and laid the groundwork for a B.A. program in public affairs for professional officers of the Swiss Army. In March 2003, Jürg Gabriel was granted a three-year leave of absence to become Director of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies (MEDAC) at the University of Malta, an institution founded and supported by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He returned to Switzerland in the fall of 2005 and is now the Swiss member of MEDAC's Board of Administrators.

personal webpage

Additional Activities

• 1982-1993 Board Member, Swiss Political Science Association


• 1993-1996 President, Swiss Political Science Association


• 1995-2000 Member, Swiss National Science Foundation, NFP 42 (Swiss foreign policy)


• 1996-1999 Chairman, Department IXA (Military Sciences) ETH Zurich


• 1998-2003 Member, COST Technical Committee, Social Science (Bruxelles)


• 1999-2003 Head, Professional Officers' Training Program, ETH Zurich


• 1999-2000 President, NFP 42 (Swiss foreign Policy)


• 2000-2003 Member, Curriculum commission ETH Zurich


• 2001-2003 ETHZ Representative, Commission for Federal Scholarships (ESKAS)


• 2011-        Autor www.blue-borders.ch