Brenda Shaffer

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Brenda Shaffer is an American energy and foreign-policy specialist whose work focuses on energy politics and international relations, particularly in the Caspian region and the South Caucasus. [1] She is a faculty member at the Naval Postgraduate School and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center. [2] [3] She has also taught in Israel at the University of Haifa. [4] [5]

Contents

Shaffer has been the subject of coverage and criticism concerning disclosure and alleged conflicts of interest involving Azerbaijan and its state oil company SOCAR. In 2014, The New York Times added an editor's note to an op-ed by Shaffer stating that the piece did not disclose she had been an adviser to Azerbaijan's state-run oil company and that the newspaper's contributor contract required disclosure of actual or potential conflicts of interest. [4] In 2014, The Washington Post also appended a correction to an opinion piece by Shaffer stating that she had consulted for SOCAR and other governments and companies and that she “occasionally writes columns” for SOCAR's in-house publication. [6]

Early life and education

Shaffer attended Burlingame High School in California. [4]

Career

Academic and policy roles

U.S. congressional hearing testimony in 2012 described Shaffer as a specialist on the Caucasus, ethnic politics in Iran, and Caspian energy, and identified her as a senior lecturer at the University of Haifa who previously served as research director of Harvard University's Caspian Studies Program and as a visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies (CEREES). [5]

A 2000 Harvard Gazette profile of the Caspian Studies Program described Shaffer as the program's director and stated that the program was funded by several multinational oil companies and focused on the Caspian region and energy issues. [7]

Shaffer has been quoted by international media as an energy analyst. In 2015, Reuters described her as an energy specialist at the University of Haifa in coverage of Egypt's Zohr gas-field development. [1] In 2024, Reuters quoted her as “an energy expert at the US Naval Postgraduate School” in coverage of Turkish gas-import strategy. [8]

A Belfer Center (Harvard Kennedy School) event summary from 2000 described Shaffer as a former research director of the Caspian Studies Program and stated that she had worked for the Government of Israel, in the context of a program on Israel–Azerbaijan relations and the geopolitics of Caspian energy routes. [9]

The New York Times editor’s note (2014)

In September 2014, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty described Shaffer as a political-science professor at the University of Haifa and a visiting researcher at Georgetown University's CEREES, and stated that her New York Times op-ed tagline did not disclose her reported adviser role with SOCAR. [4] RFE/RL stated that, after the newspaper was shown a photograph of a SOCAR business card identifying her as an adviser, The New York Times added an editor's note on 17 September 2014 stating that the op-ed did not disclose that she had been an adviser to Azerbaijan's state-run oil company and that her contributor contract required disclosure of actual or potential conflicts of interest. [4]

RFE/RL wrote that Shaffer did not respond to requests for comment, and also quoted a SOCAR spokesman saying he had not heard that she had worked for the company. [4]

The Washington Post correction (2014)

In June 2014, The Washington Post appended a correction to an opinion piece by Shaffer stating that she had consulted for SOCAR and other governments and companies and that she “occasionally writes columns” for SOCAR's in-house publication. [6]

Columbia University event (2014)

In October 2014, RFE/RL described a public exchange at an event at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy in which journalist Casey Michel questioned Shaffer about disclosure of reported ties to SOCAR. RFE/RL quoted Shaffer as saying she had a “right to privacy” and as criticizing the line of questioning; RFE/RL also stated that she challenged Michel with personal remarks during the exchange. [10]

Investigative reporting and third-party lobbying allegations

In 2015, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published an article that described Shaffer as a “stealth lobbyist” and argued that her public prominence illustrated vulnerabilities in U.S. foreign-policy discourse to foreign influence operations; the article alleged that Azerbaijan-linked support and lobbying networks helped advance her profile and that her work advanced Azerbaijani government agendas. [11]

A 2019 chapter by Till Bruckner in the edited volume Lobbying in the European Union: Strategies, Dynamics and Trends discussed Shaffer as an example in a broader analysis of third-party lobbying and disputed disclosure involving policy institutions and think tanks, including references to work connected to SOCAR and to reputational risks for institutions when disclosure practices are disputed. [12]

Reception

Academic reception

Shaffer's book Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity was reviewed by historian Touraj Atabaki in Slavic Review, who argued that it reflected a political agenda and criticized it for dehistoricizing and decontextualizing history. [13]

Media criticism

In a follow-up item titled “Academics for Hire,” journalist Ken Silverstein criticized funding relationships surrounding Harvard's Caspian Studies Program and argued that external funders could shape policy-facing scholarship in the Caspian-region space. [14]

In 2021, Shaffer published an opinion essay in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists arguing that Armenia should close its nuclear power plant. In commentary on the episode, Eurasianet discussed the essay in the context of broader debates over influence and advocacy in South Caucasus policy discourse. [15] [16]

Selected writings

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Egypt signs deal with Italy's Eni to develop Zohr gas field". Reuters. September 2, 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  2. ↑ "Prof. Brenda Shaffer". Naval Postgraduate School. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "Brenda Shaffer". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Coalson, Robert (18 September 2014). "Azerbaijan's Opinion-Shaping Campaign Reaches 'The New York Times'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 "The Security, Economic and Human Rights Dimensions of U.S.-Azerbaijan Relations (hearing, 2012)" (PDF). govinfo.gov. U.S. Government Publishing Office. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Azerbaijan is a key US ally". The Washington Post. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Enserink, Martin (10 February 2000). "New center will explore Caspian Sea region". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  8. ↑ Hernandez, America (18 September 2024). "Turkey ups export capability, supply diversity with 10-year TotalEnergies LNG deal". Reuters. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "Israel and Azerbaijan: An Outpost of the West?". Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  10. ↑ Schreck, Carl (24 October 2014). "Sparks Fly Over Scholar's Azerbaijani Ties At Columbia University Event". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  11. ↑ Bruckner, Till (22 June 2015). "How to Build Yourself a Stealth Lobbyist, Azerbaijani style". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  12. ↑ Bruckner, Till (2019). "Navigating the Grey Zones of Third-Party Lobbying via Nonprofits: Transparity's Experiences with Think Tanks and Fake News". In Dialer, Doris; Richter, Margarethe (eds.). Lobbying in the European Union: Strategies, Dynamics and Trends. Springer. p. 331. ISBN   978-3319988009.
  13. ↑ Atabaki, Touraj (2004). "Review of Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity, by Brenda Shaffer". Slavic Review. 63 (1).
  14. ↑ "Academics for Hire - Tuesday, May 30, 2006". Harper's. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  15. ↑ Shaffer, Brenda (5 March 2021). "Armenia's nuclear power plant is dangerous. Time to close it". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "Pro-Azerbaijan American urges Armenia to close nuclear plant". Eurasianet. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  17. ↑ "Energy Politics". University of Pennsylvania Press. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  18. ↑ "Borders and Brethren". MIT Press. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  19. ↑ "Beyond the Resource Curse". University of Pennsylvania Press. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy". MIT Press. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "Partners in Need: The Strategic Relationship of Russia and Iran". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
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