Brenda Shaffer

Professor Brenda Shaffer is an American-Israeli scholar who currently holds positions as visiting researcher and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, fellow with the Atlantic Council and professor at University of Haifa (on sabbatical). Shaffer was the former research director of the Caspian Studies Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and past president of the Foreign Policy Section of the American Political Science Association. She specializes on energy in international relations and energy policy in the Caspian region and has written or edited several books of these topics, including "Energy Politics" and "Beyond the Resource Curse." Shaffer has also written a number of books on the topic of identity and culture in the Caucasus including explorations of Azeri literature and culture. Her work is the subject of some controversy and she has worked as a consultant for the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan while simultaneously writing in a promotional capacity for the Azerbaijani government.

Biography

Brenda Shaffer was born in the United States. She received her Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University and is currently a visiting researcher and adjunct professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.[1] and a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.[2] She is on sabbatical from the University of Haifa, where she is a professor in the School of Political Science.[3]

Previously, Shaffer taught at the department of Asian Studies and at the Graduate School of Management, division of natural resources management, at the University of Haifa.[4] and was the research director of the Caspian Studies Project at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government,[5] where she had been a postdoctoral fellow at the International Security Program. Shaffer has also held positions as president of the Foreign Policy Section of the American Political Science Association, researcher and policy analyst for the Government of Israel and visiting professor with the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy,[6] and she provides energy industry research and consulting to businesses and governments.

Shaffer is the author or editor of a number of books and has given Congressional testimonies on several occasions in front of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs on issues related to U.S. policy in the Caspian region.[7] She frequently[8] provides commentary and analysis on energy issues and international policy in the Middle East and Caspian region, including recently for CNBC,[9] CNN,[10] Fox News,[11] The Financial Times,[12] Bloomberg News,[13] National Public Radio,[14] The Christian Science Monitor,[15] USA Today,[16] and numerous others.

Shaffer reads a number of languages, including English, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Russian, and Hebrew.

Short Bio

Publications

Books

Book chapters and other publications

Selected Articles, Papers, etc

Prof. Shaffer's articles have appeared in a number of newspapers and journals, including an article in "Current History" entitled “Is there a Muslim Foreign Policy?” and “Iran at the Nuclear Threshold” (Arms Control Today; November 2003). Her Opinion Editorials have been published in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune, and The Jerusalem Post.[5]

Reviews

On the book "Energy Politics", Michael L. Ross, a professor of political science at the University of California, Los-Angeles and one of the leading experts on oil in international relations wrote:

“ Brenda Shaffer has produced an essential guide to the energy politics of the 21st century. Her insights into the growing role of natural gas, and its implications for global security, are especially valuable.[18] ”

Scott Pegg, of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis added:

“ A consistent strength of Shaffer’s work is that it pays attention to both energy producers and consumers and the links between them. Given the comparative emphasis in much of the “resource curse” literature on oil producers, her focus on the growing importance of natural gas and the role of transit states is especially welcome[19] ”

On the book "Beyond the Resource Curse", Svante Cornell of Johns Hopkins University wrote:

“ Beyond the Resource Curse foursquarely addresses the question of what resources can do - or not do - for a country. The novelty of the data - the contributors treat a broad array of cases that are seldom thought about - along with the freshness of the analysis and the eclectic mix of topics and countries discussed, makes this a truly refreshing volume.[20] ”

In a review to CHOICE Magazine, B. J. Peterson wrote:

“ Shaffer and Ziyadov have put together a broad scope of understanding of the difficulty in identifying the impact of natural resource accumulation on economic performance and governance. Of particular note are the chapters describing the natural resource curse; a perspective on Norway, and the attempt to empirically estimate the causal relationship between the resource curse, domestic instability and international conflict. A useful supplemental text for graduate courses on energy or environmental economics and an appropriate addition to collections supporting energy economists.[21] ”

On the book "Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity", Camron Michael Amin, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn wrote:

“ Shaffer has captured the complicated cultural trends in modern Azerbaijani society on both sides of the Araz and offered an excellent framework in which to interpret those trends. And, as is the case with all the best pioneering efforts, she has also created a promising point of departure for further inquiry...[22] ”

Hamlet Isakhanli, President and Founder of Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan, added to "Borders and Brethren":

“ A very comprehensive and interesting intellectual endeavor that will interest specialists on identity, the Middle East, and post-Soviet studies, as well as the citizens of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan[23] ”

Criticisms

Shaffer's book, "Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity" was controversial among scholars and historians of Iranian studies.

Touraj Atabaki, a Professor of Social History at the University of Amsterdam and a Senior Research Fellow at the International Institute of Social History, critically challenged Shaffer in his review of her book concluding that:

“ Borders and Brethren is an excellent example of how a political agenda can dehistoricize and decontextualize history".[24] ”

Evan Siegel in his review of Shaffer's book, states:[25]

“ Brethren and Borders is a highly political book on an emotional subject which needs careful, dispassionate analysis. ”

Shaffer's article "U.S. Policy toward the Caspian Region: Recommendations for the Bush Administration" has also created controversy with regards to the objectivity of Harvard's Caspian Studies Program. Ken Silverstein, of Harper's Magazine, in an article titled "Academics for Hire", comments:

“ Harvard's Caspian Studies Program receives a lot of money from both the oil companies and from some of the governments... As I had previously reported, the Caspian Studies Program (CSP) was launched in 1999 with a $1 million grant from the United States‒Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) and a consortium of companies led by ExxonMobil and Chevron Corporation. The program's other funders include Amerada Hess Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Unocal, and Glencore International...[26] ”

The American historian Ralph E. Luker echoes Silversteins article, saying:

“ Silverstein's second article also implicates Harvard historian Brenda Shaffer, who is research director of the University's Caspian Studies Program, in similar apologias. These programs appear to be largely funded by regional regimes, American oil and industrial investors in the region, and right-wing foundations in the United States.[27] ”

In an article by Altay Goyushov in Foreign Policy, Brenda is named as an adviser for SOCAR and it is mentioned that she was promoting Azerbaijani policy in media without disclosing this fact.[28]

Shaffer has also drawn criticism for writing on geostrategic issues regarding Azerbaijan under her academic affiliations, while working as a consultant to the President of SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan.[29] On September 17, 2014, the New York Times published an editor's note to highlight that Shaffer did not disclose her affiliation to SOCAR when publishing an Op-Ed in its pages about the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.[30] This has drawn critique in other notable news outlets.[31]

References

  1. ↑ http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/bss51/
  2. ↑ http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/about/experts/list/brenda-shaffer
  3. ↑ http://lecturer.haifa.ac.il/showen/1232
  4. ↑ University of Haifa. School of Political Sciences - Faculty: Dr. Brenda Shaffer
  5. 1 2 http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/experts/283/brenda_shaffer.html
  6. ↑ http://biweekly.ada.edu.az/facultyresearch/faculty/brenda_shaffer
  7. ↑ http://archives.republicans.foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearings/view/?1481
  8. ↑ http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/bss51/?action=viewnews&PageTemplateID=360
  9. ↑ http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000497746&play=1
  10. ↑ http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/16/investing/iran-sanctions-lift-oil/
  11. ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/10/13/two-real-wars-being-waged-right-now-in-middle-east.html
  12. ↑ https://subscribe.ft.com/barrier/logic?location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F9c8cfb2e-e1f3-11e4-bb7f-00144feab7de.html%3Fsiteedition%3Duk&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fexplore.georgetown.edu%2Fpeople%2Fbss51%2F%3Faction%3Dviewnews%26PageTemplateID%3D360&classification=conditional_standard#axzz3XD44RqZw
  13. ↑ https://podfanatic.com/podcast/bloomberg-all-podcasts/episode/bloomberg-advantage-shaffer-on-russian-war-on-terror
  14. ↑ http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/12/03/458353036/as-saudi-arabia-battles-its-oil-rivals-prices-are-expected-to-stay-low
  15. ↑ http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy/2016/0202/Can-energy-unite-a-divided-Europe
  16. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/04/08/shell-bg-group/25449525/
  17. ↑ http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa75632.000/hfa75632_0f.htm
  18. ↑ http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/14628.html
  19. ↑ Scott Pegg. "Review of Brenda Shaffer, Energy Politics", Perspectives on Politics, March 2011, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 129-132
  20. ↑ http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/14997.html
  21. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812244001/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d2_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1X5NMED2REFMEW2SNJXQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
  22. ↑ Camron Michael Amin. "Review of Brenda Shaffer, Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity," H-Gender-MidEast, H-Net Reviews, August, 2003.
  23. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-07-21. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  24. ↑ Touraj Atabaki, Review of "Brenda Shaffer, Borders and Brethren, Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijan Identity", In Slavic Review, 63:1 (2004). Also here:
  25. ↑ Evan Siegal, Reviews:, Iranian Studies, Volume 37, Issue 1 March 2004 , pages 140 – 143. Published by Routeledge Taylor Francis Group. Also here
  26. ↑ Academics for Hire - Tuesday, May 30, 2006
  27. ↑ History News Network
  28. ↑ http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/06/the-two-faces-of-azerbaijans-government/?utm_content=buffere2218&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
  29. ↑ Energy Charter Secretariat (20 March 2013). "WORKSHOP ON CONTRACTUAL ISSUES RELATED TO ENERGY TRADE" (PDF). Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  30. ↑ Editors’ Note (September 17, 2014). "Disclosure Update". New York Times. Retrieved 17 September 2014.

External links

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