Brenda Şaffer 1950-ci ildə Amerika Birləşmiş Ştatlarında anadan olmuşdur. Doktorluq dissertasiyasını Təl-əviv universitetində müdafiə etmiş, bir neçə il həmin universitetdə tədqiqatçı və İsrail dövləti üçün siyasi təhlilçi olaraq çalışmışdır.

Harvard universiteti nəzdindəki Kennedi hökumət məktəbində Xəzər təhsil proqramının araşdırma sədri kimi fəaliyyət göstərib. Hal hazırda siyasi elmlər sahəsi üzrə Haifa universitetində və Azərbaycan Diplomatik Akademiyasında çalışır. Professor Şaffer "Enerji Siyasəti" kitabının müəllifi və beynəlxalq münasibətlərdə enerji və Qafqaz regionunda enerji təhlükəsizliyi üzrə ekspertdir. Dr.Şaffer həmçinin Qafqazda kimlik və mədəniyyət mövzusu üzrə kitab müəllifidir. Hazırda ABŞ-nin Vaçiqton şəhərindəki Corctaun Universitetinin professorudur.

İngilis, türk, rus, Azərbaycan və ivrit dillərini bilir.

• Co-editor of "Beyond the Resource Curse" (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012).
• Author of "Energy Politics" (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009).
• Editor of "The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy" (MIT Press, 2006).
• Author of "Partners in Need: The Strategic Relationship of Russia and Iran" (the Washington Institute for Near East Policy).
• Author of "Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity" (MIT Press, 2002). The book was also published in Turkish (Bilgi University Press, Istanbul, 2008) and in Persian (Ulus Press, Tehran, 2008).

• "Energy Resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Prospects for energy markets and regional developments" in Michael Leigh (ed.), Eastern Mediterranean Energy: Fuel for conflict or cooperation? (D.C.: German Marshall Fund, 2012).
• "US Policy and the Strategic Caucasus" in Frances Burwell and Svante E. Cornell, eds., The Transatlantic Partnership and Relations with Russia (Washington: Atlantic Council of the United States and Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2012).
• "Ethnic Politics in Iran," in Reuven Pedatzur (editor), Iran and Regional Hegemony (S. Daniel Abraham Strategic Dialogue Center in association with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2010).
• "The Islamic Republic of Iran: Is It Really?" in Brenda Shaffer (ed.), The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy (Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press, 2006).
• "Iran’s Internal Azerbaijani Challenge: Implications for Policy in the Caucasus," in Moshe Gammer (ed.), The Caucasus (London: Frank Cass, 2004).
• "U.S. Policy in the South Caucasus," in Dov Lynch (ed.) The South Caucasus: a challenge for the EU (Chaillot Paper 65, EU ISS, December 2003).
• "Azerbaijan" in Waisman and Vasserman (ed.), Political Organizations in Central Asia and Azerbaijan: Sources and Documents (London: Frank Cass, 2003).
• "Azerbaycan Cumhuryetinin Kurulusu: Iran’daki Azeriler Uzerinde Etkisi", in Emine Gursoy-Naskali and Erdal Sahin (eds.) Turk Cumhuriyetleri (Amsterdam/Istanbul, SOTA Publications, 2002) (in Turkish).
• "Statement on The Caucasus and Caspian Region: Understanding U.S. Interests and Policy", Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventh Congress, First Session, October 10, 2001, Serial No. 107–51.
• "U.S. Russian Relations: Implications for the Caspian Region", Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, June 2001.
• "Postscript" in David Menashri (ed.), Central Asia Meets the Middle East (London: Frank Cass, 1998).

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.

• "Israel: New Natural Gas Producer in the Mediterranean", Energy Policy 38, pp. 5379–5387 (2011)
• "The Foreign Policies of Landlocked States," Post-Soviet Affairs Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 1–37 (July 2011) (Co-Authored with Dr. )
• "Caspian Energy Phase II: Beyond 2005", Energy Policy 38, pp. 7209–7215 (2010)
• "Turkey's Energy Policies in a Tight Global Energy Market", Insight Turkey, issue 2, volume 8 (April–June 2006)
• "From Pipedream to Pipeline: Lessons from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Project", Current History, issue 684, volume 104, pp. 343–347 (October 2005)
• "The Formation of Azerbaijani Collective Identity in Iran", Nationalities Papers, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 449–477 (September 2000)
• "Foreign Policies of the States of the Caucasus: Evolution in the Post-Soviet Period", Uluslararasi Iliskiler International Relations (Ankara) Vol. 7, No. 26, pp. 51–65. Turkish and English. (Summer 2010)

• (ingilis). . 2013-09-29 tarixində arxivləşdirilib. İstifadə tarixi: 2015-10-19..