Data4Defense
Faculty Research Director
Project Team Leads
Eoin Power
If you know what to look for, you can head over to Google Maps, zoom in on the Saudi coastline about sixty miles from the Yemeni border, and find the remains of a shrimp farm. But what you would not guess from glancing at the satellite imagery is that its construction was partially funded by Raytheon, a company more widely known for manufacturing Patriot missile systems than prawns. Welcome to the weird world of defense offsets. Under the terms of these arrangements, aerospace and defense suppliers are required to offset some percentage of the value of their contracts with activities and investments that will benefit the acquiring country’s domestic economy. Estimates suggest the global value of these agreements will approach $400B by 2026, and more than 60 countries engage in some kind of offset policy, but publicly available data on these opaque and complex transactions is generally rare and low quality. With IPD’s new project, Data for Defense Offsets, we aim to answer questions like: How, why, and when do states use offsets? Why and when do states change their offset strategies? In the 2022-23 academic year, we began constructing the first public dataset on offset policies, with an initial focus on roughly 30 European countries. Using a wide range of secondary sources (government reports, news articles, think tank reports, and academic scholarship on defense-industrial policy), we have coded in a quantitative record of offset policy changes from 1990 to 2020, for roughly 30% of all country-years. This work will continue in AY2023-24.
Project Team Lead
Eoin Power
IPD Project Team Leader
Eoin Power is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Government and currently serves as team lead for Banking Bad, Boating Bad, and Data4Defense. His research interests include defense-industrial policy, maritime security, and international financial regulation. Before coming to Texas, he worked as a strategy consultant in the United States, Canada, the UK, Greece, and Serbia, serving public and private-sector clients in aerospace and defense, energy, transportation, and other industrial sectors. Eoin will be working remotely as he conducts fieldwork in Romania on a Fulbright Exchange Program. Eoin earned his BA, Political Science & Philosophy, Middlebury College; MA, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Team Members
Ben Breed
Research Assistant
Ben Breed is currently pursuing a Master’s in Professional Accounting and a Bachelor’s in both Accounting and Government at the University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, Ben is completing a minor in Management of Information Systems and the Elements of Computing certificate. His academic journey reflects his commitment to excellence and a desire for a well-rounded education. He is not only studying to excel in the accounting field but also to understand the broader intersections of finance, governance, and technology. Beyond academics, Ben is actively seeking opportunities for self-improvement through workshops, extracurricular activities, and real-world applications of his studies. His goal is to become a versatile professional ready to make a meaningful impact in today’s complex world
Ryan Stanley
Research Assistant
Ryan Stanley is a fourth-year student at the University of Texas. He is pursuing a BA in government with a minor in History and a certificate in Security Studies. He joined IPD this semester as a research assistant for the Data4Defense team. Outside of this project, his research and professional interests revolve around U.S. national security policy and intelligence. He plans on working in geopolitical risk management after graduation with aspirations of becoming a U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer.
Kishlaya Rastogi
Research Assistant
Kishlaya Rastogi is a sophomore from Sugar Land, TX majoring in Government with minors in Business and Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. His academic interests are mainly concentrated in international policy concerning East and South Asia. He has been a part of Data4Defense for a year and is excited to continue working on the project! After graduation, Kishlaya hopes to attend graduate school for global policy and pursue a career writing for a think tank.
Paras Patel
Research Assistant
Paras is a third-year pre-law student pursuing a double major in Economics and Government, with a Bridging Disciplines Program (BDP) certificate in Public Policy. His primary interests are international trade and investment policies, Western Saharan security studies, and foreign relations. During the upcoming Spring 2024 semester, he will be studying in Washington, D.C. as part of the LBJ Washington Center’s inaugural Foreign Policy Semester. In D.C., Paras hopes to build new connections and study with other students passionate about international affairs. After graduating from UT, Paras hopes to attend law school or work in foreign service. In his free time, he enjoys reading stoic philosophy, playing Pickle ball with friends, watching Netflix, and going to comedy shows across Austin.
Sam Kim
Research Assistant
Sam Kim is a third-year student at the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently pursuing a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Philosophy of Law. He joined the Data4Defense team at IPD this semester, and is excited to see where the project goes. After graduation, he plans on attending law school and hopes to work as an attorney specializing in patent law. Outside of school, he enjoys spending his free time cooking and checking out coffee shops around Austin.