This thesis examines infrastructure engagement as a source of soft power in the context of U.S.-PRC competition in the Western Pacific. Focusing on Micronesian federated state of Yap it explores how local perceptions of U.S. and PRC infrastructure projects influence attraction to donor states and shape the political environment for their broader agendas. Mearsheimer’s theory of offensive structural realism frames the strategic importance of the Western Pacific, while Nye’s soft power theory shifts the analysis from donor country intent to recipient country perception. The thesis employs a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, combining surveys (N = 193), semi-structured interviews (N = 15), and ethnographic field notes collected from citizens and community leaders on Yap Proper and Woleai Atoll. The findings indicate that infrastructure engagement can generate soft power when it is perceived as credible, trustworthy, benign, competent, and legitimate; however, this conversion is conditional upon a “resource assessment filter” rather than automatic. In this conversion process, the U.S. retains a substantial advantage rooted in the Compact of Free Association, an international agreement governing the relationship between the U.S. and Micronesia, as well as historical familiarity and normalized American presence. The PRC gains short-term recognition through visible and responsive infrastructure projects, but the “resource assessment filter” limits the conversion of that recognition into durable attraction. This U.S. advantage diminishes among younger respondents, among whom the PRC gains most strongly in evaluations of donor credibility. The thesis concludes that infrastructure engagement is a competitive but context-dependent source of soft power.
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