現有的軟實力研究文獻大多聚焦於大國策略運用的探討，但從現實角度觀之，軟實力策略建構對於缺乏硬實力支持的中、小型國家而言可能扮演更加攸關國家生存與發展的角色。有鑒於台灣在發展對外關係時必須同時面對硬實力不足以及兩岸關係因素的雙重挑戰，國內早自1990年代中期就開始注意到軟實力策略運用的重要性。例如，李登輝總統在其執政期間便以台灣的經濟與民主化成就為基礎，積極爭取國際支持；而2000年台灣完成國際矚目的第一次政黨輪替後，陳水扁總統更是將宣揚台灣民主經驗以及人權發展視為重要的外交工作目標。隨著國內、外政治經濟局勢的變遷，馬英九總統以及蔡英文總統的軟實力建構策略皆在前人的基礎上進行了較大幅度的調整。本文希望能夠透過Joseph S. Nye的軟實力分析框架來針對馬、蔡兩位總統之軟實力論述與政策進行檢視，以了解其發展趨勢變化，並探討未來值得加強的方向。

Existing literature tends to focus on analyzing great powers’ soft power strategies and effects. However, the success or failure in soft power construction can have much greater impacts on middle and small powers’ survival and development. This is especially true for the case of Taiwan. Owing to the historic fact that Taiwan’s foreign-relations developments have faced grave challenges resulted from its lack of hard power and the complexity of cross-Strait relations, its government has been paying significant attention to the importance of soft power since the 1990s. Former president Lee Teng-hui, for instance, was very active in utilizing Taiwan’s thriving economy and ongoing democratization process to attract international support. As Taiwan’s first president after the peaceful power transition in history, Chen Shui-bianconsidered the international promotion of Taiwan’s democratic and human rights achievements a prioritized foreign policy objective. Nonetheless, recognizing the fast changes in the external and internal political-economic environments, Chen’s successors—Ma Ying-jeouand Tsai Ing-wen—made substantial adjustments in their soft power construction strategies on the basis of Lee’s and Chen’s works. This paper, attempts to apply Nye’s analytical framework for soft power to examine the discourses and policies of Taiwan’s soft power construction during the Ma and Tsai administrations. The primary goal is to understand the continuity and differences in both administrations’ soft power building efforts, while also try to discuss some possible directions for future policy improvements.