From iron-clad security apparatuses to painstakingly engineered elections, regimes in the Middle East have successfully employed an array of tools to secure their own power and cripple political opposition. Social science research on the topic has grown in the recent decade, from single case studies, to theoretical explorations, to cross-national and cross-regional comparisons. The bulk of this important research examines the strategies used by incumbent elites to manage dissent by manipulating legal, bureaucratic and coercive institutions. Less work, however, exists on the semiotic dimension of power, in both its domestic and international manifestations. Drawing on primary field research conducted in two of the region's most robust authoritarian states - Syria and Tunisia - we propose an explanation rooted in the political economy of image-building. Specifically, we examine the methods employed by regimes to craft images of themselves for international and domestic audiences. Although Syria and Tunisia rank similarly on many quantitative indicators of political and civil rights, the Tunisian regime appears to be more successful in marketing its narrative of a liberalizing autocracy to international audiences. To shed light on this inconsistency, we employ a comparative case study technique that focuses on the following questions: What types of symbols and rhetoric do these regimes use to craft their imagesi How are these different for different audiencesi How are international advertising and public relations firms involved in constructing these image-campaignsp What is the relationship between image-building and foreign investments How are oppositional and alternative voices mirrored in regime-level PR portfoliosf Our answers to these questions will contribute to our understanding of the role played by semiotics in regime endurance. In addition to an examination of the secondary literature, we will draw upon primary source material collected during field research and information from public relations firms involved in shaping regime campaigns.