This paper focuses on geopolitical representations of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as held by Turkey and the EU. The focus is twofold: on the one hand, exploring how Turkey and the EU locate themselves discursively within the region; on the other, mapping and interpreting the two actors’ discursive representations of the MENA region. The paper explores ways in which geopolitical and security concerns feed into prevailing public diplomacy narratives. The contribution will revolves around patterns of inclusion/exclusion, centrality/marginalization of the self-perceived role of the actor in the region. After having explored the evolution of the Turkish and EU foreign policy discourse towards the region, the paper analyzes their discursive approaches to turmoil in the region and offers an analysis on ways in which the two actors deployed their soft power, military and economic leverages to tackle with instability in the region.
