Column | Compass

Citizens of the imaginary nation have strong U.S. ties, but insurgents want to rid it of American influence.

Various representations of the Republic of Z, a fictional country used by the State Department in consular training. At center: the nation’s seal, featuring a mythical Zian creature. From top right, going clockwise: The national vegetable, the zavacado; a cute but dangerous animal called the Giant Zian Zaley; the national shame, a raccoon that raids offices; and the national action hero, Zardoz. | Illustration by Bill Kuchman/POLITICO (source images via State Department)

By Nahal Toosi

11/03/2024 10:00 AM EST

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Nahal Toosi is POLITICO’s senior foreign affairs correspondent. She has reported on war, genocide and political chaos in a career that has taken her around the world. Her reported column, Compass, delves into the decision-making of the global national security and foreign policy establishment — and the fallout that comes from it.

In late March 1977, a group of drunk college graduates accidentally overthrew their homeland’s colonial masters.

The youth were returning to their island country via ship. They had a bit too much of a special purple drink, then swam onto shore holding their clothes above the water and yelling “deliveracion!” They apparently meant “delivery” — of what is unclear. But the Coast Guard thought they were part of an invading army yelling “liberación!” — liberation! — and quickly surrendered. By the time the drunkards had dressed themselves, the Republic of Z was born.

Z is a fictional nation the State Department created in the 1970s and still uses in training scenarios for U.S. diplomats learning about consular duty. It is a mash-up of countries such diplomats may encounter, with both serious and cartoonish elements. For one thing, Washington is worried about Z’s trajectory because of the terrorist influence from the neighboring Republic of X. At the same time, Z’s independence day is April 1 and its “national shame” is a raccoon that raids offices.

The State Department has only ever offered the public minor glimpses of Z. I heard about it a few years ago in a private conversation with a State Department official familiar with consular training. When I asked others, they remembered it as a quirky part of their State Department initiation. I’d wondered since how the fictional country worked and what it said about how Washington sees the world. As the U.S. election drew closer, I found myself thinking even more about the Republic of Z.

Was Z the type of place the next president — be it Kamala Harris or Donald Trump — would ever visit? Would it earn a mention in the pages of the next administration’s National Security Strategy? Would the U.S. seek Z’s support at the United Nations?

For answers, I needed to know more about Z. So I turned to the State Department, which promptly blew me off. Luckily, other sources came through. I obtained a State Department briefing book with an........

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