Officially Nameless Country/Leadership/Ideology

[Beatriz]

Is it possible for a country to not have an official name? In Look to the West, the “Global Societist Combine” is the exonym of what calls itself variously “the Liberated Zones” or “Humanity” or “the legitimate government (of all Humanity)”

Also, some new religions like the “Two by twos” or the “local church affiliation” do not have official names either. So could a country therefore not use a name, or several different informal names for its ideology like “The Guiding Principles” or simply “the Truth”

Likewise, a nameless leadership is possible. In plato’s republic, the guardians are nameless, and in Neon Genesis Evangelion, SEELE has seats I to XIII. A country that simply refers to its leaders (and this to outsiders as well) as “The (Current/Nth) Leader” or “Our Leadership”

 

[Arkenfolm]

To be fair, that was OTL for many places. Many kingdoms were referred to by their people as "[King]'s country" or referred to by the primary seat of their ruler (often in foreign sources). This was common in India and Southeast Asia, and most historic states there are simply exonyms at best or historiographical terms.

I think nameless leaders may have been a thing in some cultures as part of divine kingship, since a divine ruler doesn't need a mortal name, but I can't recall an instance right now. Like in Japan the Emperor (or Retired Emperors) were never addressed by their name, but their birth name was always recorded and they were given a posthumous name on death (beside a few rulers who selected their own posthumous name). China had the naming taboo where it was forbidden to write a character used in the Emperor's real name, but it was similar there too. The Qin Dynasty also had an interesting naming scheme for their rulers--Qin Shi Huang envisioned all his successors would have names meaning simply Qin [nth] Generation hence his successor was called Qin Er Shi ("Second Generation of Qin").

I think the problem with a nameless ruler is that inevitably he'll be given a posthumous name, since a divine ruler is someone who will be worshipped by their subjects, and subjects will want a simpler and more way to refer to him than "the previous exalted ruler" or "the majestic great-grandfather of the current exalted ruler." But in life he could simply be "the holy king of our nation." There is also the problem of that when he is a prince, he will have a personal name, since personal names are a cultural universal. I think you could get around that by princes having separate names from commoners (which was typical in many cultures) and have these names have a writing taboo--a prince who became ruler would not have their name recorded, and perhaps in general have chronicles and inscriptions refer to these princes as simply "[Nth] Prince of the [Nth] Exalted King."

Nameless ideologies are easy since a bunch of ethnic religions or religious sects have names that mean things like "the true way" or what not.

 

[Beatriz]

That’s all well and good but I was more thinking of the late 19th/early 20th century - a sort of revolutionary modern Orwellianism

 

[Born in the USSA]

I mean in Transmetropolitan the two parties still have names but no one ever uses them, it's always just the Party in Government and the Opposition and elections just switch which of them is which.

 

[Aluma]

To be fair, that was OTL for many places. Many kingdoms were referred to by their people as "[King]'s country" or referred to by the primary seat of their ruler (often in foreign sources). This was common in India and Southeast Asia, and most historic states there are simply exonyms at best or historiographical terms.

Yup, if Im not mistaken Germany's name in german just meant "the people's land"
Likewise China went by Middle/Center Kingdom which was never meant to be named like a person is, similarly Japan meant "Land of the Rising Sun" in it's own language and I could go on and on about how the native american nomenclature followed a similar pattern

ave been a thing in some cultures as part of divine kingship, since a divine ruler doesn't need a mortal name, but I can't recall an instance right

The Zamorin of Calicut is one example I can recall

 

[Ana Luciana II]

The Makhnovshchina in Ukraine 1919-1921 had no official name for itself in-keeping with Anarchist ideas about the dissolution of the state. ‘Ukrainian Free Territory’ was an exonym IIRC.