Abstract
In February 2025, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded media release in response to the Cook Islands government and its imminent negotiations with China for a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP). The media-fuelled furore that followed cast a spotlight on the constitutional arrangements between New Zealand and the Cook Islands. In this article, I consider the nature of this relationship with a specific focus on New Zealand's ongoing disavowal of its own imperialism in the Pacific by reflecting on two key contexts. First, I discuss recent collaborative projects about the Realm of New Zealand-New Zealand's empire-within the discourse on nationhood, citizenship and Indigenous-Indigenous solidarity. Secondly, I reflect on my experience of teaching university students at the first-and second-year levels about New Zealand's empire and the emotional, political and critical discussions I have facilitated as an educator in the classroom. At a time when younger generations are so keenly feeling the need to better understand their place in New Zealand, being able to talk about the constitutional contours of its history and future seems more urgent than ever before.