We study the effect of topology for a random matrix model of QCD at nonzero imaginary chemical potential or nonzero temperature. Nonuniversal fluctuations of Dirac eigenvalues lead to normalization factors that contribute to the θ dependence of the partition function. These normalization factors have to be canceled in order to reproduce the θ dependence of the QCD partition function. The reason for this behavior is that the topological domain of the Dirac spectrum (the region of the Dirac spectrum that is sensitive to the topological charge) extends beyond the microscopic domain at nonzero imaginary chemical potential or temperature. Such behavior could persist in certain lattice formulations of QCD. © 2009 The American Physical Society.