Monarchy vs Republic and the Power of Political Symbols, with Dr Joshua Neoh

The Political Animals

With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession to the throne of King Charles III, Jonathan engages in a friendly debate with legal philosopher Joshua Neoh about Australia's constitutional monarchy and its republican alternatives. Joshua outlines his case for monarchy per se, and the British monarchy specifically, followed by Jonathan outlining his case for a minimalist republic. The conversation covers the role of the British monarchy in the Australian constitution, its symbolic force, the changing nature of Australian culture and its evolving relationship to the United Kingdom, the dangers of a popularly elected head of state and the way that different political theologies might lead to the embrace of monarchism or republicanism.

Dr Joshua Neoh is an Associate Professor of Law at the Australian National University. He teaches courses in legal theory and law and the humanities. His research interest is in the philosophy of law, including political theology. He is the author of Law, Love and Freedom: From the Sacred to the Secular (Cambridge University Press, 2019). He has a Bachelor of Laws from the ANU, a Master of Laws from Yale, and a PhD in Law from Cambridge.

The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.

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