The revival of republicanism was meant to challenge the hegemony of liberalism in contemporary political theory on the grounds that liberals show insufficient concern with institutional protection against political misrule. This paper challenges this view by showing how neo-republicanism, particularly on Philip Pettit’s formulation, demands no greater institutional protection than does political liberalism. By identifying neutrality between conceptions of the good as the constraint on institutional requirements that forces neo-republicanism into the liberal framework, the paper shows that neutrality is what neo-republicans must jettison to provide a tenable critique of liberalism. Only then can neo-republicans ensure a greater protection against misrule by demanding that citizens participate more actively in politics. They can then also criticize liberalism for failing to appreciate the importance of such protection.