Most of the things I had intended to say about my aims as the new editor of Alliance have already been said by Michael Brophy in his editorial, so I will simply stress that I want Alliance to be at the leading edge of theory and practice, to be truly international, and to generate debate. The Contents list does not at present include a Letters page, but I very much hope to see one in the future.

I also want to thank Carole George, founding editor of Alliance, for having had the initial idea and doing the groundwork.