We have had the privilege of editing Medicine, Conflict and Survival since 2009, initially with Alan Ingram, then latterly as an editorial duo. In our first Editorial (vol.25(3); July–September 2009), we noted our pride in taking over a journal that was ‘… an important voice in its field and which continues to have an essential role to play in debates around health, peace, and violence’. That sense of pride remains, and the journal’s role is no less important today; indeed it is arguably even more vital, given the events taking place at the time of writing in the Korean peninsula – where many of the issues that have for decades driven the work of the journal, and of our affiliates Medact and IPPNW, seem worryingly imminent – as well as in Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, and too many other places around the world. New and urgent issues of health and peace unfortunately seem never to stop arising, making the work of MC&S as important now as it was when we first took over – and indeed when it was first founded, over three decades ago. However, the time has come for us to hand over the baton to two longstanding friends and supporters, Marion Birch and Leo van Bergen, who are supremely well-placed to take over as the new editorial team and to ensure that the journal continues to go from strength to strength in the future.
We wish Marion and Leo all the best with their new roles, and they obviously have our continued support for the journal’s mission. We hope that you have enjoyed reading the journal as much as we have enjoyed working with everyone involved with MC&S, including our wonderfully supportive editorial board, Medact, and the Routledge/Taylor & Francis team. It goes without saying that we thank them for all their hard work and support over that last eight years. We would like to single out for special thanks Michael Pountney, the Chair of the Editorial Board, for his tireless efforts for the journal, and Mary Holdstock, who has been a staunch supporter for many years as well as actively assisting in a range of roles, including that of copy-editor. Finally, we would like to express our thanks to all of you who have written for the journal, reviewed papers for us, and have read what we’ve published. We trust you will continue to do so as we hand over the journal to the next stage in its development.
Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre, UCL, London, UK
Simon Rushton
Department of Politics, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
[email protected]