Much has happened in the world since the first issue of the Journal of Social Inclusion (JoSI) in April 2010. The uncertainty of the past few years and complexities in the ways communities handle social debates have spilled into the parliamentary arena and beyond. The polarised party politics of Left and Right are fragmenting and another space of convergence around interests is emerging. Marginalised peoples with lives that are often socially, economically or emotionally precarious, hang in the balance as time-honoured perspectives around wel(fare), diversity, tolerance and development are up for grabs. Countries in the global South are influenced by political, social and ideological developments of other nations, especially those of G7 countries. Public discourse invokes issues around recalling the impact of past events in the treatment of marginal sections of society and the enduring legacies of social policy decisions.