MER's winter issue, Resistance—The Axis and Beyond, is concerned with the constellation of regional forces fighting Israeli domination and, with it, broader US imperialism. Several contributors explore the roots of the so-called Axis of Resistance and its various members—whether states, militias or political parties. They consider the tensions and uncertainties raised by Israel’s expanding regional war over the past 15 months and what has followed: from Iran’s relative inaction, to Israeli attacks on critical Axis infrastructure and leadership, to the shutting down of Jordan’s garment industry due to the Houthi blockade. Other pieces locate resistance beyond the Axis—in the everyday ecological practices of Lebanon’s border villages, the post-1967 political theater of Syrian playwright Sadallah Wannous and the long struggle against colonial domination through energy sovereignty in Palestine. The issue was completed before January 27, 2025 and the return of over 300,000 Palestinians to northern Gaza after more than a year of genocidal destruction, and before the release of hundreds of Palestinian political prisoners in the first phase of the ceasefire. But the scenes of return—along with the joyous celebrations of prisoners’ homecomings—are a reminder of who pays the highest cost for resistance as well as its ongoing, enduring presence on the frontlines of colonial violence.