Turning Points: Global Agenda 2012 is a licensed content magazine. All of the images, features and essays except the one written by Supachai Panitchpakdi are provided by the New York Times Syndicate.

The magazine is published by The Post Publishing Public Company Limited,136 Na Ranong Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Phone: +66 (0) 2240 3700 ext 3223, Fax: +66 (0) 2240 3660, Email: bpadmin@bangkokpost.co.th

Editor:

Pattnapong Chantranontwong

Managing Editor:

Chiratas Nivatpumin

Project coordinator:

Atiya Achakulwisut

Copy editors:

Graeme Loveridge, Michael Rentoul, Edward Howes, J Nils Wright, Kevin Jones, Oliver Fennell, Peter James Hill, Christopher Ayre

Design:

Poravit Sreshthaputra, Chantiya Potayarom

Graphics:

Choopong Eamoraphan

Production:

Veman Ittihiranwong, Panadda Vimoottiaran, Pantipa Rajavatanadhanin

Price $ 8.00

Dear Readers,

First of all, please accept my apology that the Bangkok Post has decided not to publish the regular Year-end Economic Review which many of you expect to see inserted with the main newspaper at this time of the year. We have quite a few reasons why we have decided to forego this publication this year.

One of these reasons is the flood which left almost two thirds of the capital and surrounding areas under water for more than a month. The floods arrived when we were in the process of preparing the publication.

Many residential areas remained flooded for some time while most if not all of the industrial estates and factories—more than 1,000 of them — have yet to recover from the impact.

These industries include suppliers of electronic and auto parts to leading manufacturers around the world. The flood forced Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda to slow their production in several countries because of a lack of parts from Thailand.

The computer industry was also affected. Analysts expect a 10% increase in the prices of external hard drives because of the floods. Western Digital’s facility in Bang Pa-in alone produces one quarter of the world’s supply of ‘‘sliders’’, an integral part of hard disk drives.

The World Bank puts the flood damage at 1.4 trillion baht. The actual impact can only be gauged when the flood recedes and rehabilitation begins.

Questions also remain as to whether manufacturers will choose to stay in Thailand, or relocate to lower the risk of disruption

There are also questions about what the government has in store to retain the loyalty of investors, rebuild the economy and ensure the world that such a disaster will not happen again.

These unsettled developments have persuaded us to hold off our year-end review of the economy until we see a clearer picture after the flood.

As an alternative to the Economic Review, the Bangkok Post has decided to offer you The Turning Points: Global Agenda 2012 for an insightful and intellectually stimulating read.

This publication, an ambitious endeavour by the New York Times Syndicate, looks back at watershed events of 2011 and identifies trends which are likely to shape the world next year.

It includes essays by some of the world’s leading figures including Aung San Suu Kyi and Ai Weiwei as well as an interview with the ultimate playboy Hugh Hefner.

Our mid-year and year-end economic reviews will return next year. I would like to take this opportunity to offer our greetings for Christmas andNew Year. Our best wishes to you all.

Pattnapong ChantranontwongEditor, Bangkok Post

    • FIRST TIME EVER

      A timeline of surprising, serious and sometimes silly events and trends noted for the first time ever in 2011

    • AFTER PASSION AND POWER UNITE

      EXPECTATIONS FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE, IN THE ARAB WORLD AND ELSEWHERE, ARE RUNNING HIGH. BUT THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES

    • THE CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN UNBALANCED TIMES

      Unguided deregulation and liberalisation has had ruinous consequences for the world’s poorest nations and that failure points to the need for solutions with concrete benefits for people, not just financial markets

    • HOW BAD ARE THINGS REALLY?

      THERE’S AGONY IN EUROLAND, ANGST IN AMERICA, UNCERTAINTY IN ASIA AND ANGER ON THE ARAB STREET

    • IT’S A KNOWLEDGE CRISIS, NOT A FINANCIAL CRISIS

      WHY THE US AND EUROPEAN ECONOMIES CONTINUE TO FALTER WHILE EMERGING ECONOMIES GAIN GROUND

    • A CALL TO END NUCLEAR POWER

      The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 left 22,000 dead and missing. They also set off a series of accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility, reopening a global discussion about the benefits and pitfalls of nuclear energy

    • WHY WE NEED NUCLEAR POWER MORE THAN EVER

      GIVING EVERY CITIZEN ON EARTH ENOUGH ENERGY TO SUPPORT A MODERN LIFE MEANS QUADRUPLING ELECTRICAL OUTPUT

    • WAR OF IDEAS TO DEFINE AN ISLAMIC STATE

      WILL RADICALISM HIJACK DEMOCRATIC UPRISINGS?

    • YEAR IN PHOTOS

      A selection of most outstanding photographs by New York Times photographers and others that capture powerful moments of 2011

    • FOREVER YOUNG

      Hugh Hefner, the original playboy, on the art of not acting your age

    • World Almanac and Atlas

      Maps, graphics, facts, figures and news highlights from around the world

    • The Big Question

      Prominent thinkers — politicians, artists and business leaders, including Ai Weiwei and Christiane Amanpour — respond to the question of whether passion or power is more effective in creating political change