Azoy, Whitney G. “Preface: TO THE FIRST EDITION.” Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan. Long Grove: Waveland, 2003. IX-XI. Print.
Whitney Azoy tells the wildly bizarre tale on the game of Buzkashi. The game which featured a headless goat carcass until Taliban ruled it immoral, is the national sport of Afghanistan. Azoy tells the gruesome history in full detail of the ‘unruly’ sport. Being an American diplomat in Afghanistan in 1972, Azoy provides his own personal search for an adventure within the country, only to lead him right to the game of Buzkashi. Azoy would leave his seat as a diplomat and chase after the ‘most exciting game in the world.’ While the game may come off totally barbaric, Azoy does a great job of describing how the sport brings together the Afghan community by defusing tensions in the communities. Overall, this book is a great reference for the sport’s date of inception, to modern day Buzkashi.

Suthar, Nihar. Corridor of Uncertainty – How Cricket Mended a Torn Nation. Pitch Publishing, 2016. Print.
Arguably the most popular sport in Afghanistan, Nihar Suthar tells the fairy tale-like story of a cricket team that united a dividing country at one of its darkest moments. More specifically, in 1979, the nation faced one of the most brutal civil wars ever. Through the decade of fighting and political fallout, the country would turn to its most unlikely of heroes- the sport of cricket. Suthar provides a thorough analysis of the tale of despair the country found themselves in, and in turn, gives us an in depth look at the history behind the game of cricket, and one of the most historical international sports moments ever.

Robertson, Ryan. Sports Diplomacy in a Conflict Environment: The Case for Continued Efforts in Afghanistan. Surace Publishing, 2012. Online Journal.
The history of sport in Afghanistan has changed purpose over the course of time, especially during times of trials and tribulations in recent decades where sport has shifted to serving as an escape from the evils within the borders of Afghanistan. Ryan Robertson does a phenomenal job of outlining the importance and purpose sports served among the Afghan community in order to steer the youth clear. By providing an escape through ‘sports diplomacy programs’, the goals are to suppress the violence in the communities and instead, allow the field of sport to serve as a way to take out any ‘violence’ before it reaches the streets. Robertson harps on the importance of sport serving as a national identity- tying in the nations sport of Buzkashi as well. Overall, the need for youth sport programs like the ones that Robertson mentions, are at an all-time high during these violent times.

Instructor grading comments

“Your first source is solid. Make sure you do grapple with the problematic nature of applying the term “barbaric” to any culture, especially to a oft-stereotyped country like Afghanistan, and make sure you also bring up Azoy’s potential bias. Your second source looks quite promising as well, and I wonder if it may not help to check out the cricket documentary that Arch recommended (under Announcements). As for the third source, it looks quite good as well, I do like the lens of sports diplomacy. Going forward, I would recommend that you consult the final paper rubric (in the Final Paper module, and under Assignments) to guide your research and writing. Consider me a resource as well, so do let me know how I can help. Happy writing.”