The Foreign Service Journal, January 2003

insights into the origins of Islamist extremism and terrorism. Laura E. DeKock is a junior associate with AALC, Limited Company (previ- ously Armitage Associates), an interna- tional consulting company located in Arlington, Va. Afghanistan: Horseplay & Politics Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan, 2nd edition G. Whitney Azoy, Waveland Press, 2003, $12.95, paperback, 160 pages. R EVIEWED BY A RNOLD S CHIFFERDECKER This book takes the reader inside the small world of buzkashi, or “goat-grab- bing,” as a framework for insights into the larger world of Afghanistan’s politics. On the whole, the effort succeeds. Originally the product of doctoral research by an ex-USIA officer, Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan was hailed in 1982 as a particularly useful reflection of Afghan society at a time when real knowledge of that country was confined to a few specialists. Twenty years later, in this expanded second edition, anthropolo- gist Whitney Azoy updates his view of the underlying significance of Afghan- istan’s national game. What seems at first glance a stretch — discerning larger strategic meaning in an unruly sport (a forerunner of today’s polo) — becomes a revelation under Azoy’s careful analysis. If you think of politics as a competitive game, says the former U.S. cultural affairs officer, then you can find antecedents embedded in the culture. While care- ful not to carry the metaphor too far (after all “a game is a game,” as the author acknowledges), he carefully J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 65 B O O K S Year-End Roundup of FOREIGN SERVICE AUTHORS As we have done each year since 2000, the November 2003 Foreign Service Journal will include a list of recently published books by Foreign Service-affiliated authors in an special section: “In Their Own Write.” FS authors who have had a book published either by a commercial or academic publisher last year or this year (2002-2003) that has not previously been featured in the roundup, should send a copy of the book, along with a press release or backgrounder with information on the author, to: Susan Maitra Associate Editor Foreign Service Journal 2101 E Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 Deadline for submissions is Sept. 1.