Describes the history of Afghanistan, the impact of war and foreign intervention, and the plight of populations displaced or disabled. In Afghanistan, conflicts have been primarily political, not ethnic or religious, and they have been fueled by the politics of outside powers. This report covers: (1) Afghanistan’s geography and population; (2) the introduction of Islam more than 1,000 years ago; (3) languages; (4) the economy and workforce; (5) society and the status of women; (6) the major ethnic groups, including the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Turkmen, Nuristanis, Panjsheris, Baluchis and Brahuis, Aimaq, and the Nomads; (7) the history of Afghanistan, including the conquests of Alexander Great and Genghis Khan among others, the relatively recent establishment of an Afghan state and the central role assumed by the Pashtuns, and a succession of governments culminating in Afghanistan’s increased reliance on the former Soviet Union; (8) the Soviet invasion and the Soviet-Afghan war; (9) political alignments in the 1980s that affected Afghanistan as well as the role of international aid; (10) the social and cultural dimensions of the refugee situation; and (11) prospects for restoring political and social structures.
