The state was not defeated militarily or by virtue of intense social disorder. What changed was the political landscape. White South Africans were learning to adopt a new kind of political subjectivity that defied that of the nation. The change was especially pronounced among student youth. Soon they were joined by leading academics at Stellenbosch University, the prestigious home of the Afrikaner intelligentsia. These alliances made clear that the nation could no longer be defined by whiteness, compelling the NP to change its tune and take part in the transition. The state might have used its
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