To South Africa's 17th century settlers, "going into laager" meant forming a circle with their covered wagons to defend themselves against attacks by native tribes. To their present-day descendants, it means turning increasingly to the repressive strictures of apartheid to protect themselves against the nonwhite majority. Five times since 1948, the electorate has gone into laager by returning the white-supremacist, Boer-dominated Nationalist government to power, each time with increased majorities. Last week, for the first time in 22 years, South Africa's voters took a short step back toward the moderate center....
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