Abstract

On March 17, 1992, a surprising 68.7% of South Africa's whites supported a referendum calling for a negotiated abolition of their minority rule. Such rational foresight in a seemingly irrational racial atmosphere has been universally hailed as unprecedented. The same Afrikaner National Party (NP) that a few years ago presided over the implementation of Apartheid in defiance of the world now acts as a democratic reformer with the support of two thirds of their constituency. Faced with the choice of a siege economy, the ruling group opted for sharing political power with its main opposition, the African National Congress (ANC). In the process it redefined itself as an inclusive ideological party that in the future may even gain substantial support among like-minded black conservatives.