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Besieged in court, routed in eight states, accused of favoring blacks and Latinos at the expense of Asians and whites, affirmative action — a major legacy of the civil rights era — is once again the subject of uncomfortable scrutiny.
I think “besieged” is a dangling modifier. So i am asking myself where is the subject being modified by “besieged”?
1) This elegant version: Besieged in court, routed in eight states, accused of favoring blacks and Latinos at the expense of Asians and whites, affirmative action — a major legacy of the civil rights era — is once again the subject of uncomfortable scrutiny.
2) Comes from this: Affirmative action (a major legacy of the civil rights era) [which has been] besieged in court, routed in eight states, accused of favoring blacks and Latinos at the expense of Asians and whites is once again the subject of uncomfortable scrutiny.
You can pre-position those three verbal phrases that are predicates in the clause. There are THREE verbal phrases introduced by three different verbs: besieged, routed and accused.
A simpler example: The boy who was attacked by lions is now at home with his parents.
Attacked by lions, the boy is now at home with his parents.
Another: The lady who was charmed by her co-workers, entranced with her boss and filled with hope, drove home at high speed.
Charmed by her co-workers, entranced by her boss and filled with hope, the lady drove home at high speed.
You can shift the predicates to the head of the sentences to avoid using heavy relative clauses.
The comment above is as good as an explanation— condensed though cryptic but nonetheless crammed with information. Just an elaboration as a side note.
"Affirmative action" is the subject; it is acted upon by three past participle adjectives— besieged, routed and accused. Headed by the V3 forms of verb, these adjective phrases, you may as well call them participle or verbal phrases, properly refer to the subject of the main sentence that follow. They are by no means dangling. You can jolly well call a phrase dangling if doesn't refer to anything that follow coherently.
Of course I am not holiday; it is dangling. In the present example we have to make the verbal phrase relevant by making it absolute. Put " it" before " being". However the one you called dangling isn't as such.
