西方民主国家正面临严重的来自内部的民粹主义的威胁与挑战，并催生了贸易保护主义等危险的政策偏向。 这些内部威胁之所以产生，主要是因为西方民主国家在国际环境剧烈变化过程中没能解决好国内收入不平等、政治极化、国家债务高企、公共基础设施破败等长期积累的经济与社会问题。
Western democracies are facing serious internal threats – most notably, populist forces espousing dangerous policies like trade protectionism – that have risen largely in response to these systems’ failure to manage problems such as income inequality, political polarization, rising debt, and failing infrastructure.