In 2016 the democratic world experienced two major shocks. Although support for illiberal nationalism has been on the rise for at least a decade, the events of that year, starting with the narrow victory of the Leave campaign in the United Kingdom's 23 June referendum on its membership in the European Union (EU), followed less than six months later by Donald J. Trump's election as president of the United States on 8 November, constituted a clear break. In contrast to the postwar liberal democratic order, which legitimized itself through the provision of welfare benefits and effective management of competing interests, these two developments seemingly signaled a return to the more rough-and-tumble, unstable politics of the interwar period.

2016 年，民主世界经历了两次重大冲击。尽管对非自由民族主义的支持至少十年来一直在上升，但那一年的事件，首先是英国 6 月 23 日就其加入欧盟 (EU) 的公投中脱欧运动以微弱优势获胜，随后发生了less than six months later by Donald J. Trump's election as president of the United States on 8 November, constituted a clear break. 与通过提供福利和有效管理相互竞争的利益而使自己合法化的战后自由民主秩序形成鲜明对比的是，这两个发展似乎标志着回到了战间时期更加动荡不安的政治。