The old world order is being seriously challenged and the old elite countries can't keep their ideals and their place at the same time. The citizens of course, demand both of their leaders. The leaders are trying to sacrifice liberties in the most subtle and strategic of ways, and the minimal amount possible. But globalized media, (white) propaganda, and availability of information makes this fairly transparent.

Citizens do care - this is a sentiment I hear a lot from a lot of people.

The politicians are sometimes nearsighted but are also more often than we think imbued with some sense of long term tradeoff.