Introducing the Western Grouping

Several states in the Western grouping are affluent G7 members and some can claim to be ‘cradles of representative democracy’. Yet, it is also a diverse grouping reflected in very dissimilar welfare regimes, constitutional setups and legal traditions. But they all have well-endowed health systems with good access for the general public and moreover host a strong pharmaceutical industry. Three out of the four leading Western vaccines were accordingly developed in the grouping and vaccination rates have unsurprisingly been high. All countries in the grouping escaped permanent changes to their mode of governance and amply applied Treasurer in response to the crisis in comparable measure. Yet preferences for invoking authority by e.g., declaring a state of emergency clearly diverge as does the manner in which politicization and de-politicization has played out.