DOI: 10.26466/opusjsr.1935788 ISSN: 2791-9781

Physician migration in Türkiye under authoritarian neoliberalism

Nazlı Özekici Emirönal
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This article examined the recent increase in physician migration from Turkey through the lens of authoritarian neoliberalism. Drawing on thirty-one qualitative interviews with general practitioners and specialists employed in second-tier public hospitals who had migrated or were preparing to do so, the study showed that migration could not be explained by economic factors alone. Instead, it was shaped by the combined effects of declining professional autonomy, employment insecurity, symbolic devaluation, and growing workplace violence. These processes altered both the material conditions and the moral meaning of medical work. Bringing together Hirschman’s concept of exit and Bourdieu’s notion of symbolic capital, the article highlighted how structural pressures and everyday professional experiences intersected. For many physicians, migration emerged not simply as a career move but as a response to a system perceived as increasingly difficult to sustain. The findings suggested that policies focused solely on financial incentives were unlikely to reverse this trend. Addressing physician migration required restoring autonomy, recognition, and stability within professional life.

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