Brain Drain in the Age of Polycrisis: The Case of Turkey
Turkey has been losing highly educated and qualified professionals in various fields through migration. While thousands of doctors, engineers, IT specialists and academics immigrate by finding jobs abroad, many others want to leave the country. The economic crisis, with its impoverishing impact on the middle class, and difficult working conditions are making people dissatisfied and unhappy. Undemocratic political environment in the country, with the increasingly authoritarian government of the last 22 years, is worsening people's lives. The transition from a parliamentary to a presidential system in 2018 further accelerated this economic-political process. The constant violation of the boundaries between the legislative, executive and judicial systems has rendered both the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the legal system dysfunctional. Decree laws issued arbitrarily in line with the ideology and needs of the political power undermine the credibility of institutions and make the country insecure and unstable for its people. While the economic crisis is an important reason for the migration of highly qualified labor force, the political climate in the country increases people's anxiety and strengthen their desire to migrate. Moreover, the mass influx of migrants to Turkey following the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011 has added to existing socio-economic problems. Turkey hosts about 4 million refugees officially, however, unofficial numbers are believed to be at least twice as much due to unregistered migrants. Already divided by the polarizing discourse and practices of the government, mass migration to Turkey has exacerbated the social crisis in the country. Building on semi-structured interviews with those who have already migrated from Turkey, this study aims to shed light on the economic, political and social conditions that create a polycrisis environment in Turkey and the consequences that give way to the migration of qualified labor force.