Selective Consent and Dissent: Professional Response to Reform in the Post-Crisis Greek NHS

Abstract

Utilising the sociology of the professions as an analytical framework, the article explores the response of the Greek medical profession to state-imposed managerialism during times of economic recession and socio-political turbulence. It is argued that the case of southern welfare states, permeated by clientelism and corruption, underpins a distinct form of professional–state relations, currently missing from relevant theoretical discussions. Rich qualitative data collected from practising hospital doctors in Greece reveal a willingness to concede elements of clinical autonomy in exchange for the minimisation of the role of a corrupt state in the organisation of the Greek National Health Service.