Towards a safe haven: Students from post-Soviet countries pursuing education in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This article delves into the motivations and aspirations of students from post-Soviet countries who opted for education in Sweden amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In stark contrast to most nations which enforced stringent lockdown measures to curb the transmission of the coronavirus, Sweden adopted a relatively laissez-faire approach, keeping significant sectors of society operational. While Sweden's strategy garnered considerable global scrutiny and critique, the students in this study exhibited a notable lack of apprehension regarding the global health crisis or Sweden's controversial approach to the pandemic. For these students, the COVID-19 pandemic primarily manifested as a practical impediment to their forthcoming academic endeavours. Conversely, they perceived various enduring societal challenges in their countries of origin–such as unemployment, anxiety and distrust towards governmental authorities, and even armed conflict–as possessing a more entrenched and formidable nature, posing a greater threat to their overall well-being. Against this backdrop, Sweden emerged as a perceived sanctuary capable of reinstating a state of ontological security, especially for the students identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community and with political convictions frowned upon by the government of their home country. By focusing on the narratives of these individuals and adopting a conceptual framework that views ‘crisis’ as a relational construct, this study sheds light on the divergent experiences and perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic among international student cohorts. This approach underscores the nuanced and context-dependent nature of their responses to the pandemic, emphasising the imperative of empirically accounting for these variations.