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Purpose: With the increasing importance of individuals willing to undertake international assignments in risky contexts, the purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the interplay between the challenges of such assignments in risky contexts and the motivations of individuals to undertake them.

Design/methodology/approach: The study follows a narrative approach to gain an understanding of individuals' subjective experiences. In-depth interviews were conducted with Swedish police officers who have been on international assignments. The narrative analysis comprised two steps: first, to identify motivations and challenges and, second, to capture how challenges and motivations interplay.

Findings: The main motivations for international assignments in risky contexts were thrill-seeking, meaningfulness and financial gain and were found to shift with experiences. The main challenges were related to danger, physical and mental hardship, family relations and repatriation and were experienced by police officers as both positive and negative. Three ways in which challenges interplay with motivations were identified. The dynamic interplay of initial motivations and expected and experienced challenges was found to shift motivations as well as willingness to undertake further assignments.

Practical implications: The findings have implications for the recruitment, management and support of individuals on international assignments in risky contexts.

Originality/value:The key contribution of this paper lies in identifying the interplay between challenges and motivations on international assignments in risky contexts. Challenges are not only deterring but can strengthen, or even be, what motivates international assignments, while others need to be compensated for. The study contributes to research on the impact of experiences of international assignments on motivations and on the willingness to go on additional assignments.