This article presents an analysis of responses to some of the mutually reinforcing challenges facing European higher education (HE) systems. In a context of ‘polycrises’, defined by European Commission President Juncker (2016) along the lines of economic, financial, social, and security challenges across different policy domains, HE responses have been varied and reflecting the peculiarities of national contexts. We focus on Swedish shifts in discourses and practices in relation to HE internationalisation, as a response to the perceived geopolitical and security threats. These crises have produced policies with distinct effects on universities, and on individual academics. The article does two things: First, it presents a critical analysis of the crisis context across European HE policy and in the national and HE context of Sweden. Second, drawing on large qualitative research, it discusses the consequences of these crises on academic identities, with a particular focus on academic mobility. The article contributes to knowledge on the experience of individual academics who develop careers in often difficult circumstances and highlights the need to integrate individual experiences and perceptions with HE-wide policies and discourses.