Globalisation has transformed the field of higher education by
increasing flows of mobile students. This has had significant
repercussions not only for countries that take advantage of the
expansion of exports of English-medium programmes but also for countries
that have not risen to prominent positions in the global education
market, such as non-English-speaking Nordic countries. In over thirty
years, Finland, which is the focus of this article, has considerably
expanded its provision of English-medium programmes in universities.
However, the challenges of international student recruitment have
persisted despite ambitious strategies. The aim of this study is to
analyse the justifications and persuasion strategies used in national
policy texts for recruitment initiatives. The data consist of key
internationalisation strategies from the Ministry of Education and
Culture¹ (MEC) from 2001 to 2017. Findings suggest that the
main persuasion devices in the strategies manifest a significant shift
from neoliberally toned crisis talk to opportunity rhetoric. This study
will broaden the horizons of analysis by going beyond the rationales for
recruiting international students in a country that is in the process
of finding and consolidating its position in the widening markets of
higher education.