Four Eras of International Student Mobility (1945-2025): Multipolar Securitization, Strategic Education Blocs, and the Rise of Middle Powers

Abstract

This article analyzes international student mobility across four historical eras from 1945-2025: Cold War (1945-1989), Market Liberalization (1990-2008), Strategic Competition (2009-2022), and Multipolar Securitization (2023-present). Using mixed methods combining mobility data and policy analysis, we identify the emergence of Strategic Education Blocs (Anglo-American, Sino-Russian, European) and demonstrate how middle powers like India, Turkey, and Brazil are asserting agency in this evolving landscape. International student mobility has transformed from primarily state-sponsored exchanges to hybrid physical-virtual forms, with education increasingly functioning as strategic statecraft rather than merely soft power. We show how stakeholders both influence and are shaped by structural contexts, highlighting implications for balancing geopolitical considerations with educational accessibility in an era of digital transformation and multipolar competition.