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Exposes the human costs of viewing refugees through a predominantly economic lens

At a time when forcibly displaced individuals are portrayed as either illegal transgressors or nameless casualties, little attention is given to the needs and desires of those who have been uprooted. The Commodification of Belonging centers the voices of Yazidi and Chaldean Iraqis who escaped recurring persecution, violence, and genocide to find themselves in largely unfamiliar urban environments. Janina L. Selzer argues that the very systems that are meant to offer refugees support interfere with their ability to develop a sense of belonging. Unable to transcend the oversimplified depiction of refugees, these systems fail to recognize forcibly displaced individuals as complex human beings.

To better understand the role that cities play in shaping the localized politics of belonging, Selzer spent two years interviewing Yazidi and Chaldean Iraqis in Bielefeld, Germany, and Detroit. Confronted with the prospect of future or continuous population loss, these two cities promised newcomers a welcoming environment, hoping to eventually reap the economic benefits of their permanent settlement. Tracing the emerging discrepancies between the cities' expectations and individuals' own longings ultimately exposes the dangers of what Selzer terms the commodification of belonging. She illustrates how celebrating opportunities for newcomers to flourish in their respective enclaves tends to overlook their continued vulnerability. Simultaneously, overemphasizing newcomers' need for constant support risks overlooking their resilience.

By foregrounding the humanity and subjectivity of forcibly displaced individuals, The Commodification of Belonging draws attention to the very real consequences of viewing refugees through a predominantly economic lens. Selzer cautions that even if newcomers' human capital is publicly embraced to foster pro-immigrant alliances, belonging doesn't necessarily follow.