THEORIZING THE ISSUES OF NATIONAL BELONGING, DIASPORIC AND COSMOPOLITAN CITIZENSHIP - THE CASE OF DIONNE BRAND'S WHAT WE ALL LONG FOR

The paper focuses on the concepts of national belonging, transnationality and different forms of citizenship, and explores the difference and similarities between these concepts and their use in the theoretical and sociological texts as well as their practical use in Dionne Brand's novel What We All Long For. A few references to other works by Brand are also made in order to clarify how she dwells on the ideas of belonging, diasporic and cosmopolitan citizenship. In determining the tension between the terms diasporic and citizenship, the author refers to the theoretical conclusions made by Chariandy, Cho and Brydon. The author concludes that citizenship, both cosmopolitan and diasporic, is a liberating rather than restricting force for transnational and diasporic identities in Brand's novel.