Migrants' perceptions of issues such as the welfare state, democracy, gender equality, traditions and family values reflect, on the one hand, a wish to adapt to shifting social and political environments in the country of settlement, and on the other, political and social transformations in the homeland that are likely to bring former values and norms under stress.

For those immigrants who came from Yugoslavia (notably Serbia) to Denmark in the 1970’s and 1980’s a sense of shared values between the Yugoslav ideals of brotherhood and unity and the Scandinavian welfare model made them feel well integrated into the Danish society. Lately this ‘process of integration’ has been challenged from several holds. In Denmark, an increasingly xenophobic attitude and rising attention given to religion and origin have contributed to changing conditions for immigrants. In Serbia, the collapse of the Yugoslav state has stimulated a re-traditionalization of Serbian society, transforming popular perceptions of family structure, gender roles, religion, welfare state and community (Ramet 2005, Bijelic 2005).  Likewise it has also permitted the celebration of formerly ostracized institutions such as the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as admiration for the (exiled) royal family and the Serbian ‘Nation’.  Old socialist institutions such as ‘motherhood’ and ‘family’ have been reconsidered, as have views on purity and ethnicity.

The presentation aims to explore the often contradictory ways in which re-traditionalization of Serbian society as well as the changing norms and regulations of the Danish society, have impacted on the cultural and social practices of the Serbian families in Denmark, and how this has acted to shape and reshape their perceptions of notions such as family, religion, democracy and the inclusionary welfare state.