ABSTRACT
Recent anthropological works on the state, on the other hand, consider the link between state and kinship in relation either to national identity or to marginalized groups who strategically deploy kinship idioms to better position themselves in relation to state authorities. Different state layers are involved in responding to these new challenges, thereby not only transforming central welfare structures but also extending their reach to the local level and to the supposedly private sphere of families. Welfare policies are inevitably linked to dominant discourses on need, deservingness, and often the nation itself. The image of superior kin care almost presupposed a complementary image of an uncaring state. In 2009, with financing from the Serbian Ministry for Work and Social Policy, the municipality of Subotica initiated a pilot project for elderly placement in new families. Discourses on kin as the ideal caregiver come to be reflected in welfare policies, which focus on family homes as the ideal setting for elder care.
