Diaspora policies, consular services and social protection for Serbian citizens abroad

Abstract

This chapter shows that Serbia’s diaspora policies have given priority to economic, but also cultural engagement of Serbian nationals residing abroad. Following a discussion on the key features of the diaspora, the infrastructure of the state to deal with nationals abroad and its key engagement policies, it focuses on five social protection dimensions and shows that Serbia’s policies are limited to health and pension benefits, and this only under special conditions. Overall, the chapter puts forward the claim that the very limited social protection benefits granted to diaspora can be explained by the elites’ perception of diaspora as mainly an economic resource, and as a supplement to the country’s social-safety net.