The paper aims to investigate from comparative and sociological perspective
the similarities between the roles of family and household in social
development of Bulgaria and Serbia. The focus of the study is placed on the
similarities and differences between the traditional phase of development and
the industrial, modern one. Modern society as a whole is defined as
untransformed and subject to re-traditionalization. The investigation rests
on the assumption that within East European model, the traditional
family/household is a phenomenon linked to the 19th and 20th centuries, but
not to the 21st one. However, the Balkan extended family/household retains
the influence it had in the traditional phase of development. In the
traditional phase, the extended family commune (zadruga), characteristic of
the Balkans, played an essential role for survival. In modern societies, it
regains its importance for survival during social and economic crises;
however, it also poses traditionally experienced risks concerning substantial
deterioration of the position of women.
Patrilineal traditional family: Examples of Serbia and Bulgaria
