In this book, Peter Gardner contends that the production of narratives of ethnic peoplehood is an attempt to regain a sense of collective dignity among the previously dominant.
 
After introducing the concept of ethnic dignity and locating its place within postconflict identity politics, Gardner focuses his analysis on the Ulster- Scots story of peoplehood. Drawing on a wealth of primary data, the chapters explore a variety of core issues including ethnopolitics, social class, political-economic ideology, colonialism, and heteromasculinity.  
The book concludes by taking a global view of post-conflict ethnic dignity among the once dominant, analysing the New Afrikaans movement in South Africa, white pride and ethnic whiteness studies, and Maronite Phoenicianism in Lebanon.
 
This will be an important contribution for students and scholars of ethnicity,
divided societies and, more broadly, political sociology.