Peter Gardner - Ethnic Dignity and the Ulster-Scots Movement in Northern Ireland: Supremacy in Peril

The politics of identity and citizenship has assumed increasing importance as our polities have become significantly more culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse. Different types of scholars, including philosophers, sociologists, political scientists and historians make contributions to this field and this series showcases a variety of innovative contributions to it. Focusing on a range of different countries, and utilizing the insights of different disciplines, the series helps to illuminate an increasingly controversial area of research and titles in it will be of interest to a number of audiences including scholars, students and other interested individuals.

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There are many people to thank for their part in the production of this book. Foremost, I would like to express sincere gratitude to my doctoral supervisor, Jeff Miley, for his encouragement, support and guidance. Throughout the research process, he was there to offer critical perspectives, insightful questions and literature recommendations. His dedication and input throughout this process has been invaluable. I would also like to thank Mnica Moreno Figueroa and John Nagle for their inspirational work, for acting as my PhD examiners and for their suggestions for the development of the project. Their guidance has been immensely valuable.

This monograph was originally a doctoral dissertation undertaken at the University of Cambridge. The research was funded by the Cambridge Home and EU Scholarship Scheme (CHESS) through an Isaac Newton Award. As such, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to both the Isaac Newton Trust and CHESS for making this research possible.

There are many other mentors and colleagues to thank. Many thanks to Rin Ushiyama, Ben Abrams, Tiago Carvalho and Victor Roy for their friendship, their encouragement through the PhD and in the years since, and their enormously valuable comments and suggestions in reviewing manuscripts. Many thanks to the many others at the Department of Sociology in Cambridge and to Jesus College Cambridge for making my time as a graduate student there so intellectually stimulating and enjoyable. The two years I spent subsequently at the University of Aberdeen were also of much help in honing the direction and meaning of my work. Especial thanks to Bernadette Hayes, John Nagle, Gearoid Millar and Luisa Gandolfo at the Institute for Conflict, Transition, and Peace Research (ICTPR) in Aberdeen for their encouragement and intellectual contributions. I would like to thank Steve Bruce for his input on the politics of Protestantism and religiosity in Northern Ireland.

I would also like to thank Ronit Lentin, Andrew Finlay and Daniel Faas at Trinity College Dublin for their advice in the early stages of the development of this project. Ronit Lentins inspirational drive in interrogating race, ethnicity and gender and her use of sociology as a tool for social change is what convinced me I was a sociologist at heart. Andrew Finlays perspectives on systems of power and the politics of identity in Northern Ireland were highly productive. Various conversations with Daniel Faas about research methods, research development and religiosity in Ireland were incredibly useful.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Poppy Hull and the publishing team at Palgrave for their help and input in developing this book for publication. Poppys kindness and patience through the process has been greatly appreciated.

Thanks to my wife, Anna, for her consistent and dependable support. She celebrated in my progress, encouraged me through challenges and reassured me when I lost faith. Our son, Barnaby, was born in the last few months of finishing this book. The two of us sat together through the editing process in the early hours each day of his first month.