Interested in a terminology thread? I knew you were!

Let's talk about (extremist or terrorist) cells vs. groups vs. movements!

These are all just words and whenever you try to apply one word to real human beings and situations that don't always fit into neat boxes, you can come

up with problems & need to have exceptions, but leaving that aside, these terms usefully describe certain concepts related to extremism and/or terrorism.

First, let's talk about a "cell," a term which is a little grandiose and may convey more sophistication than it usually has.

Essentially a cell is just a small informal group or grouping of two or more individuals working together for a specific purpose, such as a terrorist act. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols (and, arguably, the Fortiers) constituted a cell. Cells can emerge organically, as several

extremists meet online or in the real world and at some point start working together for a purpose. They can also be created--in this type of situation, it may be a large terrorist group (like, say, Al Qaeda) that selects some of its members to form a cell or directs one of its

adherents to go somewhere and build a cell. Cells may be formed for a single action or with the intention of engaging in a wide array of activities.

That takes us to groups. Groups can range in size from very small (less than a dozen members) to very large (in the thousands),

but are formal, organized groups, typically also intended to have some permanence. The League of the South is a group, the Georgia III% Security Force is a group, Al-Shabaab is a group. Groups can have subgroups such as units or chapters or divisions, either geographical or

of special types or for special purposes. Organized groups themselves may commit terrorist acts, but this is less common in the US than in some other places, though it is common for people who belong to groups to go off on their own or with others to commit a violent act.

Some groups are actually "umbrella" groups in that they have under them (either nominally or with some degree of control or coordination) various other independent groups.

Another form of group can be described as a shell group. This is an entity which has a formal name and

purpose but has no formal membership. People associate themselves with such groups simply by committing acts desired by such groups. Good examples of this are the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front. In 2006, if you wanted to be involved in ELF, you just went

out and did an ELF action, i.e., an act in the name of ELF. That made you ELF--even though you might know know anybody else associated with ELF.

Arguably, one might also think of shell groups as networks, which in this context refers to individuals loosely and not necessarily

formally around a cause. The main job of networks, as the name implies, is to facilitate communication between like-minded people and groups.

Finally, that takes us to movements. A movement, in this context, is a collection of individuals, cells, groups, and networks that all

share and revolve around a common ideology--a common set of political, social, and/or religious beliefs. Movements can be very narrow--perhaps even limited to a single issue, like the anti-abortion movement--or they can be much broader, encompassing a range of related issues.

So we can take, for example, the militia movement in the U.S., a right-wing anti-government extremist movement that has existed since 1993-94. Adherents share a common ideology and also many assumptions. Within the militia movement, there are many groups, of varying sizes, both

formal and informal. From time to time, umbrella groups and networks emerge within the movement as well. The movement also contains many individuals who adhere to the ideology but do not belong to any organized group within the movement; they exist within the movement as

individuals. Occasionally, individuals (whether having group ties or not) come together to form a cell to plan or commit some illegal act. Less commonly, organized groups (like the White Rabbit Militia) may do the same thing.