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In this essay in the special section Mobilization Forum: Awkward Movements, the author investigates the inherent awkwardness created by of the theme of studying awkward social movements in terms of analytical utility of such as conceptualization of a category. The author reflects on personal feelings of moral or political objection as a participant observer of several NIMBY social movements, & suggests careful designation of particular movement practice or characteristics to avoid pushing a movement into the awkward category. The author suggests using terms such as extraordinary groups or counter culture as better conceptual handles, to reduce bias, & the consequences of not studying uncomfortable or Too Popular social movements are discussed. The author concludes that identification or objection to a group by students of social movements are commonplace, & reframes the concept of awkwardness as a relational property that is nested in the nature of the research relationship, rather than as a property of the movement as a particular type. J. Harwell

This article provides an analytic overview of scholarly work on the concept of collective identity by considering its conceptualization and various empirical manifestations, the analytic approaches informing its discussion and analysis, and a number of theoretical and empirical issues, including a synopsis of the symbolic means through which collective identity is expressed and asserted. Although the scholarly roots of the concept can be traced to classical sociologists such as Marx and Durkheim, and more recently to the mid-century work of scholars such as Erik Erickson and Erving Goffman, it was not until the latter quarter of the past century that the concept generated an outpouring of work invoking the concept directly or referring to it indirectly through the linkage of various collectivities and their identity interests via such concepts as identity politics, identity projects, contested identities, insurgent identities, nationalism, imagined communities, identity movements and even social movements more generally. Conceptually, the essence of collective identity resides in a shared and interactive sense of "we-ness" and "collective agency." Although the concept is distinguished analytically from both personal identity and social identity, the three types of identity clearly overlap and interact. Empirically, collective identity can surface in a variety of contexts, although the preponderance of research has focused on its connection to gender, ethnicity, religion, nationalism and particularly social movements. Analytically, collective identity has generally been discussed from a primordial, structural, and/or constructionist standpoint. Primordial and structural approaches are discussed as variants of essentialism, which is contrasted to constructionism. Among other things, constructionism focuses attention on the symbolic expression and maintenance of collective identities.

We argue that the monolithic use and application of the concept of ideology to Islamic terrorist movements is of questionable analytic utility because it tends not only to ignore ideological variation and flexibility among these movements, but also glosses over the kind of discursive work required to articulate and elaborate the array of possible links between ideas, events, and action. Drawing on the framing perspective in the study of social movements, we examine the development and articulation of mobilizing ideas associated with Islamic militancy and terrorist movements, ranging from the Iranian revolution of the late 1970s to more recent movements, such as al Qaeda, originating within the Middle East and Central Asia. By focusing on framing processes as key discursive mechanisms, we attempt to advance our understanding of the diverse ideological work required to facilitate the mobilization of jihadi militants as well as provide the motivation to commit sensational acts of violence such as suicide bombings.