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A grassroots movement (often referenced in the context of a political movement
Political movement

A political movement is a social movement working in the area of politics. A political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group....
) is one driven by the constituents
Constituent (politics)

In politics, the term constituent has three separate meanings:*A constituent state or constituent nation is a fundamental part of a union which has come together with others to form the union, e.g....
 of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures. Often, grassroots movements are at the local level, as many volunteers in the community give their time to support the local party, which can lead to helping the national party.






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Encyclopedia


A grassroots movement (often referenced in the context of a political movement
Political movement

A political movement is a social movement working in the area of politics. A political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group....
) is one driven by the constituents
Constituent (politics)

In politics, the term constituent has three separate meanings:*A constituent state or constituent nation is a fundamental part of a union which has come together with others to form the union, e.g....
 of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures. Often, grassroots movements are at the local level, as many volunteers in the community give their time to support the local party, which can lead to helping the national party. For instance, a grassroots movement can lead to significant voter registration for a political party, which in turn helps the state and national parties.

Technique

Grassroots organize and lobby through procedures including:
  • hosting house meetings or parties
  • having larger meetings—AGM
    Annual general meeting

    An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and Voluntary association involving the public , are often required by law to hold....
    s
  • putting up posters
  • talking with pedestrians on the street (often involving informational clipboards)
  • gathering signatures for petitions
  • setting up information tables
  • raising money from many small donors for political advertising or campaigns
  • organizing large demonstrations
  • asking individuals to submit opinions to media outlets and government officials
  • holding get out the vote
    Get out the vote

    "Get out the vote" are terms used to describe two categories of political activity, both aimed at increasing the Voter turnout in one or more elections....
     activities, which include the practices of reminding people to vote and transporting them to polling places.


Origins

In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, the first use of the phrase "grassroots and boots" is thought to have been coined by Senator
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
 Albert Jeremiah Beveridge
Albert J. Beveridge

Albert Jeremiah Beveridge was an American historian and United States Senator from Indiana.He was born in Ohio and his parents moved to Indiana soon after his birth, and his boyhood was one of hard work....
 of Indiana
Indiana

The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....
, who said of the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)

In the United States, the Progressive Party of 1918 was a political party created by a split in the Republican Party in U.S. presidential election, 1912....
 in 1912, "This party has come from the grass roots. It has grown from the soil of people's hard necessities."

Contemporary Grassroots Movements


  • Abahlali baseMjondolo
    Abahlali baseMjondolo

    Abahlali baseMjondolo is a shack-dwellers' movement in South Africa. The movement grew out of a road blockade organized from the Kennedy_Road,_Durban shack settlement in the city of Durban in early 2005 and now operates across the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and in Cape Town....
     in South Africa
    South Africa

    The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
  • The Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee
    Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee

    Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee is an organisation in West Bengal, India, formed to oppose the set-up of a SEZ in Nandigram. BUPC was set up on January 5, 2007, through the merger of three existing anti-SEZ initiatives; Krishak Uchchhed Birodhi O Jonoswartho Roksha Committee , Krisi Jami Raksha Committee and Gana Unnoyon O Jana Odhikar Sa...
     in India
    India

    India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
  • The EZLN in Mexico
    Mexico

    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
  • Fanmi Lavalas
    Fanmi Lavalas

    Fanmi Lavalas is a populist leftist political party in Haiti. Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is the leader of the party, which has been a powerful force in Haitian politics since 1991....
     in Haiti
  • The Homeless Workers' Movement
    Homeless Workers' Movement

    The Homeless Workers Movement is an urban social movement that fights for low-income housing rights that originally branched off from the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra in 1997....
     in Brazil
    Brazil

    Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
  • The Landless Peoples Movement
    Landless Peoples Movement

    The Landless People's Movement is an independent social movement made up of the poor and landless in South Africa. It is a national movement formed in South Africa on 24 July, 2001 following a meeting between emerging regional and provincial landless people's organisations....
     in South Africa
  • The Landless Workers' Movement
    Landless Workers' Movement

    Brazil's Landless Workers Movement, or in Portuguese language Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra , is the largest social movement in Latin America with an estimated 1.5 million landless members organized in 23 out of Brazil's 26 states....
     in Brazil
  • Movement for Justice en el Barrio
    Movement for Justice en el Barrio

    The Movement for Justice in El Barrio , also known as Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio is a community organization based in East Harlem, New York....
     in the United States of America
  • Narmada Bachao Andolan
    Narmada Bachao Andolan

    File:NBA_logo.jpgNarmada Bachao Andolan is a non-governmental organisation that mobilised tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Narmada Dam being built across the Narmada river, Gujarat, India....
     in India
    India

    India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
  • The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign
    Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign

    The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign is a popular movement made up of poor and oppressed communities in Cape Town, South Africa. It was formed on November 2000 with the aim of fighting evictions, water cut-offs and poor health services, obtaining free electricity, securing decent housing, and opposing police brutality....
     in South Africa


Astroturfing


Faking a grassroots movement is known as astroturfing
Astroturfing

Astroturfing is a word in American English describing formal politics, advertising, or public relations campaigns seeking to create the impression of being spontaneous "grassroots" behavior, hence the reference to the Artificial turf, AstroTurf....
. Astroturfing, as the name suggests, is named after AstroTurf
AstroTurf

AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Though the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a genericized trademark of any kind of artificial turf....
, a brand of artificial grass. Astroturfing means to mimic a grassroots movement, with the powerful lobbyists behind the movement hiding their agenda by pretending to be individuals voicing their opinions.

See also

  • Grassroots democracy
    Grassroots democracy

    Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing politics processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization....
  • List of grassroots organizations
  • Public Relations
    Public relations

    Public relations is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics. Public relations - often referred to as PR - gains an organization or individual exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment....
  • Astroturfing
    Astroturfing

    Astroturfing is a word in American English describing formal politics, advertising, or public relations campaigns seeking to create the impression of being spontaneous "grassroots" behavior, hence the reference to the Artificial turf, AstroTurf....


External links

  • (guides to grassroots/community organizing)