ABSTRACT
Although the meaning of “grassroots” is debatable, there is broad agreement that grassroots movements share certain characteristics: they exist outside political institutions, that is they are not the creation of governments or political parties; they have informal organizations, without professional staff (which distinguishes them from nongovernmental organizations); participants are not for the most part powerful or well resourced; and their scope is mainly local, in that they pursue issues within a specific locality.
