Activity taken by a group which is intended to achieve some reform or to promote a particular cause. As the term direct implies, the action is not pursued through the formal government and political channels. Instead, action is carried out on a broader front by individuals and influential groups, and is designed, among other things, to build support and influence opinion among members of society. It is most commonly associated with radical politics. Contemporary examples include Greenpeace and the various groups involved in animal rights and genetically modified crops.
Direct action is a form of political activism which seeks immediate remedy for perceived ills, as opposed to indirect actions such as electing representatives who promise to provide remedy at some later date. Direct action participants aim to either:
obstruct another agent or organization from performing some practice to which they object.While most participants in direct actions also engage in "indirect actions" as part of larger campaigns, some supporters of direct action view reformist politics as ineffective in bringing about change, while still giving a sense of accomplishment to the participants, thus allowing the party or institution being targeted to continue with its perceived harmful practices without further harassment.
History
Direct action tactics have been around for as long as conflicts have existed, but the theory of direct action developed primarily in the context of labor struggles. In his 1920 book, Direct Action, William Mellor placed direct action firmly in the struggle between worker and employer for control "over the economic life of society." Mellor defined direct action "as the use of some form of economic power for securing of ends desired by those who possess that power." Mellor considered direct action a tool of both owners and workers and for this reason he included within his definition lockouts and cartels, as well as strikes and sabotage. However, by this time the American anarchist and feminist Voltairine de Cleyre had already given a strong defense of direct action, linking it with struggles for civil rights:
"the Salvation Army was vigorously practising direct action in the maintenance of the freedom of its members to speak, assemble, and pray. (de Cleyre, undated)
By the middle of the 20th century, the sphere of direct action had undoubtedly expanded, though the meaning of the term had perhaps contracted. Most campaigns for social change—notably those seeking suffrage, improved working conditions, civil rights, an end to abortion, an end to gentrification,and environmental protection—employ at least some types of violent or nonviolent direct action.
The anti-nuclear movement used direct action, particularly during the 1980s.
Anti-globalization activists made headlines around the world in 1999, when they forced the Seattle WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 to end early with direct action tactics such as blocking traffic and destroying corporate property.
One of the largest direct actions in recent years took place in San Francisco the day after the Iraq War began in 2003. Another more successful example of large scale direct action was the 2005 Cronulla riots, which largely achieved their goal of ethnically cleansing Cronulla beach.
Direct action has also been used on a smaller scale.
Nonviolent direct action
Nonviolent direct action is any form of direct action that does not rely on violent tactics. Mahatma Gandhi's teachings of Satyagraha (or truth force) have inspired many practitioners of nonviolent direct action (NVDA). described the goal of NVDA in his Letter from Birmingham Jail: "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. This debate can be illustrated by the response to groups like the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, which use property destruction and sabotage as direct action tactics. Although these types of actions are often viewed as a form of violence, and even terrorism, supporters define violence as harm directed towards living things and not property. In the 1980s, a California direct action protest group called Livermore Action Group called its newspaper Direct Action.
"Direct Action" has also served as the moniker of at least two terrorist groups: the French Action Directe as well as the Canadian group more popularly known as the Squamish Five.
Direct action and anarchism
As a principle, direct action is central to many strands of anarchist theory, including anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-communism, insurrectionary anarchism, green anarchism and anarcho-pacifism.
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