The word activism is one that is used to refer to the act by which a group of people protest against or in favor of something. The term comes from the idea of being active, that is, when one is mobilized and acts to make a change. In the case of activism, we always speak of organized forms of protest or claim that can vary in their demands as well as in the means used to protest.
Social or political activism is a relatively recent phenomenon in World History since we can say that it consciously arose in the 19th century with the first forms of labor protest. This activism differs from other forms of protest such as riots since it implies a certain organization, planning and a certain objective to achieve, whether it is simply to make a situation or discontent visible as well as to transform reality directly and immediately.
Today, activism is largely related to political, environmental, social and cultural protests and the phenomenon has deepened significantly with the development of globalization. Globalization has transformed society and world culture as well as the environment and the form of social participation, for which many times current activism is related to protests towards globalized ways of making culture, of destroying natural space, etc.
There are many social, political and cultural organizations that rely on activism as the main method of protest. Some of them are the famous NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that are independent of politics and that seek to transform reality in specific spaces, such as the environment, animal rights, children's rights, women's rights, etc. . On the other hand, political parties and social and popular organizations also resort to activism to protest against measures that they consider inappropriate or to ask for measures that should be applied. In the latter case, it is more common to find more violent or shock methods of action when it comes to activism.
