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 can include nonviolent and violent activities, with a blurred intermediate area of attacks on properties. Nonviolent activities include strikes, workplace occupations, sit-ins, and demonstrations. More violent actions include sabotage, revolutionary/guerrilla warfare, vandalism or graffiti. Direct actions are often (but not always) a form of civil disobedience and thus often violate criminal law. For example vandalism is illegal, while demonstrations are usually not illegal in most constitutional democracies. Less confrontational forms of this definition of direct action include establishing radical social centers, and performing street theatre.

Utilizing resources within their power, direct action participants aim to either:

• obstruct another political agent or political organization from performing some practice to which the activists object; or,
• solve problems major societal institutions (businesses, governments, powerful churches or establishment unions) are not addressing.

Some direct action participants engage in "indirect actions" (voting in elections, targeted boycotts) as part of larger campaigns.