direct action

noun direct actions

1. euphemistic, uncountable, usually A form of political activism in which participants act illegally, ignoring established democratic procedures. It may take the form of strikes, workplace occupations, sabotage, sit-ins, squatting, revolutionary/guerrilla warfare, demonstrations, vandalism or graffiti. Or there are those who believe that in general the wisest way for people to get what they want is by the indirect method of voting into power some one who will make what they want legal; yet who all the same will occasionally under exceptional conditions advise a strike; and a strike, as I have said
2. uncountable, usually Small-scale raids, ambushes, sabotage, etc. carried out by the military.