A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some theories of political movements are the political opportunity theory, which states that political movements stem from mere circumstances, and the resource mobilization theory which states that political movements result from strategic organization and relevant resources. Political movements are also related to political parties in the sense that they both aim to make an impact on the government and that several political parties have emerged from initial political movements. While political parties are engaged with a multitude of issues, political movements tend to focus on only one major issue.

उस सामाजिक आन्दोलन को राजनैतिक आन्दोलन कहते हैं जिसका क्षेत्र और स्वरूप राजनीति हो। राजनैतिक आंदोलन किसी एक मुद्दे को लेकर चलाये जा सकते हैं या बहुत से मुद्दों को लेकर। राजनैतिक दल और राजनैतिक आन्दोलन में अन्तर यह है कि राजनैतिक आन्दोलन अपने सदस्यों को चुनकर सरकारी पद पर बैठाने के लिये नहीं किये जाते बल्कि इसका उद्देश्य यह होता है कि नागरिकों एवं सरकार को आन्दोलन के मुद्दों के पक्ष में कार्य करने के लिये राजी किया जाय।