Citizen movements can make a big difference in bringing about changes in government policy. When citizens organize, it sends a message to political leaders which indicates what it is that the people support. Moreover, by seeing that people are getting organized, more citizens would be motivated to participate, or at least to get interested in the topic. Finally, citizen movements usually receive a lot of media attention, which can help turn a small movement into an international phenomenon. An example of a citizen movement that brought about changes in government policy is the civil rights movement.
In most discussions, the global citizens movement is a socio-political process rather than a political organization or party structure. The term is often used synonymously with the anti-globalization movement or the global justice movement.
