In political context, this phrase usually is equivalent to
participatory democracy.
As per
politics as usual, "grassroots" democracy generally refers to decisionmaking by rank and file members of a mainstream party. It is secondary to
power politics; and a weak second at that.
The term
grassroots democracy can also sometime mean
direct democracy or
semi-direct democracy or
deliberative democracy, but is shaded somewhat differently with these meanings. So, be careful which terms you use.
See also ground rules for grassroots democracy, anticipatory democracy, bioregional democracy,