Why do people take to the streets? Understanding the multidimensional motivations of protesting publics.

Highlights • Symbolic reality and individuality are crucial in understanding protesting publics. • Motivations at the collective and individual levels drive individuals to action. • Collective motivations include warning and communicating with the government. • Individual motivations include learning from experience. • Individual motivations also include gaining satisfaction and releasing emotions. Abstract This study enhances our understanding of protesting publics by exploring the motivations that trigger individuals to take part in protests. This study used 22 in-depth interviews for one case and 25 in-depth interviews for another to investigate why individuals participate in anti-government protests. At the collective level, individuals participated in protests to communicate with and warn their governments; at the individual level, protestors expected to learn through active participation, gain personal satisfaction, and vent their emotions. This study contributes to public relations theory and practices specific to government public relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]