Tollgates of progress
Temporal governance, diagnostic publics, and the accelerant of perception in South African entrepreneurship discourse
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22436272 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gilbert Tinashe Zvaita (College of Law), Tigere Paidamoyo Muringa (0000-0003-3773-4959, Durban University of Technology), Phocenah Nyatanga (0000-0002-7128-5133, College of Law) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2673-3145 • E-ISSN: 2673-3145 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpos.2026.1815632 |
| OpenAlex | W7168400111 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 39 |
This study investigates how social media affordances frame corruption as a systemic gatekeeping mechanism in South Africa. It introduces the Accelerant of Perception model to explain the erosion of institutional legitimacy. Using multi-platform qualitative content analysis of a bounded digital event, we analysed 1,107 cross-platform responses to the viral “Tollgates of Black Progress” debate on X, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Findings reveal that digital discourse exposes and confirms the tollgate system, entrenched predatory administrative norms that function as networked checkpoints regulating access to economic opportunity. A critical velocity gap emerges as platformed algorithms accelerate the public diagnosis of institutional failure at speeds that exceed the temporalities of bureaucratic reform, intensifying entrepreneurial despair. By shifting focus from digital access to perceptual velocity, the study reframes social media as a high-velocity diagnostic tool that renders institutional rot inescapable. The research theorises the temporal friction between digital public spheres and the gatekeeper state in emerging economies, with implications for platform-aware governance and peer-to-peer entrepreneurial infrastructures.
Affordance · Bureaucracy · Corporate governance · Digital media · Entrepreneurship · Gatekeeping · Language change · Perception · Social media · Temporalities · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · E-Government and Public Services · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
Hybrid Media Activism
The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion
Qualitative Content Analysis in Practice
Phenomenological research methods
Ethical issues in qualitative research on internet communities
The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data
Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance
Social media potential for developing participatory governance
Race and Corruption
Twitter activism and youth in South Africa
Public Perceptions of Corruption and Democratic Dissatisfaction in South Africa’s Third Decade of Democracy
Political Turbulence
The Social Amplification of Risk
Social Acceleration
Corruption risk as a structural driver of state fragility
Citizens' trust in government as a function of good governance and government agency's provision of quality information on social media during Covid-19
On constitution and causation in International Relations
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Why Do Voters Support Corrupt Politicians? Experimental Evidence from South Africa
Twenty-five years of research on institutions, entrepreneurship, and economic growth
Digital Technologies and Anti-Corruption
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |