Political resilience in the post-truth era: secondary school strategies for enhancing political education among the younger generation

In the post-truth era, where facts are eroded by emotional narratives and digital misinformation, strengthening political resilience among the younger generation has become a critical democratic challenge. This qualitative case study examines the political education strategies implemented at State Senior High School 3 Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The research explores how Civic Education, student council organisations, alumni networks (PADMANABA), and pentahelix collaboration (academia, business, government, community, media) synergistically build students’ epistemic agency and critical citizenship. Findings reveal that transformative civic pedagogy, deliberative democratic simulations, transgenerational value curation, and multi-sectoral networking create a layered political resilience ecosystem. This model shifts political resilience from a state-centric to a networked, bottom-up paradigm, fostering citizens who are epistemically sovereign and resistant to disinformation. The study contributes to global debates on democratic resilience from a Global South perspective, emphasising the strategic role of schools as counter-hegemonic sites for regenerating democracy.