Corrupt politicians win elections in non-GDPR countries a whole lot too, unfortunately. I'm no political scientist, but I think it has a lot to do with people being unwilling to learn about and engage with the political system, among others. I live in Austria and when it comes to more complicated topics soch as politics, or IT for example, people are outright proud to claim ignorance. Most people actually don't know that they can and should write their EU MEPs. I have, and I have gotten into very fruitful conversations with them. However, instead of asking our kids to know institution names by heart, maybe asking them to engage with the system would be a good start.
Also, if I were into social studies, I'd look at social media and how they drive outrage, and a good way to show kids how such an influence operation works so they don't fall for it. My wife and I have been a little active in this area, but way too little to make any meaningful difference, unfortunately.
