2008/02/01 by Ben Stanley · 7 citations
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Populism, Right-Wing Movements #German legal, social, and political studies #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Populism #Ideology #Doctrine #Confusion #Politics #Epistemology #Sociology #Style (visual arts) #Set (abstract data type) #Positive economics #Political science #Law #Philosophy #Psychology #History #Economics #Computer science #Psychoanalysis
paper · doi:10.1080/13569310701822289
openalex publication_date 2008/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The concept of populism has in recent years inspired much debate and much confusion. It has been described variously as a pathology, a style, a syndrome and a doctrine. Others have raised doubts as to whether the term has any analytical utility, concluding that it is simply too vague to tell us anything meaningful about politics. Drawing on recent developments in the theoretical literature, it is argued that populism should be regarded as a ‘thin’ ideology which, although of limited analytical use on its own terms, nevertheless conveys a distinct set of ideas about the political which interact with the established ideational traditions of full ideologies.