Is Populism an Ideology? A Critique of the “Thin Ideology” Concept

The recent rise of populism has become the object of various studies, although the concept of populism is still contested. In different research studies, it’s described as ideology, political style, logic, discourse, or even strategy of mobilization. The variety of definitions makes some claim that the term has no analytical meaning and doesn’t describe the political reality adequately. However, there exists a set of views that prevails and has almost became a mainstream viewpoint. One of these approaches claims populism to be a “thin ideology,” which is opposed to “thick ideologies” like liberalism or conservatism. Such a notion is based upon the point of view that populism adopts the features of “thick ideologies” as at its core it has nothing but feeble anti-establishment attitude. The aim of this paper is to analyze the “thin ideology” concept, compare it with ordinary ideologies and challenge “thin ideology” view on populism. Moreover, it find out whether modern populism exceeds the borders of a “thin ideology” and becomes its “thick” version.