Атанас Ждребев

The article looks at the concept of Kurt Weyland about populism as a strategy for political mobilization. The analysis focuses on three thematic elements: first, the strategic approach is distinguished from the ideological and the discursive ones. Second, the role of the personalistic leader has been outlined as an engine of the populist strategy. Third, Weyland‘s interpretationof the relationship between populism and democracy has been subjected to critical analysis.

The article analyses the problematic nature of the methodological approach examining populism as an ideology. There is an emphasis on several aspects. Firstly, the lack of a worldview, which would give an ideological value of populism. Secondly, on the insignificance of populism understood as lack of ideas for the development of politics, economics and society. Thirdly on its collaboration with left and right ideologies, as well as on the insubstantiality of the ideological approach, in that it draws some of its intuitions from the paradigm that considers populism as a strategy for political mobilization.