A slur mainly on the internet against those leftist (usually Marxists-leninist) who oppose western interventions, sanctions, coups and wars against countries and governments labeled as "authoritarian".

originally used by UK communists party trotskyist wing in support of Hungarian -56 crushed uprising against those who opposed it, calling them tankies. Vaguely same as "stalinist", but it pretty much has lost that meaning in modern use.

A size of tank, smaller than normal tank, but bigger than tankette.

OP, what have you unleashed.

It's essentially a pejorative for "communist." I recommend the Prolewiki article on "Tankies," as well as Nia Frome's essay "Tankies."

For those that want an introduction to Marxism-Leninism, I made an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list, check it out!

People fed up with the the (false) sin/cos dichotomy and want to get people to use tan more often.

Like most words it can mean different things depending on context. I’ll do my best to cover a few without spoiling it with my own opinions.

The most common usage is as a blanket pejorative aimed at anyone who identifies as leftist but also openly endorses authoritarian means or ends.

There are also those who embrace the term and they are also not all the same. There are Marxist-Leninists who believe the only path to a stateless egalitarian society is through a revolutionary vanguard party. There are also those who argue that egalitarian society can only be achieved and maintained through benevolent authoritarianism.

In any case, the term carries an implication of authoritarianism and/or revolutionary violence, hence “tanks.”

https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Tankie

https://redsails.org/tankies/

https://blackagendareport.com/western-marxism-loves-purity-and-martyrdom-not-real-revolution

Someone who believes people outside of the United States of America are also human beings.

A leftist. Someone with political beliefs, empathy, and conviction.

Typically it refers to leftists who strongly defend/advocate for authoritarian statist approaches to socialism/communism.

Tankie is a pejorative label generally applied to authoritarian communists, especially those who support or defend acts of repression by such regimes, their allies, or deny the occurrence of the events thereof. More specifically, the term has been applied to those who express support for one-party Marxist–Leninist socialist republics, whether contemporary or historical. It is commonly used by anti-authoritarian leftists, anarchists, libertarian socialists, left communists, social democrats, democratic socialists, and reformists to criticise Leninism, although the term has seen increasing use by liberal and right‐wing factions as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie