Tankie

Tankie is a pejorative term which originally referred to those members of the Communist Party of Great Britain that followed the Kremlin line, agreeing with the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and later the Prague Spring by Soviet tanks; or more broadly, those who followed a traditional pro-Soviet position.[1] Post-Cold War tankies are more associated with China and North Korea than the Soviet Union or its successor states. More recently it has seen a less specific use of the term, referring to hardline anti-imperialist or Marxist–Leninist positions on the left.

For other uses, see Tankie (disambiguation).
Red Army T-55 tanks in Budapest, 1956.

Definition

According to The Independent, after the Prague Spring, "In Communist Party circles, including those of the British CP, the term 'tankie' was subsequently used to describe those party members who supported the crushing of the Prague Spring by force of arms."[2]

Leftist writer Carl Beijer claims that there are two distinct uses, the original, which was "exemplified in the sending of tanks into Hungary to crush resistance to Soviet communism. More generally, a tankie is someone who tends to support militant opposition to capitalism", and the more modern online variation which means "something like 'a self-proclaimed communist who indulges in conspiracy theories and whose rhetoric is largely performative'", although he is critical of both uses.[3]

According to Christina Petterson, "Politically speaking, tankies regard past and current socialist systems as legitimate attempts at creating communism, and thus have not distanced themselves from Stalin, China, etc."[4]

History

In general use the term originated as a phrase for British hardline members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Journalist Peter Paterson asked Amalgamated Engineering Union official Reg Birch about his election to the CPGB Executive after the Hungarian invasion:

When I asked him how he could possibly have sided with the "tankies", so called because of the use of Russian tanks to quell the revolt, he said "they wanted a trade unionist who could stomach Hungary, and I fitted the bill."[5]

The support of the invasion of Hungary was disastrous for the party's credibility.[1]

The first official use of the term was in The Guardian in May 1985. The article stated “The minority who are grouped around the Morning Star (and are variously referred to as traditionalists, hardliners, fundamentalists, Stalinists, or ‘tankies’—this last a reference to the uncritical support that some of them gave to the Soviet ‘intervention’ in Afghanistan).”[6]

In 2014 Boris Johnson referred to Jeremy Corbyn and the left wing of the Labour party as "tankies and trots."[7]

In the 21st century, "tankie" has emerged as internet slang.[8] According to Vice, the contemporary expression is particularly popular among young democratic socialists.[9] Many modern tankies are members of the Asian diasporas in English-speaking countries. In particular, members of the Chinese diaspora searching for radical responses to social ills such as xenophobia against people of Asian descent are drawn to tankie discourse. While the composition of tankies has changed, the underlying theory and political positions have not. This modern conception of tankies has also been described as diasporic Chinese nationalism.[10]

See also

References
  1. Stephen Drive Understanding British Party Politics, p. 154
  2. Paterson, Tony. "Hard-line Czech communist Vasil Bilak dies: Last surviving 'tankie' who supported 1968 invasion of his own country by Soviet Union passes away at 96". www.independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. Peyser, Eve. "Corncob? Donut? Binch? A Guide to Weird Leftist Internet Slang". www.vice.com. Vice. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  4. Petterson, Christina (2020). Apostles of Revolution? Marxism and Biblical Studies. Brill. p. 11. ISBN 9004432205.
  5. How Much More of This, Old Boy-- ?: Scenes from a Reporter's Life, Peter Paterson p. 181
  6. Statesman, New. "What exactly are "Trots" and "Tankies"?". www.newstatesman.com. The New Statesman. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  7. Watt, Nicholas. "Boris Johnson: Jeremy Corbyn and Labour left are 'tankies and trots'". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  8. Rickett, Oscar. "From latte socialist to gauche caviar – how to spot good-time leftwingers around the world". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  9. Pearl, Mike. "How a Real Class War, Like with Guns, Could Actually Happen". www.vice.com. Vice. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  10. Hioe, Brian. "THE QIAO COLLECTIVE AND LEFT DIASPORIC CHINESE NATIONALISM". newbloommag.net. New Bloom Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
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