ABSTRACT
There is little disagreement that sovereign states are involved in the planning, financing and execution of many acts of international terrorism. 1 Just what is defined as international terrorism, what constitutes state sponsorship of it, what strategic, domestic or foreign policy goals are intended to be pursued by such sponsorship, and which states may be classified as terrorist sponsors are, however, the subject of acrimonious debate.2 As with so many issues in the field of terrorism, the questions surrounding state-sponsored terrorism reflect a good deal more ideology and wishful thinking than scholarly analysis and weighing of the available evidence. In essence, the lack of a universally-accepted definition of terrorism and the combative and manipulative nature of international relations conspire to ensure that state-sponsored terrorism embraces a wide range of actions committed only by one's enemies. The assertion that this or that state is a sponsor of international terrorism increasingly is being wielded as a propaganda weapon and as a foreign policy tool itself.
