The United States and the Soviet Union have finally been able to agree on what may be considered the first genuine diarmament treaty since the end of the Second World War. While much of the post-War international system over the last forty years had been dominated by the realities and rhetorics of the Cold War, this treaty has emerged as a small but symbolic effort, based on the cautious steps taken thus far in achieving arms control. Each step forward had involved risks of being nullified by bilateral postures of confron- tation in response to shifting attitudes towards each other as well as unanticipated developments within the international system.
This paper is an effort to examine and analyse the likely consequences and circumstances in this unique treaty, both for the superpowers as well as the interna- tional system.
It is necessary to explain why this treaty is impor-