This week Dimtry Medvedev and Barack Obama met in Prague to sign the historic new START treaty. MSNBC, CNN, and the rest of the gang flocked to Czech capital to cover this reunion of former Cold War foes. Camera crews and diplomats assembled, the two nations agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals significantly over the next seven years. Specifically, both nations are limited to 1,550 nuclear warheads and 800 deployment vehicles (ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers).

Since the advent of the atomic bomb in the 1940s international politics has never been the same. The bipolar ups and downs of a world divided between two nuclear powers brought unnecessary suffering to every corner of the globe. Untold sums of human and financial capital were spent to fox and out gun the enemy. Espionage, brinkmanship, and boat rocking were the pirouettes and chasses of a schizophrenic ballet in which one misstep by the leading roles meant nuclear genocide.

Thousands of Americans and Soviets perished in the Afghan mountains, Vietnamese rice patties, and Korean battlefields, while a nuclear guillotine hung over the global community’s head. Such a brutal and ominous application of theoretical realist principles was unprecedented and will hopefully never be repeated.

On this note, the signing of this new treaty symbolizes a turning point in the nature of  international affairs. If one had to describe the future of US-Russia relations in two words “security” and “cooperation” would suffice. When the US looks out the window it sees a world that is increasingly interdependent and stateless. In the Kremlin Medvedev and company appreciate the realities of Russia’s reemergence as a major player on the world stage. Both parties understand that in order to succeed in a nuanced economic and political climate they must abandon cumbersome foreign policy and adapt to an era of non-state forces.