Late game control of WC votes required investment in city-states, as well as CS allies acting as naval bases, or being important for strategic resources (like BP in Iran, until a Soviet spy enacted a successful coup). This simulates Cold-War competition for control over strategically important regions and diplomatically important polities. Neo-colonialism is well represented by giving CSes big benefits to their allies and lots of strategic resources.
The tactical aspect I think is the most well-represented of any Civ title currently. The importance of a navy, and carriers, and the overall dominance of air-warfare over any other type are very representative. Politically speaking, the importance of a naval base is very stressed late game. I had a recent MP game as the Netherlands where I had a fair amount of isolation and thus had built no naval cities in the assumption I wouldn't need to attack anybody and was better suited protecting myself from frigate rushes. However late game, Maya player overtook me and I was beset by two of his coastal CS allies that were close to me. I took those out first and let an ally deal with the majority of Maya's land army and then I sent a bunch of internal trade to one of the newly annexed coastal CSes and hard built a carrier (a painstaking task). I was then able to launch a coherent offensive and I took a coastal city of the Maya, and used it as an airfield. My ally (Russia) and I were then able to push back the Maya from their conquered lands and we each divided the country. It was the most realistic modern war I'd ever experienced, with A) a gradual transition from importance on land troops to an importance in sea and air troops, B) proxy wars against CSes which gave me valuable naval bases, and C) a race to the atom bomb (Maya got there first and nuked a Russian city and army; I didn't get a chance to retaliate before sweeping Mayan lands with planes).
Overall, I think the OPness of planes, carriers, nukes, subs, battleships, and fortified infantry positions, all things that people complain about, are very historically supportive. My happiness and gold suffered as a result of the above war, but my production soared as I began to transition internal trade routes from food to hammers, representative of wartime industry and the effects of total war on a nation's domestic economy. Then, had the game dragged on, I'm sure CS would've been more important because of their huge resource advantages, strategic importance geographically, and votes in the WC. Invading a CS to remove a strategic resource and vote from an enemy is extremely representative of post-WWII proxy politics. I think the game overall does a good job, tactically, strategically, and politically, of representing modern warfare.