What would Leopold von Ranke Say?

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: A, Sophia University Yotsuya Campus (-), course: International Relations Theory, language: English, abstract: This paper is based on Leopold von Ranke¿s 1833 essay ¿The Great Powers¿. Upon reading and re-reading the essay, I started to wonder what von Ranke, if he were still alive, would say about the historical developments of the latter half of the twentieth century. I wondered how he would assess the Cold War, and the increasing dominance of American culture in the world outside the United States. I was curious which countries he would see as ¿great nations¿ today. In this short paper I will attempt to answer some of these questions.