In the period post Franco were created more favorable conditions for left parties, first of all for Communist party. However, «eurocommunists» leadership of the Communist party of Spain (KPI) led her to a deep crisis. The creation in January 1984 of the new Communist party of the people of Spain (PCPE), despite the difficulties of institutional development, the complicated financial situation, lack of personnel, became a significant factor in the national political field. After many years of political and ideological disarmament of the left forces in Spain appeared a party, acting with genuine class positions. At the same time, PCPE played the role of catalyst of processes oriented to shift to the left axis of the political life of the country. However, the current situation in the Spanish communist movement, the whole objective situation in Spain dictated the need for the unification of the communists. That goal was answered by the creation of a left electoral coalition «United left».

The article deals with the foreign policy and domestic policy of Spain in the first years after the end of the Second World War. The author analyzes the relationships between the Francoist Spain and the USA, England, France and the USSR during the difficult period of entry of the country into the new system of the international relations.

Relations between Spain and the Soviet Union in the XX century had periods of rapid development and quick decline. During the civil war in Spain the ties intensified unprecedentedly, but the rule of Francisco Franco was marked by the transformation of the two states into ideological and political opponents. The period of World War II can be considered as the lowest point in the relationship, when Spanish volunteers fought in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front. The situation did not improve after the war, when the Soviet Union proposed the most stringent measures to influence the Franco regime. Nevertheless, since the second half of the 1950s, when both regimes experienced a period of relative liberalization, direct channels of communication, primarily economic, have begun to appear. Together with symbolic steps that the sides exchanged, the development of economic relations contributed significantly to the change. The Soviet Union supplied aluminum, cellu-lose and tractors, Spain exported agricultural products and copper. Since the middle of the 1960s, the range of goods has become more diverse: in Soviet deliveries, oil and oil products have played an increasing role, and Spain has provided more and more consumer goods. In the second half of the 1960s a new sphere has opened for the trade relations between Madrid and Moscow - fishing. Active development of the fishing industry in the USSR required new fishing areas, and the Spanish ports were convenient for basing Soviet fishing vessels. In the end of the decade, the sides signed a number of bilateral treaties regulating the mutual use of coastal infrastruc-ture. Economic ties between the USSR and the francoist Spain began to pave the way for establishing normal relations between the two countries.

The article reveals the transformation of the party system of Spain in 2014 - 2017. Similarities and differences in the crisis of the party system at the national and regional levels are revealed (on the materials of Catalonia). Attention is focused on changes in the social base of political parties and party commitment of voters, on applied strategies of inter-party competition.

The author of the article draws his attention to the particular commitment of contemporary Spanish society, represented by its most influential and active groups, to the course for integration of Spain into common European space as well as for comprehensive internal reorganization of their social life in accordance with so-called «liberal paradigm». This course is maintained despite the fact that in Spain there are just all those problems that led in other European countries to sharp increase of antiglobalization and nationalist trend in recent years. The author believes that the reason for this phenomenon is the dominance of specific cultural-ideological climate which is historically determined and essentially adjusts the mindset of citizens of the country in favor of «liberal» values and philosophical concepts.

The goal of the study was to analyze the perception of the territorial brand of Spain at home and abroad. The theoretical basis of the study is the concept of the national brands index S. Anholt. The study was done with the application of the methods of comparative analysis of empirical data obtained from international and Spanish studies in the area of territorial branding. The research materials are made in the area of territorial branding, representing various approaches, sampling and methodology: the S. Anholt Index of National Brands (Nation Brand Index); Ranking Country RepTrack and researching the external and internal image of Spain at the Royal Institute of Elkano. The ranking analysis showed that in 2016 the reputation of the most authoritative states suffered, but Spain’s reputation began to be evaluated better and for the first time it became part of a group of countries with a stable reputation. The growth of Spain’s reputation in the world is due to the fact that in 2015 the tone of publications about Spain in the international media system had changed - a direct association with the economic crisis had left the narrative. The results of the research in the field of territorial branding confirm the thesis of Carlos Espinosa, the High Commissioner of the state project «Brand Spain» (Marca España), that in Spain the country’s brand is estimated lower than abroad, but at the same time the positive dynamics of the perception of Spain’s image indicate the effectiveness of this project and the competitiveness of the brand of Spain at the present stage. Contrary to the economic and political difficulties that Spain has faced over the past 20 years, regular work to design and promote the brand of Spain has been and has yielded positive results.

This study identifies the features of the communication campaign of the Spanish Podemos party, which helped this party to become the third political force in the country. Taking into account the difference between the discourse of Podemos, founded in 2014, and the rhetoric of the «old parties» - the People’s Party and the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party - the conclusion is that the so-called «new language» in the Spanish political discourse played a key role in guaranteeing electoral support to this political movement. Podemos ideologists confirm that in power struggle they had to resort to a special type of discourse based on the post-structuralists’ Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe discursive theory of the hegemony, as well as on the neo-Marxist Antonio Gramsci concept of the cultural hegemony.

The Spanish version of the evolution of the Empire differed from “classic” British: here there was a prolonged rupture of economic and political ties with the mother country. But now Spain and Latin American countries are developing cooperation in several directions. Spain is one of the major foreign investors for this region.

The article analyzes the importance of transatlantic economic relations for economy of Spain and for its positions in the EU. Special attention is given to institutional and structural factors which make impact on development of transatlantic economic interaction.

This article analyzes various aspects of interaction of Spain and European Union (EU) at the present stage. Due to the fact that the studied period is less than six months (including several events happened in a period less than a month) before presenting the paper, this research is topical and covers issues which were not examined before in academic literature. The aim of the study is to analyze major problems on which Spain has made suggestions for positive changes in the EU recently. The research was conducted with the help of such methods, as event-analysis, comparison and system approach. The article implies consistent and coherent analysis of important recent events, political and economic processes which actors were Spain and the European Union. In order to make the research comprehensive, materials of international media, official statements and papers of researchers from Spanish-speaking countries on associated topics were studied. The main conclusion on Spain’s participation in political and economic processes at the level of the EU is that Spain suggests different ways to strengthen economies of the Eurozone, accelerate integration in the framework of the EU, resolve migration crisis and fight against terrorism in Europe. Thanks to economic growth during this year and relative stabilization of political situation after the party crisis, Spain began to participate more actively in international projects within the EU, and it is engaged in a constructive dialogue on the most urgent European problems.