The article explores potential, resources and strategy of Spain in the United Nations from the moment when the resolution of the socalled Spanish question was adopted and Spain joined this influential intergovernmental international organization in 1955 to the present date. The author focuses on key problems which directly deal with national interests of Spain, including: a dispute with the United Kingdom about the ownership of Gibraltar, perennial problem of the Western (Spanish) Sahara conflict management, the initiative and the UN programme Alliance of Civilizations, co-sponsored by Spain, Kosovo issue and the danger of internationalization of the political and institutional conflict in Catalonia, efforts by the Spanish central government to achieve sustainable development goals. By analyzing foreign policy resources of Spain, initiatives and activities of the country in the United Nations and its various specialized agencies over the years using the UN information materials, the author suggests that successful democratic transition and the country’s accession to the European Economic Community in 1986 strengthened the profile of Spain in the United Nations. However, the political and institutional transformations in the European Union, creation of political union of the Member-States and establishment and development of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy mean that Spain may carry out its foreign policy in a ‘truncated’ form, taking into account the EU position as a special strategic partner of the UN and its expanded Observer status. The economic and foreign policy potential of this country weakening its competitive advantages under the influence of negative consequences of the global financial and economic crisis do not raise an issue about permanent membership of Spain in the UN Security Council. However, the ‘soft power’ resources based on its postimperial identity allow for a fairly high appreciation of possibilities of Spain with regard to monitoring, prevention and management of conflicts and crisis situations in developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing international assistance for development and facilitating intercultural dialogue of the Western and non-Western civilazations.

In the middle of the second decade of the 21st century there has begun a process of reorganization of Spanish electoral landscape. The Congress of Deputies (lower, and the key chamber of the Spanish Parliament) in its 2019 iteration is not much like the Congress of 2000-2011. The list of parties does not include Unión, Progreso y Democracia (UРyD) and Izquierda Unida (IU), which were predicted to grow significantly due to the decline in competitiveness of the leading parties, and were replaced by new members – Podemos, Ciudadanos, Más País, Teruel Existe. The Catalan parties, being the representatives of the most politically intense region of Spain, were also significantly altered and consequently strengthened their positions. A number of autonomous regions changed their ‘party affiliations’, and an atmosphere of uncertainty reigned in sparsely populated provinces. The author discusses main reference points for the political process of the country which significantly changed the balance of power, as well as the difficulties that political actors faced in the process of reaching or not reaching sought compromises. Over the past 4 years voters have been forced to return to polling stations twice to elect the national Parliament. Evidently, the Cabinet must urgently reform the system of government formation in order to avoid similar problems in the future.

After Franco’s death in 1975, a transition to democracy took place in Spain, accompanied by formation of a two-party system. While the overall transition was peaceful, it did not solve a number of important problems in Spanish society that became of paramount importance over the past decade. The peculiarities of the regime enshrined in the 1978 Constitution, combined with the consequences of the financial and economic crisis of 2008-2010, created the breeding ground in which populist parties formed in 2010s. The article examines the crisis of the post-Francoist political model as a prerequisite for emergence of populist parties, particularities of their programs, as well as the actions taken by them in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic. The author notes that by 2014 there developed a situation when the main parties of the country either demonstrated an unwillingness to solve pressing problems or proposed solutions that were unacceptable for a significant part of the population. In such a situation, social protest began to take its political form. The emergence of populists in the electoral field has largely renewed the country’s political agenda, revitalizing discussions on topical issues and forcing a change with the ‘heavyweights’ of Spanish politics – the Socialists and the People’s Party. The author concludes that transformation of political discourse can lead to a renewal of an entire political system of the country and a search for some new solutions to issues that remain key on the political agenda of Spain over the past decades.

Catalonia is one of the richest regions in Spain and, thanks to its Statute of Autonomy, it enjoys a self-government comparable to that existing in federal States. It has been part of Spain for as long as Spain exists, but in the course of history there have been several episodes of disagreement and attempts at receiving independence. Since the beginning of this century, a sovereignty process has been launched by supporters of secession, ignorant of the Constitution and Spanish legality, that culminated, in October 2017, with a unilateral declaration of independence, which involved temporary intervention by the Spanish Government and the trial and condemnation of the main leaders, in addition to not being recognized by any country or international organization in the world. Catalan society is plural, formed in part by emigrants from other parts of Spain, and is very divided on this issue. Supporters of independence have never managed to obtain 50% of the votes in any of the numerous elections carried out, although there is a majority favorable to increasing the level of autonomy. The solution to this conflict can only come with the achievement of a political agreement that establishes a new relationship between Catalonia and the rest of Spain, which satisfies a majority, without the need to break up. But this solution will be difficult because of both the radicalism of some separatist leaders and the lack of agreement between the Spanish parties on how to approach the issue.

Secessionist sentiments are more common for the European Union than for other world regions. This tendency takes place to a large extent because of a crisis in the European values and religious traditions, and new priorities. Catalonia, as well as the Basque Country, tries to hold a direct dialogue with Brussels bypassing Madrid, which is accompanied with numerous difficulties: a discontent and warnings on the part of the official government of Spain, the necessity for the European Union to take into consideration the position of its member-state and many others. Despite the fact that regions started to play a more significant role in the European Union agenda, it still continues to follow the policy of a cautious attitude towards the autonomy separatism. Moreover, the EU tries to limit capabilities of the further existence and development of autonomies as independent states by institutional means. In addition, after the separation, a state is not yet a member of the European Union – it has to create new currency, it faces some economic problems. Given all these factors, autonomies will think twice before organizing a referendum, which is also difficult to hold, because it contradicts the Constitution of Spain.

October 7, 2020 marked the 90th birthday anniversary of the prominent Soviet and Russian diplomat Yuri V.  Dubinin. The article presents a biography of Y.V. Dubinin, as well as a description of his contribution to the  development of national diplomacy.

The roundtable in teleconference format dedicated to the 90th anniversary of a renowned Soviet and Russian diplomat Yuri Dubinin was held at MGIMO University on October 7, 2020. The event was organized by the Department of Diplomacy of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the family of Ambassador Dubinin, as well as by the MGIMO Student Union and MGIMO Diplomatic Club. Yuri Dubinin, MGIMO graduate, has made a great contribution to promotion of Russia’s interests on the world stage, contributed to expansion and strengthening of ties between the Soviet Union (and later Russia) and the Western countries. During his professional career Yuri Dubinin held a number of high-level positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and Russia, namely those of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Spain, USA, France and Ukraine, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia; at the final stage of his career Ambassador Dubinin shared his professional experience with the future generation of diplomats serving as a Professor of the Department of Diplomacy of MGIMO University. The roundtable presentations were made by Yuri Dubinin’s colleagues from diplomatic corps who are currently serving as diplomats, representatives of other Russian state authorities and academic community, as well as members of Ambassador Dubinin’s family.