Americas
![Image courtesy of The White House via Flickr (Public Domain)](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/White%20House%20America%20First_WEB.jpg?itok=hiLZoDki)
"America First" undermines the U.S.'s ability to form constructive global relationships, writes former British diplomat and Boston University Senior Lecturer Paul Hare.
![Photo credit: Pixabay: skeeze / 12143 images](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/technology-662833_1280.jpg?itok=p7KGz4qY)
New communication tools in the digital era have enabled governments to engage audiences, home and abroad, about key policy decisions and much more. Given that these audiences no longer need traditional information gatekeepers, today’s public diplomacy officers must be flexible, reactive and swift, especially on social media. This is why realtime computational methods to collect, manage and analyze social media data in real time is key to the future of public diplomacy.
![Image courtesy of GDJ via Pixabay. Edited by CPD.](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/Priewe%20Blog%20Images_Part%20Two.jpg?itok=AG0srFrp)
In the second post of a two-part series, Sascha Priewe, CPD Research Fellow (2019-2021) and Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships, emphasizes the importance of intercultural dialogue.
![Image courtesy of the author. Author's note: Fishermen in Senegal are among the small traders being negatively impacted by large French transnational companies within the country, which contributes to the negative sentiment towards France.](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/American%20Soft%20Power%20in%20Senegal_WEB.jpg?itok=IBxeOIHe)
Boren Scholar and USC alum Kendal Gee discusses her experiences in Senegal.
![Image courtesy of GDJ via Pixabay. Edited by CPD.](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/Priewe%20Blog%20Images_Part%20One.jpg?itok=OLwOndoK)
Sascha Priewe, CPD Research Fellow (2019-2021) and Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships, discusses cultural diplomacy at the local level in part one of this two-part series.
![Image courtesy of katarzynajavaheri0 via Pixabay](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/U.S.-Georgia%20Exchange%20Diplomacy_WEB.jpg?itok=5tXo5JSJ)
Activities that help alumni of U.S. exchange programs build on their international experience strengthen U.S.-Georgia relations, writes Mariam Khatiashvili.
![Image courtesy of GDJ via Pixabay. Edited by CPD.](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/Bjola_Crisis%20Social%20Media_WEB.jpg?itok=i8vEnxfU)
CPD Faculty Fellow Corneliu Bjola explains how social media data can be used to conduct virality, signalling and contagion tests.
![Images via Pixabay. Edited by CPD.](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/City%20Diplomacy_LA%20and%20Iran_WEB.jpg?itok=99_766J-)
Recent developments in U.S.-Iran relations highlight how local diplomacy can bring together the people of Los Angeles and Tehran, writes CPD Research Associate Sohaela Amiri.