Month: December 2019

Twenty-four of those countries, including the US, have experienced such significant setbacks that they are actually “autocratizing,” according to V-Dem, which observes the world as undergoing its third wave of autocratization.

The numbers are more astounding when you take population into account — more than a third of the world is now living in a country undergoing autocratization. That surge has happened remarkably fast, from 415 million people in 2016 to 2.3 billion in 2018, according to V-Dem.

This erosion is happening around the world, and perversely, in many cases the leaders challenging democratic norms were themselves democratically elected. In Latin America, it’s in Brazil and Venezuela. In Europe, it’s Poland, Hungary and Turkey. It’s India and the Philippines in Asia, and Mali and Burundi in Africa, to name a few.

V-Dem also noted for the first time a rapid spread of toxic polarization and hate speech, with more countries regressing than advancing.

This polarization has fractured parliaments across Europe, creating political deadlock in countries like Italy and Spain. British voters were so frustrated that their splintered Parliament could not deliver Brexit that they just elected the biggest Conservative government since the country’s divisive years under Margaret Thatcher.

The Trump effect

The erosion of democracy in the US and across the world started well before Trump. Globalization, US wars in the Middle East and the rapid advancement of technology — automation and communications tools — have all contributed to this downslide, according to Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

But this decay became “dramatically worse” when Trump became president, Diamond said.

Trump has loudly voiced his dislike for democratic norms and institutions, often through his Twitter account, where he has attacked the free media, the judiciary and the electoral process itself. These attacks have had a ripple effect around the world, inspiring “chauvinist politicians” to act more autocratically, Diamond told CNN.

“Democracy was expanding in the 1980s and the early 1990s, and particularly after the fall of Berlin Wall, and then the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US and Europe together were the dominant powers in the world, and democracy normatively and in terms of the global power and energy behind it, was the way the world was going. And there was a lot of money and diplomatic capital and global power and energy being invested in developing democracy — sanctioning, punishing, marginalizing, isolating diplomatically countries that were moving the wrong direction,” Diamond said.

That energy has waned. Diamond believes that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars played a significant part, negatively associating in people’s minds the promotion of democracy and the use of military force.

“He has trashed our allies, and our western democracy alliances, and this happened at the very same time that China and Russia were surging in their global power ambitions, and developed new means, digital and otherwise, new instruments, and made plans to intervene, to roll back democratic gains, to scourge and pre-empt new democratic breakthroughs, because they don’t want any more examples of revolutions that could give their own people ideas,” Diamond said.

As a result, there is much more competition between democracy and authoritarianism than there was last century, according to Diamond, who said the rise of far-right populist parties in Europe were also giving democracy a bad name.

“So people are saying, well, if Europe and the United States don’t look like brilliant generous examples anymore, the illiberal, chauvinistic politicians in emerging or protested democracies like India, you know Modi looks around and sees Trump doing this, and sees Orban doing this, and sees Poland doing this, and he thinks, ‘What the hell, I can do it too,'” he said.

It’s moving toward a model that V-Dem calls an “elected autocracy.” Instead of dictators, elected “strongmen” continue autocratic rule. They simply make their countries look more democratic than they are.

What’s next?

The future for democracy is not all doom and gloom. As longstanding democracies with large populations lose a little faith, smaller nations are rising. Twenty-one countries showed an improvement in democracy over the past decade, according to V-Dem. It also noted at least seven nations were transitioning to electoral democracies between 2008 and 2018, including Tunisia, the Gambia, Sri Lanka and Fiji.

Paul Cartledge, a Cambridge University historian and author of “Democracy: A Life,” says that democracy is clearly going through a “bad patch” and is under threat, but the world isn’t on the verge of a new wave of fascism.

“A lot of people have voted in certain ways because they feel that the gap between themselves and those in power is too big, and they want someone to come in from the outside and smash through. It’s just been disastrous,” he told CNN.

“But I think this period will wake people up,” he said. “In 10 years from now, I think we’ll see some change.”

February: Imaginary voter fraud

Trump has depicted himself as a crusader against election fraud. What happened in February was telling.

Trump’s lying is rarely challenged in real time. This time, a reporter did try to object to the fiction about California. Trump responded with a favorite tactic: an aggressive “Excuse me, excuse me” interjection, then more dishonesty.

March: Revisionist history on “Russia, if you’re listening”

Nearly three years after Trump made his infamous “Russia, if you’re listening” campaign request for help obtaining deleted Hillary Clinton emails, he announced a new explanation.

He had been just kidding. The media had failed to report that he had been just kidding.

No, Trump didn’t make the request before 25,000 people at a rollicking arena event. No, he wasn’t laughing at the time.

This was up-is-down fake history, one of Trump’s periodic efforts to rewrite a reality we were all able to witness.

April: “Windmills” and cancer

There might indeed be a “they” Trump has heard saying that wind turbines — which he habitually calls “windmills” — cause cancer. That should not mean the President should pass on their false claim to the country. But Trump is not only a serial liar but a serial sharer of inaccurate information he has heard from a motley collection of dubious sources — “many people,” “some people,” “they” — and not bothered to verify.

May: Two lies in one

Trump has been lying about Veterans Choice since 2018, falsely claiming he was the one who got it passed. His rendition on May 30, along with a similar claim in March, might have been the most egregious.

June: Remains, no longer returning

Trump had a real diplomatic success to boast about in 2018. North Korea had returned the remains of some of the American soldiers who were killed in the Korean War.

In 2019, as the diplomacy soured, North Korea ceased cooperating. Trump’s solution: lie that North Korea was still cooperating, thus giving false hope to hundreds of American families.

He responded, “But they will be. Look, we’ve gotten remains back. That will start up again.” He then continued speaking as if it had not stopped at all.

July: Smearing Rep. Ilhan Omar

August: A tariff mantra

Between July 8, when we started counting Trump’s false claims at CNN, and December 15, the day until which we currently have comprehensive data, Trump’s most frequent false claim of any kind was that China is paying the entirety of the cost of his tariffs on imported Chinese products.

September: The Sharpie fiasco

We counted 12 false claims from Trump on Dorian and Alabama over 11 days. Not including the Sharpie map.

October: Inverting reality on the whistleblower

The Sharpie madness was old news by the end of September. Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, and Democrats’ related impeachment push, were his most frequent subject of dishonesty in all four weeks of October.

His most frequent individual false claim on Ukraine or impeachment was that the whistleblower who complained about his dealings with Ukraine was highly inaccurate. He said this on 46 separate occasions through December 15.

Trump first made a version of this claim at the end of September, but he repeated it on 30 separate occasions in October alone as Democrats moved toward impeachment. That was 17 more times than he uttered any other individual false claim that month.

November: Pulling “out” of Syria

December: Dishwashers

After slashing his victims, the suspect tried to enter a nearby synagogue before community members shut the doors and kept him out, one witness said. The suspect, Grafton Thomas, was at large for about an hour before police arrested him in Harlem without a struggle.

“Thank God police were able to apprehend him … and that’s how we could put our kids to sleep. Kids were afraid to go to sleep,” Rabbi Yisroel Kahan told CNN.

Kraus said many children at the home that night, including 10 of his nephews, were traumatized. More than 40 children have met with trauma specialists.

“My nephews are waking up at night shivering and telling their parents they’re having bad dreams,” he said.

More than an hour after the attack, people gathered at the synagogue and heard the rabbi speak of the community’s resilience, Kraus said. “We actually thanked God for all the miracles that happened,” he said. “We danced and we sang and we prayed for all the people who still need to recover.”

Suspect faces federal hate crime charges

Thomas, 37, faces federal hate crime charges in the stabbings, on top of the five counts of attempted murder he pleaded not guilty to earlier this week.

In a criminal complaint, FBI Special Agent Julie S. Brown said investigators found journal entries in Thomas’ home that “express anti-Semitic sentiments.”

Thomas “has no known history of anti-Semitism and was raised in a home which embraced and respected all religions and races,” his family said in a statement released by his attorney Michael H. Sussman.

He suffered from depression and psychosis for years, Sussman said, and was hospitalized several times in 2019.

“What rhetoric, what hateful anti-Semitic messages he saw that got him to do this God knows,” Kahan said. “Justice should be served and he should get the help he needs.”

“Excusing anti-Semitism only leads to worse cases,” he added.

The five people injured inside the rabbi’s home were all Hasidic Jews, the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council for the Hudson Valley Region said. One of them was the rabbi’s son, who is recovering.

Journals referenced Hitler and ‘Nazi Culture’

In Thomas’ home, about 40 minutes away from the site of the attack, investigators found a journal that referred to “Adolf Hitler” and “Nazi Culture” on the same page as drawings of a Star of David and a Swastika, according to the complaint.

One entry in the journal said “Hebrew Israelites” took from the “powerful ppl (ebinoid Israelites)” and questioned “why ppl mourned for anti-Semitism when there is Semitic genocide.”

Sussman said he had not seen those journal entries but had reviewed earlier writings by Thomas. Those writings reflect the “ramblings of a disturbed individual” but contain “no suggestion … of an anti-Semitic motive, of any anti-Semitism,” Sussman said.

The internet search history from a cell phone found in Thomas’ car included searches such as “Why did Hitler hate the Jews” and “German Jewish Temples near me.”

The searches also included the phrase “Prominent companies founded by Jews in America.”

On Saturday — the day of the attack — the search history showed an article called “New York City Increases Police Presence in Jewish Neighborhoods After Possible Anti-Semitic Attacks. Here’s What To Know.”

‘We have to stand strong in faith’

Rockland County, where the stabbings took place, has the largest Jewish population per capita of any US county, according to the state of New York. Almost a third of its population is Jewish.

“Anti-Semitism has been going on in … New York City for many, many years and it spilled over to Rockland County and to Monsey,” Rabbi Shmuel Gancz, the Chabad Jewish Center of Suffern director, told CNN.

While many have grown fearful following the string of incidents, Gancz urged communities “not to be frightened.”

“That’s really one of the things that the anti-Semites, that the haters want us to do is to …get down and be frightened to lock our doors,” he said. “Obviously we put all security measures in strong place and we don’t rely on prayer alone, we protect ourselves, we alert the security, we fight back if we need to at times.”

But the most important act, he said, is “we have to stand strong in faith.”

The armed security will include off-duty or retired law enforcement agents.

Shrinking groups tilt toward GOP

On the religious front, just as in those other arenas, the groups that favor Democrats are clearly growing. Not only have the religiously unaffiliated expanded since 2009 from about 1 in 6 to 1 in 4 adults, but the share of Americans who ascribe to non-Christian faiths, a group that also leans strongly Democratic, has edged up from 5% to 7% of the population over that time, Pew found. Simultaneously, white Christians have fallen as a share of all American adults — from just over half in 2009, according to Pew and other data, to around two-fifths today.

The challenge for Democrats is that their potential gains from the growing groups are being muted by an increasing tilt toward the GOP among the groups that are shrinking, in this case whites who identify as Christian. (The same dynamic is evident among other contracting groups such as whites without college degrees.) The combined result has left the parties on something of a treadmill, as Republicans offset at least some of the demographic change that benefits Democrats with improved performance among the key groups of shrinking white voters.

Democrats’ religious profile very different

But even as white Christians have declined as a share of the population, more of that shrinking group is aligning with Republicans. In 2009, Pew found 51% of white Christians identified as Republicans, while 37% considered themselves Democrats (the rest were independents). Today that 14-point partisan gap has more than doubled: In the latest Pew results, 63% of white Christians identify as Republicans, compared with 30% who identify as Democrats.

The movement has been even sharper among white evangelical Protestants. Their share of the overall population is also shrinking: It fell to 16% in the latest Pew results, down from 19% in 2009. In 2009, they were about twice as likely to identify as Republicans (61%) as Democrats (30%), according to figures provided by Gregory Smith, Pew’s associate director of research. Today 75% of white evangelicals call themselves Republicans, while just 19% identify as Democrats, a ratio of nearly 4 to 1.

As a result, even as white Christians have fallen below majority status in the country, they remain a clear majority of Republicans. In all, 64% of Republicans identify as white Christians in the latest Pew data. (The PRRI findings put the figure even slightly higher, at nearly 70%). That means white Christians now represent about the same share of Republicans as they did in the country overall in 1998. White evangelical Protestants alone represent 30% of Republicans, about double their share in the general population, Pew found.

The Democrats’ religious profile could not be more distinct. White Christians now make up only 25% of Democrats, Pew found, down sharply from 40% in 2009. (White evangelicals compose only 7% of all Democrats.) Today, a larger share of Democrats in the Pew results are either not affiliated with any religion (34%) or are nonwhite Christians (30%), Pew found. Another 9% of Democrats adhere to non-Christian faiths. In each of those three latter cases, that’s about double the share of Republicans in those categories.

Mirror images on the issues

To map the divide between these two coalitions, the Public Religion Research Institute at my request ran the results for some of the survey’s core questions among voters who approve and disapprove of Trump’s performance in office. (In all 39% of adults approved of Trump’s performance while 60% disapproved.) Across the key changes reshaping American culture, the two groups rendered almost inverse verdicts.

On gender, roughly three-fifths of adults who approve of Trump agreed that “these days society seems to punish men just for acting like men.” Three-fourths of adults who disapprove of Trump disagreed. Two-thirds of Trump approvers likewise agreed that “Society as a whole has become too soft and feminine,” while nearly three-fourths of those who disapproved of him disagreed.

The divide between the two sides was even more pronounced on issues relating to race. Fully 68% of those who approve of Trump agreed that “Today, discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities.” Three-fourths of those who disapprove of Trump disagreed with that sentiment. Over three-fifths of Trump approvers agreed with the harshly phrased sentiment that “Immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background.” Four-fifths of voters who disapproved of Trump rejected that sentiment.

Differing views among Christians

On a revealing broader question, almost exactly three-fourths of adults who approved of Trump said the Democratic Party “has been taken over by socialists.” A nearly identical three-fourths of Trump disapprovers said the Republican Party “has been taken over by racists.”

At the heart of these contrasts are the inimical views of white evangelical Protestants and religiously unaffiliated Americans (of all races), which now arguably represent the core of each party’s coalition.

While two-thirds of white evangelicals, for instance, say discrimination against whites is as big a problem as discrimination against minorities, more than 7 in 10 among the religiously unaffiliated disagree. Two-thirds of white evangelicals say immigrants are “invading” America; three-fourths of the religiously unaffiliated disagree. Three-fourths of white evangelicals say socialists have taken over the Democratic Party; two-thirds of the unaffiliated say racists now control the Republican Party.

The groups diverge in their assessment of every element of Trump’s performance. Three-fourths of the unaffiliated say Trump has encouraged white supremacy; 70% of white evangelicals say he has not. Four-fifths of the unaffiliated disapprove of Trump’s job performance; more than three-fourths of the evangelicals approve. More than three-fifths of the unaffiliated support Trump’s impeachment and removal; nearly 9 in 10 evangelicals oppose it.

White evangelicals stand out for their staunchly conservative positions on virtually every aspect of demographic and cultural change. Other white Christians appear more conflicted, though on balance they also lean slightly toward the right.

A majority of both white mainline Protestants and white Catholics did reject the ideas that society is too soft and feminine, that it punishes men and that immigrants are “invading” America. But a narrow majority of each say socialists have taken over the Democratic Party. A solid majority also reject the notion that racists have captured the GOP, and majorities support an array of Trump-style policies on immigration, including reducing legal immigration, building his proposed wall across the Southern border and temporarily banning immigration from Muslim countries. Nearly three-fifths of white Catholics and just over half of white Protestants also believe discrimination against whites is as much a problem as discrimination against minorities.

Still, a majority of white mainline Protestants and (especially) white Catholics say Trump has damaged the dignity of the presidency, and both groups divide about in half on whether they approve of his performance in office (with white Protestants slightly more positive than the Catholics).

Changes most striking among youth

Though both groups have been shrinking, their future allegiance looms as a critical near-term factor in national politics, particularly given their prevalence in the Rust Belt battlegrounds that remain at the tipping point of presidential elections.

Still, the long-run threat to Republicans clearly emerges from these new studies: The party, especially as defined by Trump, faces huge resistance among the groups that are growing in society, while the groups most drawn to his racial nationalism — such as white evangelicals — are shrinking. Today, per the Pew findings, there are about four white Christians for every three adults who are either unaffiliated or practice a non-Christian faith. As recently as 2009, there were more than seven white Christians for every three adults in those other two categories.

The shooting happened after a dispute broke out at the party around 12:35 a.m. Sunday in the 5700 block of S. May Street, police said.

“Shots were fired within the residence, which caused everyone to start to leave,” Waller said.

The victims, ranging in age from 16 to 48, suffered various injuries and were transported to area hospitals for treatment. Four victims were in critical condition Sunday, according to the Chicago Police Major Incident Notification website.

No suspect information was available but police say two persons of interest were taken in for questioning.

Police also arrested a man seen fleeing the area of the shooting who has since been charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, according to a Chicago Police Department press release. Police could not confirm that his arrest was in connection with the shooting. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

Sunday afternoon, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot admonished the violence occurring in her city. “This kind of violence is simply not going to be tolerated in our city,” Lightfoot told reporters after visiting shooting victims and family members.

She urged anyone with information to come forward, saying someone “inside that room knows exactly who the shooters were.”

7 people shot while waiting to get into a Baltimore lounge

Within hours of the Chicago shooting, seven people were shot and injured as they waited to get into a lounge in downtown Baltimore.

As many as four suspects are being sought in the shooting, Baltimore Police Col. Rich Worley said Sunday.

Worley said two shooters exited a car near the lounge just after 2 a.m. Sunday and began firing on those waiting in line.

One man had a handgun while a second had a rifle. A total of nineteen shots were fired, Worley said. Those injured, ages 17 to 27, were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

The car the suspects arrived in was recovered but had been set on fire, according to Worley.

A 19-year-old man dies in Minnesota shooting

Shortly after midnight Sunday morning, police responded to a shooting in the parking lot of the Dala Thai Restaurant and Banquet Hall in Spring Lake Park, about 12 miles north of Minneapolis.

Authorities are asking any bystanders of the shooting who may have video of the incident to reach out to investigators, the release said.

Under the USCIS Genealogy Program, anyone who’s interested can obtain naturalization certificates, alien registration forms, visa applications and other records of immigrants from the late 1800s to the mid-1950s.

USCIS says the fees will help cover costs

Currently, it costs $65 to have USCIS look through its database and determine if it has any records on the immigrant you’re looking for. If it does, it’s another $65 for each file you want a copy of.

USCIS says the fee increases are necessary to cover the costs of operating the agency and processing each of the requests it receives.

The agency did not answer questions about how it determined the amounts outlined in its proposal. The public comment period ends on December 30.

Venezia said the high cost of obtaining genealogy records from the agency would likely deter many people from requesting them and as a result, offset the potential for generating more money.

“Any revenue they’d think they’d make off this specific part of the agency is likely moot because so few people would be able to afford it,” he told CNN. “The program would likely become obsolete and probably defunct in a matter of time.”

Venezia added that USCIS had not been transparent enough about why the fee hikes were necessary. He also said that many of the documents subject to the fee increases became eligible for transfer to the National Archives earlier this year, meaning that they should be available for free.

It’s vital that genealogical records stay affordable, Venezia said, because they allow people to learn about those who came before them.

Those records helped Venezia determine whether some of his personal family stories were fact or folklore. It also helped him confirm the identity of a woman who appears in his family photo albums. Using a photo contained in an alien registration form, he learned that the mystery woman was, in fact, his great-grandmother.

The campaign is gaining attention

“So in case you’ve missed it, USCIS is about to dramatically raise the price of files ordered through its Genealogy program. Files you can’t get elsewhere. Many of them are supposed to be free. Say no. Please go to recordsnotrevenue.com by 12/30 and leave a public comment.” she tweeted on Saturday.

The issue has gotten enough attention that members of Congress have voiced concerns.

“While interest has grown over the last few years, genealogy research remains primarily a hobby sensitive to financial constraints,” the statement read.

” …The proposed rule’s prohibitive fees could make it nearly impossible for an average person to access the Genealogy Program, leading to fewer requests and ultimately mitigating the proposed rule’s intention to fund the USCIS.”

Jews had been subjected to discriminatory laws, like restricting their rights of profession, education and citizenship, since 1933, when the Nazis came to power.

This legal, racist oppression was coupled with physical attacks, which in turn led to hundreds of thousands of Jews fleeing as refugees.

Nevertheless, that night on the ninth of November, 81 years ago, has been considered the beginning of the Holocaust and the attempted annihilation of European Jewry.

Kristallnacht did not take place in a vacuum. It was a carefully arranged pogrom that was given
a “green light” by an event that took place exactly four months prior.

In July of that year, the Evian Conference, attended by representatives from 32 nations, was convened at the initiative of the US to discuss measures to take against the oppression and exodus of the Jews of Europe.

Catastrophically, due to political and diplomatic differences, the conference ended without agreement and no remedy or measures were taken. Those who would unleash unimaginable horrors understood that the world would not stand in their way. Inaction left Europe’s Jews to their fate.

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This moment sealed the destiny of six million Jews, beginning shortly afterward with Kristallnacht.

Today, eight decades later, Jews around the world find themselves in the most precarious position since humanity’s darkest chapter. Last year, from Pittsburgh to Paris, Jews were murdered simply for who they are. The perpetrators may subscribe to divergent ideologies, but their raison d’être is identical, to end the life of as many Jews as possible.

Jews get the message. Many now hide signs of their religious affinity. Jewish institutions are erecting high walls and barbed wire defenses. Jewish schools, kindergartens and synagogues require security akin to airports.

These are the foreboding trappings of a community in danger and unsure of its safety or security.

While the situation is not the same as eight decades ago, the signs are there nonetheless and becoming ever more worrisome. Only a few days ago, the
German city of Dresden declared a “Nazi emergency” after years of violent attacks on Jews and other minorities, and a white supremacist was just
arrested by the FBI for allegedly plotting to bomb a synagogue in Colorado.

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Eighty-one years ago, the disagreement, disunity and inertia of the international community allowed antisemites to act wantonly and freely. Today, while the perpetrators are largely private individuals and not state actors, the lessons that we must learn remain.

The Jews of the world must know that there is now a courageous and moral majority that stands solidly alongside them. For this, we need an international effort to confront anti-Semitism.

Leaders need to cut off the oxygen given to those who seek to perpetrate attacks against Jews and spread their hate. There must be recognition that anti-Semitism is not the purview of one group or one particular ideology, but has a long and bloody history spanning numerous outlooks and worldviews.

Anti-Semitism corrodes the foundations of democratic societies. As history has taught us, hatred begins with Jews, but it never ends with Jews. There needs to be a new comprehensive undertaking to end a felonious tolerance of hate and racism, whether against Jews or any other targeted minority.

If eight decades ago international disunity led to violence and bloodshed, then a common sense of purpose with a clear road map of measures will protect and save lives today.

“The Working Definition of Antisemitism” adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and by several of its member states, should become universally accepted in its entirety.

There should be zero-tolerance for antisemitism and other forms of hate. Freedom of expression is a vital value, but the right to life, safety and security is paramount. Time and again, those who shed the blood of Jews have been fed incitement, lies and myths against the Jewish people. Such vile hatred flourishes today on social media and in online chat rooms.

The contrast between the most- and least-visited places is stark. In 2017, nearly 87 million international tourists arrived in France. That same year, a mere 2,000 international tourists visited the South Pacific country of Tuvalu, where it’s easy to find a beach — or even an entire island — to yourself.

It’s sadly incomplete. Some of the most magnificent places on Earth — including Guinea-Bissau’s lush jungle and the expansive shores of Lake Chad — have been excluded because of safety recommendations from the US Department of State.

What remains, though, shows just how rewarding it can be to leave the popular sites behind, whether you’re lounging on Sierra Leone beaches, exploring Liechtenstein’s mountaintop castles or shipwreck diving in the South Pacific.

And if you can’t picture a week in Kiribati or imagine the flavor of Timor Leste’s traditional cuisine, it’s OK. By spinning the globe and booking a flight to a country you know little about, you’ll infuse the journey with a sense of wonder. That, after all, is what travel is for.

1. Tuvalu

Tuvalu is among the world’s most isolated nations.

Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

With more than 100 tiny islands scattered across the South Pacific, the country of Tuvalu is among the world’s most isolated nations.

Only the main island, Funafuti, has an airport. From there, travelers continue to the outlying communities by passenger ferry. Free from the crowds that fill beaches in popular destinations like Fiji, these islands are an untouristed haven where you can watch flying fish skim the water, spend a lazy afternoon in a hammock or snorkel candy-hued coral reefs.

If you’re planning a trip to Tuvalu, don’t wait: The waves that lap Tuvalu’s stilt houses have long been seen as an existential threat here, since rising seas could swamp the low-lying country.

Why go: Stroll powdered sugar beaches at risk from rising sea levels.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 2,000

2. Kiribati

Kiribati’s beauty is matched by its remoteness.

The AGE/Fairfax Media/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

Scatter-shot atolls and lagoons barely peek above the central Pacific waters in Kiribati, whose islands and atolls cluster into three groups: the Gilbert, Phoenix and Line Islands.

It’s hard to overstate the isolation of these faraway isles — neighboring Fiji is relatively close at 1,394 miles away — and few travelers make the journey here. Those that do, however, will be treated to a rich tradition of hospitality. While not every visitor will secure an invitation to a traditional feast, or botaki, many have.

If you’re lucky enough to attend, you might see dancers in pandanus skirts, listen to drums beating out a traditional rhythm then dine on breadfruit, taro and sprouted coconut.

Why go: Experience a botaki in an open-air maneaba, or meeting house.

International tourist arrivals in 2016: 6,000

3. Marshall Islands

The waters around the Marshall Islands are home to spectacular scuba diving sites.

Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild/Getty Images

Bombs and bathing suits put these Pacific isles on the world’s radar — bikinis were named for the United States’ nuclear testing on the Marshall Islands’ Bikini Atoll.

Decades later the island is still radioactive, as is the test site at Enewetak Atoll, but the waters surrounding Bikini Atoll have become one of the world’s most spectacular scuba diving sites.

There are more than a dozen shipwrecks on the seafloor near Bikini Atoll. Make your first dive to see the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, which was present at the Battle of Iwo Jima before the US military used the ship for nuclear target practice. Divers will find deck guns blooming into colorful coral reefs, and schools of fish threading between bombs still strapped to the ship’s metal decks.

Why go: Scuba dive into a ship graveyard transformed into an eerie underwater playground.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 6,000

4. Montserrat

Montesrrat’s landscape is shaped by volcanoes.

Sebastian Widmann/dpa/AP

Velvety green hills pinch towards the rim of Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills volcano, whose incendiary force has shaped the landscape of this Caribbean island.

Much of Montserrat was overshadowed by volcanic eruptions in the 1990s, when the capital city of Plymouth was buried under a deep layer of ash and volcanic stone. Now, visitors come by plane or ferry from the nearby island of Antigua to see the fallout of the volcano’s furious power.

Why go: See a modern-day Pompeii, then lounge on new beaches created from crumbling volcanic stone.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 8,000

5. Niue

The waters off Niue’s rugged coastline are used as a nursery by humpback whales.

Nick Perry/AP

If your image of a Polynesian island is all gentle waves and soft sand, think again: Niue’s rugged and cave-pocked coast is etched in sharp coral.

From July through October, humpback whales use Niue as a warm-water nursery, lolling close enough to the island to be spotted from shore. During those months, the sound of the whales’ songs and slapping tails can be heard above the sea breeze.

Here, visitors can even join trained guides to swim with the humpback whales, one of the few places on earth where it’s possible.

Why go: Swim alongside school bus-sized whales in one of the world’s smallest countries.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 10,000

6. American Samoa

Matafao Peak dominates the skyline above Pago Pago Harbour.

Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images

Steeply pitched islands drop towards crystalline water in American Samoa, a South Pacific island group northeast of Fiji that’s the only US territory in the Southern Hemisphere.

Whether you’re skimming Pago Pago Harbor in an outrigger canoe or casting a line for hefty tuna and marlin, there are endless ways to explore the sea here. To find the treasures hidden in the dense forest canopy, head to the National Park of American Samoa for a trek through fruit bat country.

Why go: Hang with the endangered fruit bats of the National Park of American Samoa.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 20,000

7. Solomon Islands

Sunken seaplanes, oil tankers and submarines make the Solomon Islands a subaquatic museum.

Prisma by Dukas/Universal Images Group Editorial/UIG via Getty Images

Desperate battles unfolded against a paradise-island backdrop in this South Pacific archipelago after US Marines landed on Guadalcanal Island in 1942.

Decades after the last skirmish, the lush jungle holds rusting tanks, amphibious vehicles and fox holes that are a haunting reminder of that era. And the history doesn’t stop at the waterline.

Sunken seaplanes, oil tankers and submarines are strewn across the ocean floor, sprouting coral formations on corroded metal sheathings. For travelers who snorkel or scuba dive, exploring the Solomon Islands is the chance to watch sea life colonize the remnants of a brutal war.

Why go: Discover Second World War history in a vast archipelago.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 26,000

8. Comoros

The islands of Comoros are often called the “Perfume Isles.”

Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images

Cupped in the ocean between Madagascar and Mozambique, Comoros has the kind of clear water and pale beaches that draw travelers to the Seychelles — but with few tourists and little development.

There’s something in the air here, too. Often called the “Perfume Isles,” the islands of Comoros have been cultivating aromatic plants for making scents since the French colonial era.

Now, the blossoms of the ylang-ylang tree infuse the breeze with an evocative aroma, mixing with cloves, bergamot, jasmine, vanilla and lemongrass to intoxicating effect.

Why go: Breathe the perfumed air of an island that overflows with blooms.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 28,000

9. São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Principe are a biodiversity hotspot.

Ruth McDowall/AFP/Getty Images

Making up a nearly equatorial nation in west Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe are packed with endemic plants and animals.

In the lush jungle that has overtaken former coffee plantations here, travelers might find begonias growing high as a house, hundreds of orchid species and birds in every hue.

Peer carefully into the foliage, and you may spot a blooming flower or furtive creature that’s yet to be documented by scientists.

Why go: Search for undiscovered species in a biodiversity hot spot.

International tourist arrivals in 2016: 29,000

10. Federated States of Micronesia

The ancient city of Nan Madol is home to grand basalt palaces and temples.

Nicole Evatt/AP

If you plan to spend one day on every island in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), you’ll need more than a year and a half to explore the Pacific nation. There are 607 islands here, but put them together and they add up to a mere 271 square miles of land — and that’s spread across nearly 2.6 million square miles of water.

Many of the islands are uninhabited. But exploring Pohnpei, the largest island in the FSM, is a fascinating reminder that the archipelago’s been shaped by humans for centuries.

Why go: Visit an ancient ceremonial center rising from the ocean.

International tourist arrivals in 2016: 30,000

11. Djibouti

Djibouti’s landscape can seem otherworldy.

South China Morning Post/South China Morning Post/South China Morning Post via Get

Perched at the confluence of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Djibouti has a strategic location — but the landscape itself can seem otherworldly.

White-salt beaches ring the hyper-saline Lake Assal, steam pours from the Ardoukoba Volcano and camels graze amidst lunar towers in Lake Abbé.

There, travelers can spot bubble gum-colored flamingos that lend the otherwise desolate scene a rococo flourish. It’s a testament to human ingenuity that the nomadic Afar people have carved a life in this harsh environment, leading their flocks to graze on widely scattered pockets of marsh grass.

Why go: Have an off-planet experience without the costly space flight.

International tourist arrivals in 2010: 51,000

12. Sierra Leone

Tokeh beach near Freetown has bone-white sand.

Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images

If thinking of Sierra Leone doesn’t inspire daydreams of powdery beaches, surf breaks and nesting sea turtles, you might need an update.

From civil war to Ebola outbreaks, this west African country has faced hard knocks in recent decades, but that’s one more reason to support the slowly recovering tourist economy.

Stake out a sunny piece of sand on the Western Peninsula, and you can sip a locally brewed Star Lager as you scan the waterline for sea turtles.

Why go: Picture-postcard beach vacations way off the tourist map. Did we mention there are pygmy hippos here?

International tourist arrivals in 2016: 54,000

13. Guinea

Powerful rivers flow through the forests of Fouta Djallon.

Tommy Trenchard / Alamy Stock Photo

Just next door to Sierra Leone is Guinea, whose wildly scenic highlands are among west Africa’s most spectacular places to hike.

Powerful rivers flow from the forests of Fouta Djallon, where an afternoon snack can mean plucking an avocado or mango from a nearby tree.

Join a Pular-speaking guide for a memorable trek through the rocky landscape for the chance to meet local people as you spend each night in a highland village. You’ll be rewarded with rain-flush waterfalls, sharp canyons and a memorable taste of Guinean hospitality.

Why go: Tone your quads on a culture-bridging hike through the mountains.

International tourist arrivals in 2016: 60,000

14. Tonga

Tonga is famous for its hospitality.

Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images

Traditional feasts and fluttery palms set the scene in the Kingdom of Tonga, a South Pacific island group where travelers are treated to laid-back hospitality.

There are hidden beaches to explore here, as well as trees filled with flying foxes and islands that can be reached only by slow boat. While Tonga can lull travelers into a tropical reverie, the coast is downright explosive.

Hollow channels in the sharp volcanic rock create spectacular blowholes on the island of Tongatapu, where crashing waves shoot seawater hundreds of feet into the air — it’s a natural show worth traveling for.

Why go: Watch the ocean erupt from the rocky Tongan coast.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 62,000

15. Anguilla

By limiting tourism to high end resorts, Anguilla has avoided over-development.

Cedrick Isham Calvados/AFP/Getty Images

Ringed in pale sand and topaz inlets, the British overseas territory of Anguilla has some of the Caribbean’s finest beaches, but there’s one thing that’s notably absent — other people.

By limiting tourism to high-end resorts, this island escape has dodged the intense development of neighboring islands. If you’re flush enough to pay the high prices here, that means access to wonderfully uncrowded beaches.

There are 33 to choose from, but Rendezvous Bay is a gorgeous place to start. A handful of bright-painted beach bars are scattered along the beach, inviting repeated cocktail breaks as you stroll along the nearly 3-mile shoreline.

Why go: Experience high-end Caribbean cool with plenty of room to relax.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 68,000

16. Timor Leste

East Timor hosts an annual mountain bike stage race.

STR/AFP/Getty Images

Better known to aid workers than tourists, Timor Leste had a chaotic few decades as it emerged as Asia’s newest country.

Not that you need to be a competitive athlete to go cycling in Timor Leste. If you don’t mind the hills and the heat, bring your own bike here to pedal remote mountain roads with little car traffic.

Why go: Challenge yourself to the ride of a lifetime.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 74,000

17. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

These islands attract the wealthy, but have budget-friendly options.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Since it took until 2017 for an international airport to open on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean island chain has long been the territory of salty cruisers and private yacht owners.

Use the public ferries, however, and you’ll be island-hopping with a crowd that’s more local than leisure-travel.

Otherwise, continue to budget-friendly Union for sunset rum punch at Happy Island, a bar built atop a conch shell foundation just off the coast.

Why go: String together a necklace of islands with pearl-colored beaches.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 76,000

18. San Marino

San Marino is surrounded by Italian territory.

Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images

Surrounded by Italian territory on every side, the Republic of San Marino is 24 square miles of stubborn holdout. Established in the year 301, the sole remaining Italian city state is also the world’s oldest surviving republic.

While the three historic towers that adorn the San Marino flag are now largely ornamental, they still keep watch over the mountainous countryside.

For views that stretch from border to border, climb to the picturesque Rocca Guaita, an 11th-century tower that fortifies an already-forbidding summit — over the centuries it’s helped fend off invaders, housed the national guard and even served as a prison.

Why go: Explore a mountaintop fortress in Europe’s least-visited country.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 78,000

19. Dominica

Dominica has the Caribbean’s first-ever long distance hiking trail.

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Nine active volcanoes are simmering beneath humid jungle in Dominica, with belching fumaroles and steaming hot springs to remind visitors of their seismic power.

It’s a serious trek that turns the typical Caribbean vacation on its head, and you don’t even need to carry a tent — drift away after a day of hiking in the breezy comfort of a hammock.

Why go: Hike a section of the first long-distance trail in the Caribbean.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 79,000

20. Liechtenstein

Historic castles keep watch over Liechtenstein.

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With an Alpine perch between Austria and Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein is one of two doubly landlocked countries on earth — that’s a landlocked nation surrounded only by landlocked nations. (The other one is Uzbekistan.)

No one seems to mind the lack of a seacoast. Here, hiking trails navigate between stony peaks, while vineyards lap steep hillsides.

Historic castles keep watch over it all. To visit the country’s most dramatic stronghold, travel to the village of Balzers, where you can set out on foot for Gutenberg Castle.

Visitors can linger in the castle rose garden, which fills with princess-pink blooms during the summer months.

Why go: Visit a fairy-tale castle in a mountain kingdom.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 79,000

21. Vanuatu

East Tanna’s Mount Yasur volcano is among the world’s most active.

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The few tourists that venture this deep into the South Pacific will be rewarded with the kind of island scenery people use as desktop images — think white sand, palm trees and crystalline water.

But there’s a hint of danger in the paradise landscape. East Tanna’s Mount Yasur volcano is among the world’s most active, with a pyrotechnic display of lava and sparks that keeps visitors at a distance.

And on beautiful Pentecost Island, daring locals practice a tradition called Nagol, or land diving. Come here for the Saturday festivals from April through June to see men and boys scaling wooden towers up to 100 feet high, then leaping into space with vines secured to their ankles.

The rite celebrates the yam harvest and male fertility.

Why go: Watch daredevil “land divers” practice the original extreme sport.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 109,000

22. St. Kitts and Nevis

The islands of St. Kitts and Nevis enjoy a slower pace of life.

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A pair of islands with a dreamy Caribbean landscape, St. Kitts and Nevis have magnificent beaches and a laid-back spirit.

That slow pace of life invites lingering over the island’s distinctive cuisine. After trying the local specialty of goat water stew, enjoy ultra-fresh seafood and plenty of island-grown fruit.

Don’t forget to finish your feast with a generous pour of aged, spiced rum.

Why go: Taste Caribbean cuisine that’s fresh from the garden and sea.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 114,000

23. New Caledonia

New Caledonia’s waters are a haven for marine life.

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Whether you’re sailing, snorkeling or just swimming off the beach, New Caledonia’s lagoons are magnificent.

Look closer to find remarkable diversity. Dozens of species of sharks have been spotted here, along with sea turtles and big fish. The gentle dugong — a relative of the manatee — lives in the shallow coastal waters, while fish explore the world’s third-largest reef system.

And 95% of New Caledonia’s waters are protected, creating a haven for marine life that’s a dream destination for nature-loving travelers.

Compared with the more remote Pacific islands, New Caledonia is a breeze to reach on flights from New Zealand and Australia. The French overseas territory’s capital of Noumea, which is more than 10,000 miles from Paris, is just 914 miles from the Australian city of Brisbane.

Why go: Loll in New Caledonia lagoons with a mellow herd of dugong.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 121,000

24. Eritrea

Eritrea’s capital Asmara is a design-lover’s dream.

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World-class scuba diving, wonderfully diverse cultures and traditional foods are highlights of visiting the country, while the capital of Asmara is a pilgrimage place for fans of Modernist architecture.

Up in the cool air of a highland plateau, the city has a remarkable collection of preserved buildings from 1893 to 1941, a period when Italy was occupying the country.

From vintage cinemas to Futurist masterpieces, Asmara is a design-lover’s dream, and it’s Eritrea’s first spot on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

International tourist arrivals in 2016: 142,000

25. Moldova

Moldova may be the poorest country in Eastern Europe, but it has an impressive viniculture.

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While many western wine drinkers are unfamiliar with Moldovan vintages, the tiny Eastern European country is a heavy hitter, and wine has been made here for at least 5,000 years. Using a blend of Caucasian, European and local grapes, Moldovan vintners bottle everything from dry, velvety reds to dessert-friendly ice wines.

Why go: Learn to say “noroc!” — that’s cheers — over a glass of Moldovan wine.

International tourist arrivals in 2017: 145,000