Turkish Prime Minister Rejects Calls For Resignation

Published December 30, 2013 at 12:40 PM CST

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People hold placards reading 'Shame to thieves with Boxes' during a demostration on December 29, 2013 in Istanbul against corruption and the Government. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the judiciary as he tried to tamp down a corruption probe that has shaken his government and sparked a new wave of anti-government protests. (Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)

A corruption scandal has forced Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reshuffle his cabinet, but he is rejecting calls for his resignation.

Three of his ministers have resigned because of the scandal, which the prime minister blames on outside forces.

But anti-goverment protests flared up again last week just as they did this past summer. The situation today is being called the biggest threat yet to Erdogan’s 11 years in office.

Stephen Kinzer, visiting fellow at the Watson Institute at Brown University, joins Here & Now’s Robin Young to discuss the unfolding situation in Turkey.

Guest

Stephen Kinzer, visiting fellow at the Watson Institute For International Studies at Brown University. His latest book is “The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War.“