Constitutional Reforms in Jordan: A Critical Analysis

This study aims to shed light on the experience of the Jordanian constitutional reforms during the era of King Abdullah II and the Arab Spring. Moreover, this study provides a comprehensive and integrated view of these vital reforms and the democratic process in Jordan. With due consideration to the fact that the constitution represents the backbone of any political regime, constitutional developments in Jordan have been reviewed since the first Jordanian Constitution was drafted in 1928. By analyzing the most recent constitutional amendments, we identify the main features of these amendments as well as their strengths and weaknesses, potential for success or risk of failure, and the positive and negative reactions thereto. This study provides a summary and recommendation, notably, the need for further constitutional amendments to consolidate the process of reform and democracy in Jordan.     

Stable isotope evidence for palaeodiets in southern Turkmenistan during Historical period and Iron Age

The subsistence patterns of Iron Age and Historical period humans from south-western Turkmenistan have been reconstructed using the carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of archaeological faunal and human bones. A qualitative comparison of the isotopic signatures points to a small proportion of ruminant meat and dairy in human diet for both periods. The ranges of proportions of dietary items yielded by a quantitative approach based on concentration dependent mixing models confirm the high proportions of plant food in the average diet, and show little change in the reconstructed diet for both periods. A comparison of results from zooarchaeological and isotopic approaches illustrates their complementarity in subsistence patterns reconstruction.