Legal Scholactivists in the Third World: Between Ambition, Altruism and Access

Abstract

This article argues that legal agents from the Third World play an important role in facilitating and advancing subaltern claims by operating as “scholactivists”. The mediums they use for such advances necessarily require leveraging of the international legal discourse and various international forums. However, their success is constrained by the dynamics of the international legal field and the ability to assimilate within a global cosmopolitan class. Legal scholactivists are examined here from a place-based perspective, locating their praxis in the geographical Third World. In so doing, this article traces the life and work of Dr. Kamal Hossain, a celebrated Bangladeshi lawyer with many accolades at home and abroad. In his long and illustrious career, Hossain has voiced subaltern and Third World concerns on the global stage through a variety of mediums including domestic and international legal practice, advocacy, international organizations and various non-profit, non-governmental and civil society organizational efforts. Although the references to Bangladesh may be very specific and are used as an illustration, it is hoped that the claims made in this paper will be generalizable and applicable to similarly situated countries.