Lawyers’ movement and social movement theory: A critical Analysis

Husnul Amin & Samina Rehmat

Abstract
This research concerns a critical analysis of the Lawyers‟ Movement
(2007-2009) in Pakistan through the lens of a social movement theory (SMT).
The Lawyers’ Movement represents the joint struggle by the legal fraternity for
the restoration of the deposed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
by the then General/President Pervez Musharraf. The paper finds that as an
unprecedented event in the political history of Pakistan, the lawyers‟
community was not only able to organize itself as a united pressure group, but
also successfully mobilized public support from various sections of society.
The study argues that within the constitutional provisions of freedom of
expression, the legal fraternity amicably converted a purely legal-professional
issue into an organized social movement. The deposed Chief Justice and other
judges of the apex court were restored. Methodologically, this research
analyses the lawyers‟ movement using a social movement theory approach.
The study thus makes a humble methodological contribution, and further
enriches our understanding of social movements in developing societies like
Pakistan.

Keywords: Lawyers Movement, Theory, Social Movement, Pakistan