James Suzman is an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and the author of '' Affluence Without Abundance: The disappearing world of the Bushmen'' published by Bloomsbury in 2017. He is the nephew of

Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who had a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles on television. In her first film, '' Nicholas and Alexa ...

and great-nephew of

Helen Suzman Helen Suzman, Order for Meritorious Service, OMSG, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE (née Gavronsky; 7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and p ...

. He is based in Cambridge, UK.

Early life and education

Suzman was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa, and educated at

Michaelhouse Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal, Balgowan valley in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Spear’s Schools Index 2025 reco ...

. He graduated with an MA (Hons) in social anthropology from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in 1993. He was awarded a PhD in social anthropology from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1996.

Career

Suzman was the first social anthropologist to work in Namibia's eastern

Omaheke Omaheke (the Otjiherero word for sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari Desert. Th ...

among Southern Ju/'hoansi, where he exposed the brutal marginalisation of

San people The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged from other humans 100,000 to 200 ...

who had lost their lands to white cattle ranchers and pastoralist

Herero people The Herero () are a Bantu people, Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. 178,987 Namibians identified as Ovaherero in the 2023 census. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, there ...

. In 1998 Suzman was appointed to lead the landmark study, "The Regional Assessment of the Status of the San in Southern Africa", based on an ACP/EU resolution. Suzman later led an assessment by

Minority Rights Group Minority Rights Group (MRG) is an international human rights organisation, headquartered in London, with offices in Budapest and Kampala. The organisation's mission statement is to secure rights for ethnic, national, religious, linguistic mi ...

International to assess how Namibia's ethnic minorities had fared in the first ten years of Namibian Independence. The subsequent report was published in 2002. Emerging during period of political upheaval in Namibia, it led to calls for the better protection of ethnic minorities in Namibia. The Namibian Government rejected the report's findings and the President,

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma ( ; 12May 19298February 2025) was a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first president of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and t ...

, accused Suzman of amplifying "ethnic tensions". In 2001, Suzman was awarded the Smuts Commonwealth Fellowship in African Studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Suzman later established a program to establish opportunities for Hai//om San to benefit from tourism revenues in

Etosha National Park Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. ...

. He was also involved in the dispute that arose as a result of the illegal relocation of Gwi and

Gana The word ( ) in Sanskrit and Pali means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, category, series, or class". It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for t ...

San from Botswana's

Central Kalahari Game Reserve Central Kalahari Game Reserve is an extensive list of national parks of Botswana, national park in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. Established in 1961 it covers an area of (larger than the Netherlands, and almost 10% of Botswana's total land are ...

. He was highly critical of the Botswana Government's actions and, later,

Survival International Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the collective rights of Indigenous, tribal and uncontacted peoples. The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal people ...

's campaign, which he claimed undermined ongoing negotiations between the Botswana Government and a coalition of organisations supporting the evicted San. Survival International, in turn, criticised Suzman and members of the negotiating team led by Ditshwanelo, The Botswana Centre for Human Rights of complicity with the Botswana Government. In 2007, Suzman joined

De Beers The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

, where, as global head of public affairs, he developed the company's award-winning sustainability functions. He resigned in 2013. In 2013 Suzman and

Jimmy Wales Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known as Jimbo Wales, is an American List of Internet entrepreneurs, Internet entrepreneur and former Trader (finance), financial trader. He is a Founders of Wikipedia, co-founder of the non-profi ...

teamed up with

Lily Cole Lily Luahana Cole (born 27 December 1987)"Autobiography"
, lilycole.com. is a B ...

to launch Impossible.com at the

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the oldest ...

. In the same year he was invited to deliver the second Protimos Lecture at the Parliament Chamber of London's

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

Publications

Suzman has published widely on San and other issues in academic journals, magazines and newspapers, including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. * In 2017 he published '' Affluence Without Abundance: The Disappearing World of the Bushmen''. * In September 2020, ''Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time'', was published. * In 2022
Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots
was published.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Suzman, James 1970 births South African anthropologists Living people South African Jews Alumni of Michaelhouse Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Johannesburg