Edella Schlager

Edella Schlager is a Professor at the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on comparative institutional analyses of water laws, policies, and governance systems in the western U.S., with an emphasis on polycentric governance, adaptive management, and legal frameworks. She has authored/co-authored influential books, including Common Waters, Diverging Streams and Embracing Watershed Politics, and contributed to journals like the American Journal of Political Science.

Her teaching spans undergraduate and graduate environmental policy courses, including climate change policy and PhD-level policy process theories. Schlager is affiliated with the Environmental Sustainability Faculty and Law & Policy Faculty, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration. Her work explores how institutional designs address social-ecological challenges, particularly in transboundary water systems and climate adaptation.

Key research interests include institutional analysis frameworks (e.g., IAD), legal foundations of governance, equity in policy management, and the role of federalism in climate policy. She has examined case studies like the New York City Watershed governance arrangement and transboundary river basins, highlighting adaptive governance’s potential and challenges. Schlager’s publications frequently bridge theory and practice, offering insights into sustainable resource management and policy innovation.

Her contributions to policy feedback research, collective action mechanisms, and participatory groundwater management underscore her commitment to real-world problem-solving. Despite no explicitly listed awards, her extensive academic output and institutional leadership reflect significant scholarly impact.