The commons are natural or technological resources or social and cultural spaces shared among members of a community. Different communities may adopt different practices to manage a commons, or also co-create commons via processes of commonning. This course addresses three basic empirical puzzles in governing the environmental commons: one, why are some actors able to create functional institutions for managing the commons, while many others fail to do so? Two, are there trade-offs between sustainable commons governance and commons governance that is equitable and inclusive, of so, what are they? Three, how do social, economic, and political inequalities shape who has access to and control over the commons? Through the lens of these questions, the course explores the contextual conditions and institutions structuring human interactions that make for just and sustainable governance.