The honorary doctorate was awarded to him for political science (“octor honoris causa scienticarum politicarum”) in October 2021. Obinger studied political science, contemporary history, and economics at the University of Vienna. He was a visiting researcher at the University of Bern, Heidelberg University, and Harvard University and has held the role of Professor of Political Science at the University of Bremen since 2006. His work focuses on comparative welfare state research. He is currently also the spokesperson of the DFG Collaborative Research Center 1342 “Global Dynamics of Social Policy.”