Episode 126: Pride and Politics: The Complex Relationship between the LGBTIQ+ Community and Politics

Dr. Eric Langenbacher is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Society, Culture & Politics Program at AICGS.

Dr. Langenbacher studied in Canada before completing his PhD in Georgetown University’s Government Department in 2002. His research interests include collective memory, political culture, and electoral politics in Germany and Europe. Recent publications include the edited volumes Twilight of the Merkel Era: Power and Politics in Germany after the 2017 Bundestag Election (2019), The Merkel Republic: The 2013 Bundestag Election and its Consequences (2015), Dynamics of Memory and Identity in Contemporary Europe (co-edited with Ruth Wittlinger and Bill Niven, 2013), Power and the Past: Collective Memory and International Relations (co-edited with Yossi Shain, 2010), and From the Bonn to the Berlin Republic: Germany at the Twentieth Anniversary of Unification (co-edited with Jeffrey J. Anderson, 2010). With David Conradt, he is also the author of The German Polity, 10th and 11th edition (2013, 2017).

Dr. Langenbacher remains affiliated with Georgetown University as Teaching Professor and Director of the Honors Program in the Department of Government. He has also taught at George Washington University, Washington College, The University of Navarre, and the Universidad Nacional de General San Martin in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has given talks across the world. He was selected Faculty Member of the Year by the School of Foreign Service in 2009 and was awarded a Fulbright grant in 1999-2000 and the Hopper Memorial Fellowship at Georgetown in 2000-2001. Since 2005, he has also been Managing Editor of German Politics and Society, which is housed in Georgetown’s BMW Center for German and European Studies. Dr. Langenbacher has also planned and run dozens of short programs for groups from abroad, as well as for the U.S. Departments of State and Defense on a variety of topics pertaining to American and comparative politics, business, culture, and public policy.

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elangenbacher@aicgs.org

Jasmin Gräwel grew up in Leipzig, Saxony. Currently, she works as a journalist for a tv production company in Leipzig called Level4Films. She produces tv reports for different magazines for public broadcasting and private tv channels. In january 2025 Gräwel finished her one year part-time online training as a diversity manager at the University of Hamburg. Gräwel studied American Studies at the University of Leipzig and completed a bachelor's degree in 2010.

Since 2018 Gräwel has volunteered as press officer, podcast host and member of the management board at Leipzig pride (CSD Leipzig). CSD Leipzig is the oldest pride organization in East Germany after Berlin. Gräwel also hosts a monthly podcast called “Inside CSD Leipzig”. On this podcast, Gräwel speaks with queer people in and around Leipzig, listening to their individual stories about coming out as queer, and sharing experiences as queer people with a wider audience.

Sarah Pope is the Director of U.S. Programs at LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, overseeing Victory’s leadership development internships and fellowships, along with the annual International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference. Sarah started with Victory in 2018 as the U.S. Programs Manager, managing the day-to-day operations of Victory Institute’s Congressional programs. Prior to joining Victory, Sarah worked in youth leadership development and K-12 education within underserved environments. Sarah attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where they earned their bachelor’s in sociology with a Spanish minor and their Master of Public Administration. A Maryland native, Sarah returned to the Washington, DC, area in 2017. In her free time, she can be found showing you pictures of her cat Birdie, making pottery, and telling you the latest reality TV show gossip.