Ambassador William Roebuck is the executive vice president of the Arab Gulf States Institute. Before joining AGSI, Roebuck was a member of the United States Foreign Service, retiring from the Department of State in 2020 after a 28-year career. For his 2018-20 service in northeastern Syria as deputy special envoy for the Global Coalition Against ISIS, embedded with U.S. special forces, Roebuck received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award and a Presidential Distinguished Service Award.
Roebuck served as ambassador to Bahrain from January 2015 to November 2017. He was appointed deputy assistant secretary for Maghreb Affairs in January 2013 and assumed additional responsibility for Egypt Affairs in January 2014. He served as chargé d’affaires to Libya from January to June 2013, earning the Department’s Ryan C. Crocker Award for Outstanding Leadership in Expeditionary Diplomacy. Roebuck also completed diplomatic assignments in Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv, where in the early 2000s he was assigned as the embassy’s political officer for Gaza.
Prior to joining the State Department, Roebuck worked as an English teacher and school administrator in Taif, Saudi Arabia from 1982-87. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Cote d’Ivoire from 1978-81.
Roebuck was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature from Wake Forest University and his law degree from the University of Georgia.
Analysis
Syria Is the Answer
When regional actors or great powers ask these days what determines the success or failure of their strategies in the region, they are increasingly discovering that developments in Syria heavily shape the outcome.
The Rung Bell and the Crooked Strait: Decoding the Conflict With Iran
The blockade, artfully deployed, and a focus on coalition building, international law, and interests-based negotiations can help the United States and its Gulf allies extricate themselves from the current impasse.
Hearing Them Softly: Emirati Discourse Management Works the Rift
To respond to harsh Saudi criticisms, the Emiratis have sought to reframe, deflect, and calibrate, avoiding escalation while also benefitting from powerful advocates, including Senator Lindsey Graham.
The Saudi-UAE Rift: Taking the Measure of the Gulf That Separates and Unites Them
Disputes in the Gulf tend to be structurally constrained by dense interdependence, established patterns of dispute management, and various shades of elite empathy among leaderships.
Syria’s Year of Astonishing Developments
Syria’s challenge moving ahead will be the difficult effort to develop a political system that will empower Syria’s people to embrace the more pedestrian but necessary political compromises upon which inclusion and representative government are based.
Is the Sudan Conflict Ripe for Resolution?
The recent visit by the Saudi crown prince to Washington turbocharged prospects for U.S.-led mediation on Sudan, but the case for skepticism remains compelling.
Events
Oct 6, 2026
Is the U.S.-Iran Stalemate a “New Normal” or the Prelude to Another Explosion?
On October 6, AGSI hosted a discussion on the U.S.-Iran stalemate and the prospects for a cease-fire.
Speakers
Yemen’s Strategic Reckoning? The Houthis and the Expanding Regional War
On September 10, AGSI hosted a discussion on the latest escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
Speakers
Sep 15, 2026
Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Recalibration?
On September 15, AGSI hosted a discussion on Saudi Arabia's positioning within the emerging regional political and security order.
Speakers
Aug 27, 2026
Roundtable With Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa
On August 27, AGSI hosted a private roundtable with Sheikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al Khalifa ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States.
Speakers
Apr 8, 2026
What Do Houthi Attacks on Israel Mean for the Iran War?
On April 8, AGSI hosted a discussion on the Houthis' involvement in the Iran war.
Speakers
Mar 11, 2026
Shockwaves From Iran: Implications for Energy Markets and the Global Economy
On March 11, AGSI hosted a discussion on global energy and economic market volatility.
Speakers
