The main topic of the thesis Breaking Free from the Dominance and Establishing Independent Policy: The Analysis of Saudi-Qatari Relations and its Implications on the Region of the Persian Gulf is a thorough analysis of the historical developments of bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar. This hierarchical relationship between the two states is analysed according to the theories of alliance formation, MENA foreign policy analyses and international hierarchy. The aim of the thesis is to ascertain how Qatar was able to break free from the subordinate position within the hierarchical relationship with Saudi Arabia. Contrary to other existing research within the field which explains the end of subordination mostly with the crisis in the dominant state, the present thesis addresses other possible factors in the subordinate state that ultimately cause the evasion of the subordination with particular emphasis on the case study in question. The thesis proposes a classification of several distinct eras in Saudi - Qatari relations and verifies them against the theories described above. The thesis' findings support the hypothesis that subordinate states can evade the subordination without a crisis in the dominant, but only in a very specific set of circumstances, which...