The article outlines the main tendencies in the development of a regulatory framework of academic research in social sciences and humanities after the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and during Normalisation (1969-1989). Throughout Normalisation the Communist Party asserted its will from the 'centre' to the 'periphery' of academic institutions, from the top of the institutional hierarchy all the way to the individual researchers, using a variety of strategies, with the aim of complete ideological control over academic research, publishing, and teaching. This centralising effort led to the inefficiency of the system, but only further research can explain the interaction between this dominant agent (the Party) and other actors involved in academic process.