ABSTRACT
In Poland, as in other European countries, there is a system of research grants from institutions including the National Center for Science and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, with funds for selected research projects. Other ministries award grants for specific research topics. Ministry officials tried to refute this criticism by referring to research launched by Prof. Maria Jarosz from the Institute of Political Studies. The ministry wanted to avoid being accused of lying if it turned out that the research project in question had not gotten off the ground. Hence the extraordinary haste in signing the agreement and the commotion surrounding it, which created quite a sensation at the Institute. The new management increasingly tended to restrict the freedom of researchers in carrying out projects under research grants they secured. Paradoxically, martial law hit not only Solidarity but also the ruling party, as well as society as a whole.
