Democracy is not only a political system but also a psychosocial construct shaped by collective meanings. This study derives from a broader doctoral dissertation on social representations of democracy and focuses specifically on trust and responsibility as essential and interrelated foundations of democratic life. The aim is to explore how these concepts are constructed and interconnected in citizens' representations of democracy. Data were collected from 30 participants residing in Istanbul, a heterogeneous metropolitan context. Semi-structured interviews (n = 15) and five focus groups (n = 15) were conducted. Thematic analysis (MAXQDA) initially produced 11 themes and 33 subthemes, which were synthesized into three overarching social representations: democracy as a liberal system, democracy as a disadvantageous system, and democracy as an impossible system. In the current study, these representations were subjected to secondary analysis through the lens of trust and responsibility. The secondary analysis revealed that in the liberal system representation, trust in institutions and laws is linked to shared responsibility between state and citizens. In the disadvantageous system representation, trust is undermined by perceptions of corruption, and responsibility is shifted mainly onto political actors. In the impossible system representation, fundamental distrust in both human nature and institutions eliminates the very possibility of responsibility, framing democracy as a utopian construct. Findings indicate that trust and responsibility are deeply intertwined in social representations of democracy. When trust exists, responsibility is shared and democracy is perceived as viable; when trust erodes, responsibility is displaced; and when trust collapses, responsibility disappears altogether, rendering democracy unattainable. Overall, the interplay between trust and responsibility plays a decisive role not only in defining democracy but also in envisioning its feasibility.