The paper has in broad terms strove to analyse the way democracy as a form of life and especially responsibility is pictured in policy documents within the field of education and research in Sweden. Responsibility seldom separated from influence is in Sweden and many western countries regarded as a channel which shapes a democratic environment. The results indicate that responsibility in policy documents is comprehended as mediator of pre-defined democratic values and is dependent upon the individual’s free will and ability to influence. It is relational to its features in that it has to do with proper responses towards others. School has a significant role in fostering young people into becoming responsible which imply the need of an environment and tools that enable the transference of these values. The practice of rational conversation (deliberation) appears to be the dominating solution. There is here a tension between fundamental values which are not questioned and the stress on free discussions which should emanate in the right conclusions found in the curriculum. Concerning research about responsibility very little has been done outside a normative, qualitative, and evaluative frame. The small amount of qualitative research done has mainly focused upon classroom studies and text-analysis.