Which term describes a political system where power is concentrated in a central government and local authorities have little independent authority?

• A. Unitary Government
• B. Ethnicity
• C. Race
• D. Block Busting

Answer: (A)

Centralized authority is the key idea here. When the central government holds the main power and local authorities have little independent authority, the system is described as a unitary government. In such states, national policies and laws are the default framework for the entire country, and local units exist mainly to administer those central decisions. The central government can create, modify, or abolish local authorities and can revoke powers given to them, so local governments operate under the authority of the national government rather than possessing constitutional autonomy of their own. This contrasts with federal systems, where regional or state governments have constitutionally protected powers and operate with a degree of sovereignty within their jurisdictions.

The other terms don’t describe political structure. Ethnicity and race refer to population characteristics, not how political power is organized. Block busting is a housing-market discriminatory practice, again unrelated to how government power is allocated.