Final answer:
When statewide leaders in Texas pass legislation to prevent local governments from implementing policies with which they disagree, it represents a move towards centralization in the wider context of federalism.
Step-by-step explanation:
In recent years, Governor Greg Abbott and other statewide leaders in Texas have passed legislation to prevent local governments from implementing policies they disagree with. This shift away from promoting local control, which was a stance traditionally associated with the Republican Party, leans towards a concept known as centralization. In the context of federalism, centralization refers to the process of formal authority and decision-making power being consolidated at a higher level of government, in this case, the state government, over local municipalities.
The legal principle of Dillon's Rule supports the concept that state actions have supremacy over those of local government. As such, the correct answer to the student's question about what it is known as when statewide leaders prevent local governments from implementing their own policies would be option c) Centralization.