Final answer:
Answer is option b. In a confederation, the state or local government is the final authority, retaining powers typical of an independent nation and limiting the central government's ability to override their authority unless explicitly allowed by the states themselves.
Step-by-step explanation:
Types of Governmental Authority
In the context of governmental systems, the question of which type of government allows the state or local government to be the final authority is of significant importance. The answer is a confederation, in which authority is decentralized and the central government's ability to act is contingent upon the consent of the subnational governments. In this system, the member states retain all powers of an independent nation, which is quite distinct from a federation where the central government maintains significant authority while also granting some autonomy to its constituent states. In contrast, a unitary system is one where the central government holds most of the power and any administrative divisions operate under its control or authority.
For further elucidation, the Tenth Amendment in the United States created a class referred to as reserved powers, exclusively for state governments within a federal system. This amendment delineates the principle of federalism by specifying that powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for the states.
owever, in a confederation, the central government is much weaker compared to its member states, and incapable of overriding state authority unless expressly permitted to do so by the member states. Confederations are rare in modern times and have often struggled to maintain cohesion as seen historically in the United States under the Articles of Confederation before adopting a federal system in the Constitution.