In the following questions, the sentence/passage is

Solution

The construction requires a nominal subject to initiate the sentence, which is fulfilled by “the tendency to conflate intent with impact.”  This is appropriately followed by the main verb phrase “often results in policies that are symbolically appealing.” The adversative conjunction “but” introduces a contrast through “functionally ineffective,” and the prepositional phrase “in addressing systemic challenges” completes the idea by specifying the domain of ineffectiveness. Accordingly, the coherent and grammatically correct sequence is B–A–C–D, making option (d) the correct answer.