How does thread synchronization help in preventing race conditions?

Thread synchronization plays a crucial role in preventing race conditions by implementing mechanisms such as mutual exclusion and critical section management. These techniques ensure that only one thread can access a shared resource at a time, thereby avoiding data inconsistencies and conflicts that can arise when multiple threads attempt to modify the same data concurrently. By enforcing sequential execution or controlled access to critical sections, thread synchronization helps maintain program correctness and stability in multithreaded environments.