Final answer:
A national state that aspires to be a nation-state but lacks territory is known as a stateless nation. These are groups with common cultural identities without their own sovereign land, and they may seek self-determination through political means.
Step-by-step explanation:
A national state that aspires to become a nation-state but lacks the territory is typically referred to as a stateless nation. These are groups of people that share a common identity, history, and cultural traits but do not have sovereignty over a designated territory. Stateless nations may have political organizations, movements, or institutions that act on behalf of their people's interests, but they lack the full legal and political autonomy that defines a nation-state. Examples include the Palestinians, American Indian groups within the United States, and the Kurds in the Middle East.
A nation-state is a political entity where a single nation coincides with the boundaries of a state, and the state apparatus works to protect and promote the identity and interests of that nation. It wields a central government that exercises rule over a territory, collects taxes, builds infrastructure, maintains a monopoly on the use of force, and tends to seek cultural uniformity among its population.
Stateless nations often arise from the complexities of history, such as colonialism, where colonial states were imposed upon local peoples, or from the aftermath of multiethnic empires that did not stress cultural integration. Nationalists from these stateless nations may strive for self-governance, either by forming an independent state or by uniting scattered populations with a shared national identity into one state.