[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_(polity) The most commonly used definition is Max Weber's, which describes the state as a compulsory political organization with a centralized government that maintains a monopoly of the legitimate use of force within a certain territory. General categories of state institutions include administrative bureaucracies, legal systems, and military or religious organizations.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_German_border

I heard that wish uttered countless times. Has anyone ever explained how that's actually supposed to work? When nation states are not defined by control over some piece of land, who provides and regulates the infrastructure in a specific physical location? Stuff like policing, medical care, roads, power lines, plumbing, internet cables.

I guess people imagine that these services would just be provided by "some company", but then you're back to square one because that company is just going to become a nation state rather quickly: When you have infrastructure on the ground and no rule of law to back it up, you need to make your own laws and enforce them with your own militia, and boom, all the defining elements of a nation state.