People declare a country (6-5)

I believe the answer is:

nation-state

'a country' is the definition.
(I know that Nation State is a type of sovereign state)

'people declare' is the wordplay.
'people' becomes 'nation'.
'declare' becomes 'state' (I've seen this before).
'nation'+'state'='NATION-STATE'

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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