The scattering of a nation's people (8)
I believe the answer is:
diaspora
'the scattering of a nation's people' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for diaspora that I've seen before include "people's movement" , "Great dispersion of people, Jews or Irish" , "Dispersion of a people from their homeland" , "Great scattering of people over the world, Jews or Irish" , "The scattering of a nation's people" .)