We saw that in Afghanistan: A local council of elders, generally the more powerful families in the area, who if they fought with each other, might end up destroying each other. Better to work together and form a mutual understanding to assist, help each other to defend their area from other outside forces. Generally it worked well, but there were reports of the classic Shakespeare-ian like in-fighting amongst the families.
Other cases were a tribe with a single patriarch who lead the tribe. Really they were warlords in control of a given area. They had their turf, other tribes had theirs. Weapons, security, walled compounds.
Commerce is what kept them from fighting between them most of the time.
Out here in the sticks, we have a large Amish community. We know we are going to need them if we are to make it post-SHTF.
How would that aspect of the community dynamics come into play is anyone guess.