Coheed is governed by a Chieftain, the man who is the chief of the strongest tribe. There are many tribes throughout the kingdom and potential for more to come into existence. A new tribe is started when a man becomes father to at least twenty-five sons, is considerably wealthy in his own right, has heroic battle feats under his belt, and has made a very decisive and permanent separation from his father. There are hundreds of tribes in Coheed, and the strongest is judged by the number of citizens within the tribe and their accomplishments. 

The Chieftain keeps the chiefs of the strongest tribes close, almost like a council for him, though in a way they are also the biggest threats to him. The Chieftain has the power to take the kingdom to war and demand the annihilation of unworthy tribes; otherwise his role is mostly one of influence than actual power. In the event of multiple tribes of equal power, the Chieftain is decided by a duel that is very much like the First Blood ceremony. The current chief of a tribe was chosen by the former chief. They typically choose one of their own sons, but not always.

*After Nevermere's occupation, the king declared that the position of Chieftain was to become the Governor of Coheed. The Governor answers to the king of Nevermere. Within Coheed, they still refer to Governor as the Chieftain. 

Coheed is a kingdom built on the backs of tribes. Each tribe is like a miniature government of its own, and within each is a separate military. It is standard, however, that the tribe's chief is the head of the tribe's military, and that each chief has at least one man directly under him (Chief's Second) who is given power over the other troops. 

In Coheed today, there are 2 parts to their military: the men, which makes up the majority of it, and the women, called the Parabolti, which is a small division currently trained by Nevermerean soldiers.