I've recently published a brief memoir and analysis of Occupy Wall Street.
http://www.amazon.com/...
My conclusions, after 3 months in the movement, are that the Occupy movement must do a better job of working with allies and must modify the General Assembly structure. Better coordination with allies in the Labor movement and coordination with allies in the political system--yes, I'm talking about elected officials and candidates--are a must. The movement is stuck because it continues to focus on street protests. The message has been heard and now it is time for Occupy to assert power, real power, which can only be done in one (or both) of two ways: Real political action, or the type of economic boycotts that most Americans can and will engage in (NOT general strikes). I'm posting an excerpt below.
"But if there is one thing I am absolutely sure must change, it is that the movement needs to modify or move away from the cumbersome General Assembly structure. The lack of hierarchy this anarchist-inspired model embodied was really a fantasy. When there is no official hierarchy, unofficial hierarchies and power plays eventually develop. What I saw at Occupy Wall Street was that the most noisy, aggressive and disruptive members manipulated the General Assembly. If the basic structure of the General Assembly is to be maintained in the Occupy Movement, modifications must be made. There must be rules for membership including norms and limits for behavior. There should be an orientation period before people are able to present proposals. People who disrupt or constantly “block” proposals need to be banned.
The movement’s other great weakness has been its failures in working with allies. To actually implement the reforms initiated by the Politics and Electoral Reform group that I was a part of, for example, would require alliances with progressive politicians, or recruiting or endorsing progressive political candidates, perhaps from a third party—maybe even a new one? The anti-government stance of the many anarchist-leaning members of the movement silenced the voices of members of Occupy Wall Street who wanted to work with elected officials and candidates—again showing how these anarchists were often hypocritical—if freedom and autonomous action is the standard--as described in anarchist philosophy—then other people’s tactics should not be criticized."
There is much more in my essay, including a discussion of different ways of interpreting anarchism.