In July 2015, he and other former AfD members founded the political party Liberal-Konservative Reformer[1][2][3] (formerly Allianz für Fortschritt und Aufbruch,[4] "Alliance for Progress and Renewal", abbreviated ALFA).

He completed his doctorate in 1991 with a dissertation on price stabilization in world agricultural markets under Jürgen Wolters at the Free University of Berlin.

Lucke's research interests include sovereign default, news-driven business cycles, growth in developing countries, dynamic CGE models, and applied econometrics.

[12] In 2013, he founded Wahlalternative 2013 ("Electoral Alternative 2013") with Alexander Gauland, Frauke Petry and Konrad Adam to oppose the German government's handling of the eurozone crisis.

[17][18] On 4 July 2015, Lucke was displaced as leader of the party Alternative for Germany (AfD) by his former deputy, Frauke Petry, in a leadership election after several months of infighting.

[19] On 9 July 2015, Lucke left the Alternative for Germany, saying that the party had "fallen irretrievably into the wrong hands" after Petry's election and moved too far to the right by adopting what he termed as anti-foreigner positions.

He also cited an “anti-Western, decidedly pro-Russian foreign and security policy orientation” and increasing calls to “pose the ‘system question’ regarding our parliamentary democracy” as reasons for his departure from the party.

At the same time, the student union AStA called for Lucke's removal from the university due to his past association with the AfD and for what they argued was his role in helping the rise of the far-right in Germany.

[24] Lucke also turned down an offer by the university to host online classes and, later that month, could resume lectures under police protection.