In summary, we have studied the Fréederiksz transition in antiferroelectric liquid crystals in a model containing only nearest-neighbor interactions between smectic layers of the AFLC. We find the conditions under which an applied electric field can cause a homogeneously nucleated transition of the system from the antiferroelectric to the ferroelectric alignment. We demonstrate that taking into account the cooperative motion of the AFLC layers results in a significant reduction in the critical electric field for the transition.