We discuss the stability of the antiferromagnetic ground state in two spatial dimensions. We start with a general analysis, based on Gribovs current-conservation techniques, of the bosonic modes in systems with magnetic order. We argue that the Goldstone $phi$ and Higgs $h$ modes mix in antiferromagnetic systems, and this leads to an effective $hhphi$ three-point interaction. We then analyze the instability of the antiferromagnetic system in two spatial dimensions by studying the non-perturbative behaviour of the Higgs boson self-energy using the Dyson--Schwinger equations. The ground state turns out to be unstable for all values of the three-point coupling. We interpret this as being due to the formation of a (high-$T_C$) superconducting condensate. The carrier doping dependence of the energy gap has a general behaviour that is consistent with high-$T_C$ superconductivity. Superconductivity co-exists with antiferromagnetic order for large magnetization, or small doping.