Upstream patch:
http://docbook2x.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/docbook2x/docbook2X/configure.ac?r1=1.21&r2=1.22&view=patch

diff -ru docbook2X-0.8.8.orig/configure.ac docbook2X-0.8.8/configure.ac
--- docbook2X-0.8.8.orig/configure.ac	2010-06-26 04:57:04.000000000 -0430
+++ docbook2X-0.8.8/configure.ac	2010-06-26 04:57:39.000000000 -0430
@@ -149,6 +149,11 @@
 dnl Ensure that all static_* are fully expanded.
 
 eval static_datadir="$datadir"
+old_val=""
+until test "$static_datadir" = "$old_val"; do
+	old_val="$static_datadir"
+	eval static_datadir="$static_datadir"
+done
 
 eval static_bindir="$bindir"
 old_val=""