Prudence, Pragmatism and Principle examines New Zealand's approach to national security by taking the country's own definition of security and examining each of the components within that definition to determine what the country has or has not done to achieve security. The book highlights the centralised all-of-government approach to achieving security policy and its more distributed and focused approach to responding to national security issues.

It also evaluates the degree to which the country chooses to follow a path of prudence, pragmatism or principle in achieving its security. The emphasis on each of those is different according to the issue.

The author first presents the development of New Zealand's thinking about security issues and the structure of the national security system. He then delves into case studies of security concern including the national demand for security, international disorder, New Zealand's immediate region and its security, disruptions in the domestic sphere, and natural hazards as a security issue.

The final substantive chapter examines how New Zealand works to achieve its security goal of the freedom of citizens 'to make the most of opportunities to advance their way of life'; an unusual national security goal and one that is difficult to achieve or even to define. .