Finance can destroy, defend, or develop. This book shows how monetary systems and financial markets can be turned from "swords" into "ploughshares". Drawing on rare disasters, sanction wars, climate challenges, and disruptive technologies, we chart finance's global footprint across crisis management, geopolitical conflict, and environmental repair. The two-part framework-diagnosing challenges, then prescribing policy and infrastructure-offers an evidence-based blueprint for sustainable, inclusive growth. For policymakers, scholars, and practitioners, this is finance re-engineered for the modern economy.

Dong Guo is a Senior Economist at China Development Bank. With more than two decades of experience in the financial sector, he specializes in international project finance and capital-markets operations. His primary research focuses on bond markets, and his broader interests include quantitative analysis, monetary policy, and financial history.